East Coast Spring Tour 2010

[spills]

yeah, philly went quick! luckily, i scored 2 at 10:00. it looks like they were gone in about a minute. i just love how 2 $35 tickets comes out to almost $95!

[dtram]

 

As for StubHub, I've never bought tickets from them but aren't they pretty reputable? Is there any way you could call or email them to see if your order was processed?

 

Stubhub is awesome. You may have to pay over face but at least you can get into any show if you really want to go and since they guarantee the order, you never have to worry about getting ripped off by fakes in front of the venue.

[dtram]

i just got 2 for the electric factory too. as much as i love the tower, i prefer seeing wilco with GA standing.

 

I hear you, just can't stand the factory, the Tower is an ideal venue for them. They used to take the seats out of the front orch for some shows for GA in the front and reserved in the back and the balcony, I wonder if they so that anymore.

[SarahC]

Stubhub is awesome. You may have to pay over face but at least you can get into any show if you really want to go and since they guarantee the order, you never have to worry about getting ripped off by fakes in front of the venue.

i hope so. i've never bought tickets from anywhere other than ticketmaster or the wilco pre-sales

[watch me fall]

I was on the StubHub website this morning and they already had so many tickets for Atlanta and Durham. Just makes me wonder why I even bother to try presale or Ticketmaster anymore. I did get my Richmond ticket in the presale so I'm happy about that. I think I'm just at the point where I've seen Wilco so many times now that I have to decide if I'm still willing to pay over $100 a ticket.

[watch me fall]

They are supposed to be pretty good. This is what I got from them.

 

Well that looks pretty legit to me. I suppose if the seller doesn't confirm, then you just wouldn't get the ticket and you wouldn't be out any money.

[SarahC]

I was on the StubHub website this morning and they already had so many tickets for Atlanta and Durham. Just makes me wonder why I even bother to try presale or Ticketmaster anymore. I did get my Richmond ticket in the presale so I'm happy about that. I think I'm just at the point where I've seen Wilco so many times now that I have to decide if I'm still willing to pay over $100 a ticket.

yeah, if all gets confirmed and worked out i will be happy. i haven't seen the band in so long i thought it was worth the money to be close to the stage.

[Uncle Saul]

I hear you, just can't stand the factory, the Tower is an ideal venue for them. They used to take the seats out of the front orch for some shows for GA in the front and reserved in the back and the balcony, I wonder if they so that anymore.

 

last time they played at the tower (2 years ago)it wasnt like that. the venue can charge more for those primo seats than for standing room.

[dtram]

i hope so. i've never bought tickets from anywhere other than ticketmaster or the wilco pre-sales

 

It is. If prices are too high, you can always wait the people out to see if they come down. Also, e-tickets are the best option since they get e-mailed to you in PDF form and you don't have to wait for them to be shipped.

[Preferred B]

How is buying from StubHub any better (morally) than buying from any other scalpers? I mean, there used to be posts all over VC decrying the scalpers for being slimeball assholes. I'm not trying to attack anybody, just wondering if people honestly see it as something different and why. I've never used them, but I'm not saying I'd be above it in a time of crisis if there were no alternative.

[watch me fall]

yeah, if all gets confirmed and worked out i will be happy. i haven't seen the band in so long i thought it was worth the money to be close to the stage.

 

The only time I've been close to the stage was at House of Blues in Myrtle Beach, which was all general admission. It was definitely one of my favorite Wilco shows, so if you feel it was worth it for that experience, then go for it!

 

Actually, now that I think about it, we were pretty close to the stage in Cary, too. It's just that all these people crowded the aisles and the front that it didn't really feel like we were that close.

[dtram]

last time they played at the tower (2 years ago)it wasnt like that. the venue can charge more for those primo seats than for standing room.

 

Right, that show was great too.

 

It seems like Wilco is going out of their way, at least locally to play GA shows. Looks like Montclair could have seats down front but they are pulling them out for the shows and they are playing the factory instead of the Tower when I think the Tower has a larger capacity.

[dtram]

How is buying from StubHub any better (morally) than buying from any other scalpers? I mean, there used to be posts all over VC decrying the scalpers for being slimeball assholes. I'm not trying to attack anybody, just wondering if people honestly see it as something different and why. I've never used them, but I'm not saying I'd be above it in a time of crisis if there were no alternative.

