Presale 2011 tour

[Doug W]

i know a lot of the concert goers are really obnoxious in atlanta.

the drunks at the fox show last year were terrible, but that's part of it.

 

Well hopefully they'll be tolerable this time around because I'm making a pretty long haul from southwest FL. Florida crowds can be pretty awful too, so maybe it won't be much different than what I'm used to.

[moxiebean]

Another artist who's at the same level (both in terms of venues and quality) had a presale this week, but it was very interesting. This particular artist, who's name I will not mention for the very reasons I cite above (i.e. keep the presale on a low profile; don't break their good system), was pretty sneaky. NO mention of a presale on their official website. No fanclub. But deep in the recesses of the information superhighway, sure enough these guys were doing a presale. It was a lower stress situation. I found out a few hours after it started through word of mouth. I got great seats. I told a friend, and he did, too.

I made out pretty well with the Pixies presale, too.

[spongebob]

Ryman first night. Front row (AA) seats 9/10. I cheated and made a VIP ticket request from a family member. Shameless, but I had to do it. Sorry to brag. I can be a jerk sometimes. If it makes anyone feel better, I missed the residency and I've never been to a letters to Santa show. I guess it helps that my wife's grandmother was married to Joe Carter because I'm not a "VIP". Took ten years, but it just paid off(just kidding honey).

[kohoutek]

I made out pretty well with the Pixies presale, too.

 

LOL!! I can neither confirm, nor deny. Anyway, my long winded point is, Wilco's presale through Frontgate is about as legit as it can get, but demand still outstrips supply, there's no single fair way to do this (though, I'd like to try to dream one up), and, most of all, venue presales are generally something to be avoided. So are AMEX presales. I almost fell for one last summer for Paul McCartney. Ended up waiting and doing his official presale, which again was surprisingly low key/under the covers (if I recall, they didn't really announce it; it just sort of happened so vigilance paid off), and did sooo much better than what the AMEX sale had to offer.

 

I don't think I have a point. Must be the beer.

[moxiebean]

LOL!! I can neither confirm, nor deny. Anyway, my long winded point is, Wilco's presale through Frontgate is about as legit as it can get, but demand still outstrips supply, there's no single fair way to do this (though, I'd like to try to dream one up), and, most of all, venue presales are generally something to be avoided. So are AMEX presales. I almost fell for one last summer for Paul McCartney. Ended up waiting and doing his official presale, which again was surprisingly low key/under the covers (if I recall, they didn't really announce it; it just sort of happened so vigilance paid off), and did sooo much better than what the AMEX sale had to offer.

 

I don't think I have a point. Must be the beer.

I totally agree with your presale synopsis. At least the Frontgate system puts regular ticket buyers on the same footing with the scalpers. I think if Wilco graduated to even larger venues the problem would only get worse, since I imagine there'd be even more slices of the ticket pie to dole out. The thought of a Wilco VIP ticket package deal makes me cringe. Fortunately I don't think it'll ever get to that point.

[Sparky speaks]

LOL!! I can neither confirm, nor deny. Anyway, my long winded point is, Wilco's presale through Frontgate is about as legit as it can get, but demand still outstrips supply, there's no single fair way to do this (though, I'd like to try to dream one up), and, most of all, venue presales are generally something to be avoided. So are AMEX presales. I almost fell for one last summer for Paul McCartney. Ended up waiting and doing his official presale, which again was surprisingly low key/under the covers (if I recall, they didn't really announce it; it just sort of happened so vigilance paid off), and did sooo much better than what the AMEX sale had to offer.

 

I don't think I have a point. Must be the beer.

 

I did the AMEX sale for McCartney for Fenway Park a few years back and sat about 15 rows back front center. I guess it depends.

[JethroNC]

I'll explain it. Back when I was growing up when a big show came through town, there was no internet. If you wanted to get ANY tickets to see Springsteen or the Stones or U2, you had to wait in a really long line. Generally you had to camp out overnight, regardless of the weather. Obviously, this was unfair for some people who's situation may not have permitted them to do that (school/work responsibilities; too young; not in good enough healthy to sleep outdoors in unbearable weather conditions; etc.). Outside of those obvious limitations, the system was fair. For those with the means (primarily time, as ticket prices didn't start going up to stratospheric levels until the very late 80s/early 90s), the most dedicated fans got the best tickets, or at least got tickets.

 

I miss camping out for tickets. When U2 came to not-really-nearby Hampton VA in 1987, there was a limit of 2 tickets per person. TWO! My kind and generous neighbors camped out for tickets and gave me a pair; I was 14 and mom wouldn't let me camp (yet). As soon as I turned 16 I started camping out for my own tickets. Dad went to all the shows with me, so he was more than happy to write a sick-note for school (and my part-time jobs) for me. I made a lot of friends camping behind Visart News & Video in Chapel Hill. Ah, the good ole days...

