concert tickets...a rant

[dr.mel_PT]

ive been trying to buy bruce springsteen concert tickets for my dad for YEARS. i set a reminder in my date book to go online today as soon as they went on sale and woah, big shock...all three dates were sold out by 10:30AM. i find this hard to believe. it annoys the poop out of me that all these ticket brokers can snatch seats up 1-2-3 and resell them to fans at a ridiculous price, not to mention prices through ticketmaster itself are CRAZY (it was $65/seat for nosebleeds...and if youve ever been to giants stadium, you know how bad nosebleeds are. you might as well watch the concert on tv; youd probaby get better sound anyway!!). add onto that the "convenience" charge of $15/ticket + the stadium now charges a $4/ticket fee. are you kidding me?!

i dont get it. it really infuriates me that this type of crap goes on.

 

[LauraMax]

You can get them on ebay. That's where I get mine. But yeah, you will spend an arm & a leg thanks to the folks who sell tix for a living. That said, it is SO worth it--he & the band put on one helluva show. I took my cuz a few years ago, she's really more of a jazz fan, & she thought it was incredible (BTW this was at the Meadowlands, they actually recreated the Asbury Park boardwalk in the parking lot, it was freakin awesome!).

It's been one of Bruce's big issues too. It really pisses him off that most people like him (or him growing up anyway) can't afford to see his shows. In fact, I think our governor's website actually has a separate page where you can register your complaints about Springsteen tix. NJ is a crazy place.

 

[buffettgirl]

The same is true for Jimmy Buffett tickets. We bit the bullet and paid an outrageous price for tickets this year. DH and I call ourselves Parrot-heads, but we've never been to a concert. We figured we better get to a concert before Jimmy quits touring or dies.

 

[dr.mel_PT]

The same is true for Jimmy Buffett tickets. We bit the bullet and paid an outrageous price for tickets this year. DH and I call ourselves Parrot-heads, but we've never been to a concert. We figured we better get to a concert before Jimmy quits touring or dies.

LOL oh man he is another one!! when he plays jones beach i ALWAYS try to get tix for my parents (also parrot heads, hehe) and theyre always sold out.

laura, i looked on ebay too and those prices are just way too crazy for me. with 2 paycuts i really cant afford much these days, ha! maybe ill just get him an HD bruce video lol

 

[cakebaker]

No more concerts for me

ive been trying to buy bruce springsteen concert tickets for my dad for YEARS. i set a reminder in my date book to go online today as soon as they went on sale and woah, big shock...all three dates were sold out by 10:30AM. i find this hard to believe. it annoys the poop out of me that all these ticket brokers can snatch seats up 1-2-3 and resell them to fans at a ridiculous price, not to mention prices through ticketmaster itself are CRAZY (it was $65/seat for nosebleeds...and if youve ever been to giants stadium, you know how bad nosebleeds are. you might as well watch the concert on tv; youd probaby get better sound anyway!!). add onto that the "convenience" charge of $15/ticket + the stadium now charges a $4/ticket fee. are you kidding me?!

i dont get it. it really infuriates me that this type of crap goes on.

Much as I like concerts, I quit going to them 'cause I can't justify the cost.

 

[Liann]

Just as a side note, a lot of artist "fan clubs" offer tickets to members ahead of time. Sometimes it takes a paid membership, but sometimes just being on their e-mail list gives you opportunities to grab tickets before they go on sale to the general public. Also, some radio stations also offer up tickets to station "fans/members" before the general public. That is usually just a matter of being on their e-mail list as well. This is how I got tickets to the last two concerts I went to. The tickets themselves were almost sold out and that was BEFORE they even went on sale to the general public. The whole system really is screwed up.

 

[lori254]

I absolutely refuse to buy tix through Ticketmaster anymore, not since the day I went in with Amex's 'front-of-the-line' feature, days before sales to the general public, the MOMENT they went on sale for Leonard Cohen and there was nothing left ... other than their so-called premium tickets which are very expensive. And seeing as how they have a monopoly on concert ticket sales here in Canada, looks like I won't be going to any concerts until they have some competition.

Lori

 

[pzgirl]

Don't give up Melissa! I love Bruce too, and in the last few years I've rarely been able to get tickets that first day they are released for sale.

But for his recent concerts, I've gotten great seats by checking for tickets online at Ticketmaster (or whatever company does the bona fide ticket sales) a few days before the concert date, when the tickets that have been set aside for friends, promotions, etc have not been picked up and they are offered for sale.

So if you can wait until the last minute to make your plans, start checking daily starting about 7 days before the show. At some point, probably 2 or 3 days before the show some more tickets will open up, and often more are released the day of the show too. I usually start checking online about 7 days earlier to be sure I don't miss that window of opportunity. The seats that become available are usually up close (though not necessarily on the floor) are at regular price and can be picked up at will call.

We once got Bob Seger tickets that way too. At 2 p.m. the day of the concert we got front row tickets at regular price! And it was a fabulous show.

So go for it! Good luck!

 

[4fitNphun]

add onto that the "convenience" charge of $15/ticket + the stadium now charges a $4/ticket fee. are you kidding me?!

i dont get it. it really infuriates me that this type of crap goes on.

Ya... I thought they should be paying us for buying the tickets online AND printing the tickets on our printers. We use our ink, our paper which saves them their paper and ink... but we get charged convenience by them!!

 

[Tamster]

I just saw Bruce in Albany, and although I am not a fan, the concert was great. The band was amazing and I couldn't take my eyes off the drummer...Max Weinberg's son Jay. He was absolutely amazing.

Jay mingled with the crowd before the show and nobody knew who he was. We were given tickets, our seats were amazing, and my DH who is a huge fan loved the show. I didn't think I would enjoy the show because I really don't like Springsteen, but I'm glad we had the opportunity to see a show.

 

[syzygy314]

Reading all of your posts about concert tickets just makes me think. Why should it even be that difficult? If they put them "on sale" when they are supposed to go on sale, there would be seats for everyone! It is almost as corrupt as our government!! (IMHO)

Most of the best seats are already "spoken" for before the tickets go on saile to the public. That is so wrong! This is also why we don't go to any concerts anymore! The system really needs a cleaning, but, just like baseball, the fans are too blind to the corruption to take a stand and say "NO MORE!"

Tricia