 

I don't think it's a moral thing at all, it's supply and demand. I've never had a problem paying a scalper or a ticket broker a premium for either a great seat to a show I want to go to or for a seat to a show I got shut out of. To me, that would be like saying it's immoral to sell your house for more than you paid or to sell a stock for more than you paid.

 

I do agree that the shady business of promoters funneling the best seats to brokers is a joke but it seams that most bands with pre-sales or fan club sales(R.E.M., Wilco, Pearl Jam etc.) or acts like Bruce who have GA in front of the stage that you have to wait in line to get wrist bands for have taken care of that to an extent.

 

As for Wilco, it's a catch 22. They, to me at least, are cleary playing venues they have outgrown and are charging less than need to to boot. This is great for us fans because we can see them in great venues meant for music and don't have to pay an arm and leg to get in. Downside is that the shows sell out in 5 seconds and maybe some folks have to go to the after market to get in.

[wrenhunter]

Well, by 10:09 (late start), Boston was already down to singles.

 

I got 2, better than nothing I guess. This is the toughest Boston show to get into since 2001. Popular band, small venue, true, but just crummy ticket systems, esp. Front Gate (aka Creaky Old Door).

 

My two cents on StubHub: they are not awesome. The fact that you can see "any show" if you have enough money is not awesome. What's awesome is when real fans have a fair shot at getting seats, instead of a system that favors corporate scalpers.

[dtram]

 

My two cents on StubHub: they are not awesome. The fact that you can see "any show" if you have enough money is not awesome. What's awesome is when real fans have a fair shot at getting seats, instead of a system that favors corporate scalpers.

 

There will always be an after market. If given the choice between buying a ticket from a scalper in front of the venue that may be fake(happened to me for Bruce in '99 lost $450) or making a purchase that's guaranteed, I'll take the latter.

 

Real fans do have a shot at getting seats. I got 2 for Montclair in the pre-sale and to for Philly this AM at face plus the silly fees. What if I was away this week and missed the sales? At least with Stubhub, i can go if I really want to.

 

Like I said before, with these venues, there are more real fans than there are tickets, people are going to get shut out.

[poppydawn]

How is buying from StubHub any better (morally) than buying from any other scalpers? I mean, there used to be posts all over VC decrying the scalpers for being slimeball assholes. I'm not trying to attack anybody, just wondering if people honestly see it as something different and why. I've never used them, but I'm not saying I'd be above it in a time of crisis if there were no alternative.

 

Considering the experiences I've had with Ticketmaster over the past few days (yesterday they sent the wrong password, and today their software didn't recognize that yes, I had entered a credit card to cover the $14 not covered by gift cards), and the fact that they sold me non-existent seats to Springsteen last October, I've decided that scalpers and Stub Hub are more responsible and scrupulous.

 

I've never used StubHub or bought from scalpers but at this point, I'm having difficulty seeing how Ticketmaster's any better on moral grounds. Between the jacked-up fees and increasing bad customer service, it's really not much different.

 

I'm lucky that for local shows, my job sends me to just about any show I want to see and I don't have to deal with tickets at all. And because other options are becoming available (other ticketing agencies, venues selling tickets, being able to buy unwanted tickets from others at face value via VC or Craigslist), I'm not using Ticketmaster again. They're no better than the slimeball asshole scalping tickets on the street.

[Preferred B]

It would some headaches, but I wish more artists (or venues) would do what the Pabst Theatre and its cousins do - almost as a matter of course, if you don't have a Wisconsin billing address, will call is your only ticket option. Taking it further, will call with no name change for all shows - period - would come close to eliminating the secondary market. I think someone here already mentioned that. I agree that it's nice to have other options if you absolutely get shut out - but if the person who buys the tickets has to be the person picking them up on the night of the show, then at least all the tickets are going to "real" fans in the first place.

 

As for Ticketmaster, I know what you mean, but Front Gate is really no better as far as I can see, complete with $8.50 shipping as the cheapest option. And scalpers may be no worse in some ways, but I can't see that they're better.

 

One the the best ticket-buying experiences I've had recently was the Overture in Madison. They reserved some tickets for people who actually waited in line at the venue the morning they went onsale. The manager explained everything to us beforehand; which tickets were available (and why the first row wouldn't be), explained the ticket limits, and started the line moving through about two minutes before the online sale so the tickets wouldn't be all gone for those who waited. I paid face value - no fees at all - for two excellent tickets. That's not always possible, but I wish all local venues at least did something similar for people in town. I go to a lot of shows in other cities, but I'm more than willing for locals to have first crack at the best seats. It only seems fair.