[Magnetized]

I miss camping out for tickets. When U2 came to not-really-nearby Hampton VA in 1987, there was a limit of 2 tickets per person. TWO! My kind and generous neighbors camped out for tickets and gave me a pair; I was 14 and mom wouldn't let me camp (yet). As soon as I turned 16 I started camping out for my own tickets. Dad went to all the shows with me, so he was more than happy to write a sick-note for school (and my part-time jobs) for me. I made a lot of friends camping behind Visart News & Video in Chapel Hill. Ah, the good ole days...

 

I'm with you. I remember camping out for many shows (Stones, Springsteen, a CSNY Tour) and if you came well prepared with a sleeping bag, books and a boombox, you could have a decent time out there in line. Plus, you're hanging out with other fans, there was always someone to make friends with, you could band together to get someone to go out for food. There were worse ways to spend a night, and the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow was guaranteed great seats. All in all, it seemed like sort of an event, and it was FAIR!

[tinnitus photography]

i remember camping out for U2 tickets in 84, for the Unforgettable Fire tour. we had a pretty good spot, probably ~50 people back or so.

 

well, as the time drew nearer, people started coming in and hopping on/cutting the line and we couldn't do anything about it...the ticket seller didn't care as he was gonna sell tickets regardless of who bought 'em and by the time we got to buy our own, all the Providence seats were sold out and we had to go for the Worcester show.

 

 

that sucked.

[JethroNC]

I'm with you. I remember camping out for many shows (Stones, Springsteen, a CSNY Tour) and if you came well prepared with a sleeping bag, books and a boombox, you could have a decent time out there in line. Plus, you're hanging out with other fans, there was always someone to make friends with, you could band together to get someone to go out for food. There were worse ways to spend a night, and the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow was guaranteed great seats. All in all, it seemed like sort of an event, and it was FAIR!

 

Exactly! It was fair! Granted, there were still ways to work the system...I remember being near the front of the line and hearing the Ticketron machine cranking out tickets before the first person was let in. I later made friends with someone at a ticketing outlet and used it to my advantage - I'd show up a day or two in advance, give him my cash, then go back a day after the on-sale date to pick up my tickets. I felt guilty doing it, and only did it a few times, but absolutely loved the seats. (does that make me a schmuck?)

[JethroNC]

i remember camping out for U2 tickets in 84, for the Unforgettable Fire tour. we had a pretty good spot, probably ~50 people back or so.

 

well, as the time drew nearer, people started coming in and hopping on/cutting the line and we couldn't do anything about it...the ticket seller didn't care as he was gonna sell tickets regardless of who bought 'em and by the time we got to buy our own, all the Providence seats were sold out and we had to go for the Worcester show.

 

 

that sucked.

 

That does suck. I wish I could've seen them on that tour - I was 11, and War and Under a Blood Red Sky were in heavy rotation on my boombox.

 

Stones '89: I camped one night for a different show, and people were talking about the Rolling Stones possibly coming to town. They said the announcement might come that morning, along with an on-sale date. So I stuck around the next day for a few hours, and sure enough, we heard the announcement on the radio. There were only a few of us, and I was 3rd in line. Within minutes of the announcement, the line snaked around the building. They didn't have room for 500+ people to camp, so they handed out wristbands and sent us home. But rather than go home, I drove to a different outlet and camped there for a few days. #3 in line at the first place, #1100 (#1127? something like that) at the other. Friends relieved me in the long line so I could go back and get my good seats (16th row), then I drove back to get the other tickets. My English teacher was very appreciative of getting to go, even though she got my crappy seats.

 

One more...Paul Simon, Graceland tour '91: I had no interest in going, but friends gave me cash and asked me to camp for them. The outlet let us come in early (7am). As the guy was getting the ticketing machine set up, he decided to try to get tickets...and it started cranking out front row center seats. The few of us that were in line all wound up on the front row. Unfortunately I didn't have the cash to get extras, or I would've gone. Who can pass up a front row seat?

 

^^ Is that the ultimate pre-sale?!

[tinnitus photography]

i got front row seats for Sonic Youth on the Goo tour...went to the box office on my day off, no one was in line, and picked up 6 seats. that was awesome.

[kohoutek]

I miss camping out for tickets. When U2 came to not-really-nearby Hampton VA in 1987, there was a limit of 2 tickets per person. TWO! My kind and generous neighbors camped out for tickets and gave me a pair; I was 14 and mom wouldn't let me camp (yet). As soon as I turned 16 I started camping out for my own tickets. Dad went to all the shows with me, so he was more than happy to write a sick-note for school (and my part-time jobs) for me. I made a lot of friends camping behind Visart News & Video in Chapel Hill. Ah, the good ole days...

 

I grew up in Tidewater, so most of my camping was on the concrete outside of the Hampton Coliseum. I did not camp for that U2 show as I had to work early the day the tickets went on sale, but my mom must love me, because she managed the patience to keep trying on the phone (the other, very unreliable, way to get tickets back then), and she scored 2 nice seats to the 2nd night they added. One of the best shows I have ever seen, by the way.

