By Drew Armstrong, CQ Staff

Wednesday night’s Kanye West concert might be the hot ticket of the convention, but for some Hill aides holding the coveted prizes, ethics rules have turned attending the concert into something of a fiasco.

Several House aides who had tickets say that many fellow staffers are deciding to skip the concert entirely after finding out this week that they would have to pay $90 to attend.

“Everyone I know is taking a pass now,” said one angry House aide who had a ticket to the event but decided not to go.

Jonathan Lamley, a spokesman for the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) — the event’s sponsor — said they were still expecting a full house.

Many House staffers are in Denver as volunteers for their bosses back home, and have paid for their own transportation and lodging.

“I already paid my own flight and my hotel room to come out here and volunteer nine to 10 hours a day, and I can’t really afford to shell out another $90 for another event,” said a second House staffer with a ticket. The aide said he would not attend the concert.

The RIAA informed ticket holders on Monday that they would have to pay the $90, according to Lamley. He said the RIAA sent the notice via e-mail message a few hours after a ruling on the concert by the House ethics committee.

According to the first House aide, ticket holders were informed that the committee had determined that $90 was the fair market value of the ticket.

Tickets to other Kanye West concerts this year generally cost between $40 and $85, according to several media reports of West’s most recent tour.

West is a Grammy award-winning rapper whose hit albums include “Graduation” and “College Dropout.”

Ticket holders are not allowed to give their tickets away if they do not want to attend. “Every e-mail [message], invitation and credential say quite clearly that the invite is non-transferable,” said Lamley. The $90 would be paid to RIAA.

According to a May 20 memo from the ethics committee, House aides are generally not allowed to accept “free attendance at entertainment or recreational events such as shows or sporting events.”

Senate aides are not bound by the same rules. Lamley said the Senate Ethics Committee approved the event for Senate aides, who would not have to pay the $90 cost.