[SarahC]

One the the best ticket-buying experiences I've had recently was the Overture in Madison. They reserved some tickets for people who actually waited in line at the venue the morning they went onsale. The manager explained everything to us beforehand; which tickets were available (and why the first row wouldn't be), explained the ticket limits, and started the line moving through about two minutes before the online sale so the tickets wouldn't be all gone for those who waited. I paid face value - no fees at all - for two excellent tickets. That's not always possible, but I wish all local venues at least did something similar for people in town. I go to a lot of shows in other cities, but I'm more than willing for locals to have first crack at the best seats. It only seems fair.

I would love for Wilco to do something like that, in theory. It's great for the people who live in the town where the show is, but I have to travel at LEAST 2 hours for every single Wilco show I have seen. I wish there was a way for ticket buying to be fair for locals & non-locals. Like the Will-Call only option you mentioned, that would be great!

 

And I'm not defending stubhub, but if I get my 3rd row seat I am gonna be happy. At this point I feel like it's a big if, though.

[u2roolz]

I'm sure people know what's going on with the proposed merger between Live Nation & Ticketmaster. So I took this from the Minnesota Independent on December 31, 2009.

 

"Minneapolis’ First Avenue night club is urging its supporters to oppose a proposed merger between Live Nation, one of the nation’s largest promotions companies, and Ticketmaster the nation’s largest ticket seller. The United Kingdom approved the merger last week prompting venues and consumer groups to ramp up efforts to urge the Department of Justice to reject the merger on anti-trust grounds.

 

“In the last 12 years, since Live Nation and its predecessor started its widespread take over of the concert industry, concert ticket [prices] have shot up 82 percent while the consumer price index has gone up just 17 percent,” read an email sent to First Avenue supporters on Monday. “We are concerned that if the two concert industry behemoths, Live Nation and Ticketmaster, were permitted to merge, the variety and quality of artists coming to local venues would be affected, and your prices could rise further and faster.”

 

Ticketmaster and Live Nation say the merger will have the opposite effect.

 

“If our plan happens … it can, should and will result in lower ticket prices in the primary market,” Ticketmaster CEO Irving Azoff told the Los Angeles Times. “If that plan fails to come to pass, artists, consumers and the industry will not be the better for it.”

 

But when questioned by Sen. Amy Klobuchar in a Senate hearing on the merger in February, Azoff conceded that past mergers hadn’t brought ticket prices down.

 

“Have past acquisitions that you’ve made brought tickets down, because the numbers I look at show tickets going up?” Klobuchar asked.

 

“No, tickets have been going up,” he replied.

 

Klobuchar has been skeptical of the merger.

 

“[Minnesotans] particularly like to listen to live music, whether it’s at larger venues, like the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul or at small music venues, such as the Minneapolis club ‘First Avenue,’” Klobuchar said in February. “Consumers deserve to know how the proposed merger between Ticketmaster and Live Nation will affect them.”

 

The American Antitrust Institute, Consumer Action, Consumer Federation of America, the National Association of Ticket Brokers, the National Consumers League and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (USPIRG) have launched a new website called TicketDisaster as a clearinghouse for opposition to the merger.

 

Consumer groups say the Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger will create an entity that will have impact in every segment of the concert business.

 

“This merger would allow the merged entity to determine the prices of access to venues, concert promotion, ticketing, and other services — permitting a single firm to dominate virtually all aspects of the live event market in most cities across the country,” a statement at TicketDisaster says.

 

In June, 50 members of the U.S. House have sent a letter to the Department of Justice opposing the merger. First Avenue is also urging its customers to contact DoJ to reject the proposal.

 

“The government needs to hear from music fans now,” read the email from the nightclub. “Tell the Department of Justice that you’re against these monopolies amassing illegal power over consumers, before it’s too late.” "

 

TicketDisaster.org

[Preferred B]

There was a long article about this in the New Yorker last year, maybe in August? It was an interesting read.

 

Yes - here's the abstract.

[Via Harvard]

Just got tickets for Pittsburgh, gonna make the 9 hour drive! I can't believe how many tickets are on ebay already. It's really sad and I think if more venues did paperless ticketing like the Pabst we'd all be better off. However, not everyone can get tickets to certain shows and I suppose it's nice to have the option to buy them at a higher price. Either way, all you greedy asswipes on ebay suck!

[bböp]

And I'm not defending stubhub, but if I get my 3rd row seat I am gonna be happy. At this point I feel like it's a big if, though.