 

As for your other post re: the Ticketron machine spitting out tickets before they waited on the first person, that could have been advanced reservations (not supposed to be done), or, there were times when the person running the machine would be smart enough to take orders for the first 5 or 20 people in line, which allowed them to start churning them out quicker.

[JethroNC]

I grew up in Tidewater, so most of my camping was on the concrete outside of the Hampton Coliseum. I did not camp for that U2 show as I had to work early the day the tickets went on sale, but my mom must love me, because she managed the patience to keep trying on the phone (the other, very unreliable, way to get tickets back then), and she scored 2 nice seats to the 2nd night they added. One of the best shows I have ever seen, by the way.

 

As for your other post re: the Ticketron machine spitting out tickets before they waited on the first person, that could have been advanced reservations (not supposed to be done), or, there were times when the person running the machine would be smart enough to take orders for the first 5 or 20 people in line, which allowed them to start churning them out quicker.

 

Yep, that U2 show (2nd night - Dec 11, 1987?) ranks as the best coliseum show I've ever seen. Springsteen in '85 is a close second.

 

Re: Ticketron - yes, I remember them writing down how many tickets the first couple of customers wanted (along with verifying that we had the cash to cover the purchases). And after I finally befriended one of the guys, I got a few of the against-the-rules "advanced reservations" tickets, though not at the same place that I camped...and I still feel a tinsy bit guilty about it.

[replacements75]

Woohoo! Just scored 2 tickets to the 2nd night in NYC and I thought for sure trying the presale would be futile.

[-seven]

Woohoo! Just scored 2 tickets to the 2nd night in NYC and I thought for sure trying the presale would be futile.

 

me too

[replacements75]

me too

 

 

 

Nice!

[Bosco]

Woohoo! Just scored 2 tickets to the 2nd night in NYC and I thought for sure trying the presale would be futile.

 

I had to skip presale, no fund-age until Friday

[jsarnerphoto]

I think you'll be better off on Friday anyway, Bosco. A friend and I both went in a 10:00 on the dot. His CAPTCHA was ridiculous and he had to reload it once. Mine was not too bad for once. I got tickets, he didn't. He tried again, but by 10:03 they were gone! Let me know if you wind up coming to NY for either/both shows so we can meet up. I was so focused on prepping for and shooting Solid Sound that I didn't get to see a lot of people I wanted to meet up with. At least for now, I don't plan to shoot in NY so that I can relax and enjoy it more.

[JethroNC]

Well, sounds like we won't be dealing with the stress of presales for some of the venues anymore.

 

 

[We] are going to stop doing presales for shows whenever we can't get more than 300 tickets. That means most shows in venues under 3k capacity.

 

(insert lots of comments)

 

no, actually we're not. we're just being realistic about what works. The whole thing was set up to fight scalpers. It has met with some modicum of success. But it's proving to be not worth it as we have to spend an inordinate amount of time dealing with comments, accusations, etc. It's just silly now. So we're gonna experiment with some other methods & see how they work.

[Bosco]

I think you'll be better off on Friday anyway, Bosco. A friend and I both went in a 10:00 on the dot. His CAPTCHA was ridiculous and he had to reload it once. Mine was not too bad for once. I got tickets, he didn't. He tried again, but by 10:03 they were gone! Let me know if you wind up coming to NY for either/both shows so we can meet up. I was so focused on prepping for and shooting Solid Sound that I didn't get to see a lot of people I wanted to meet up with. At least for now, I don't plan to shoot in NY so that I can relax and enjoy it more.

 

I already have the first day, and if I don't score on Friday I'm still going down, if I don't get in it doesn't really matter, it sounds fine on the lawn outside I seem to recall.

[ditty]

Well, sounds like we won't be dealing with the stress of presales for some of the venues anymore.

 

Yea, this was disappointing to read although I understand the reasoning. I stand by the only option to stop the scalpers is to go ticket-less. Then the band can play these smaller / mid size, intimate venues where the sound is great and the fans can get the tickets + lets face it, the venues should enjoy this too as they can get people to arrive early and buy overpriced beer and food.

[Dmada]

ahh the days of sleeping out for tickets

for me it was the hartford civic center

pint bottles of yukon jack and blackberry brandy (YUCK!)

 

many many times

(got my first HJ in a double wide sleeping bag camping out for bowie tickets in 83)

 

TMI?

 

hahaha those were the days-sometimes the camp was more fun than the show!

[u2roolz]

(got my first HJ in a double wide sleeping bag camping out for bowie tickets in 83)

 

TMI?

 

So you were shootin' out tickets before Ticketron was.

[choop]

can someone help me out with central park info

 

is the start time early or is the 5 or 5:30 just the time for doors, with the show occurring later at a normal time. sorry if this has been addressed.