 

You're going to get your ticket, I can pretty much assure you. Or at least you won't be out any money. StubHub makes sellers give a credit card to guarantee tickets, so if they're fake tickets or they somehow don't live up to their end of the bargain, then the seller would be liable.

 

I've actually had decent experiences on the few occasions I've used StubHub (both buying and selling, though I've never done it with Wilco tickets). I'd much rather sell an extra ticket on there versus Craigslist where people can -- and do -- flake at the last minute and screw you over. As far as the morality of it, that's up for debate. But as long as there's demand for tickets, there's always going to be guys lurking around venues trying to sell tickets (bogus and otherwise) at inflated prices so at least StubHub creates a safe, organized marketplace.

 

As far as what the Wisconsin places do, I'm fine with venues reserving some prime seats for locals. I think a lot of theater-type places already do anyway through "Friends Of..." programs and season ticket subscriptions. I do kind of have a problem with the whole Wisconsin mailing address thing being will call only, though. For one, it doesn't make sense in places with several bordering states (i.e. a lot of the Northeast) -- I mean, where would you draw the line for a show in Boston, for example, where you have people potentially coming from like six or seven different states? And with the Wisconsin example, what if you lived just over the state line in Illinois?

 

I agree it's a good idea to help curb the secondary market but allowing no name changes at all seems a little extreme to me. Stuff comes up where people can't make it to a show and want a friend to be able to use their ticket. And if you're from out of state, even just over the border, it makes it fairly impossible to sell a ticket to someone if you can't make it to the show. I guess that's the point, but it would have an effect on more than just scalpers IMHO.

 

Bottom line, there's no easy answers. I know at Radio City Music Hall, for example, they've started making certain seats -- the first 15 or 20 rows or whatever -- will call only for certain shows. But that doesn't completely get rid of the problem either.

[SarahC]

You're going to get your ticket, I can pretty much assure you. Or at least you won't be out any money. StubHub makes sellers give a credit card to guarantee tickets, so if they're fake tickets or they somehow don't live up to their end of the bargain, then the seller would be liable.

 

I've actually had decent experiences on the few occasions I've used StubHub (both buying and selling, though I've never done it with Wilco tickets). I'd much rather sell an extra ticket on their versus Craigslist where people can -- and do -- flake at the last minute and screw you over. As far as the morality of it, that's up for debate. But as long as there's demand for tickets, there's always going to be guys lurking around venues trying to sell tickets (bogus and otherwise) at inflated prices so at least StubHub creates a safe, organized marketplace.

Yeah, I still have a day and a half to get the confirmation e-mail, but it's still messing with my head.

 

Btw- Paul, were you buy any chance at the Decemberists show at the Ryman back in Sept? I was looking at my friend's pictures and I think I saw you in the background of one of them.

[Preferred B]

I don't see a problem with the in-state mailing address thing. It doesn't prevent people from neighboring states from buying tickets, it just means they have to pick them up in person. If you buy tickets and can go to the show, you're fine. I agree that in the case of will-call only, it's a problem if you can't go. And if you're trying to help a friend buy tickets, it's also an issue. And will call for GA makes me nervous. But I still think it's a better system. You only buy if you're pretty sure you can go, or you take a chance on losing the money. It's your choice. And if venues would open up the ticket windows an hour or so before doors, everything would be cool picking up tickets. (Pabst window is open hours before the show.) I guess ultimately I feel like market value is market value, but the people making money for that should be the artists. There was an interesting point about that in the New Yorker article - that by trying to be fan-friendly and pricing things way under market value or playing smaller places (some Springsteen seats were an example) you can actually end up driving the price way up for fans on the secondary market.

 

If you buy will-call tickets and can't go to the show, there should be an option to contact the venue (or whatever outlet sold them), give up the rights to your tickets, and only pay if they can't resell them. How hard can that be? I guess that means you can't decide who you want to have the ticket, though. Why can't it all just be simple?

[jalfred]

Yeah, I still have a day and a half to get the confirmation e-mail, but it's still messing with my head.

 

Btw- Paul, were you buy any chance at the Decemberists show at the Ryman back in Sept? I was looking at my friend's pictures and I think I saw you in the background of one of them.

You will not be disappointed with the pit seats at the Fox.

I sat in row CCC for Tom Waits a couple years back.

It is by far the best venue that I have ever been in.

Just be sure to turn around and look up to take in the beauty of the venue.