|
Post by Desert Dweller on Apr 30, 2023 19:34:09 GMT -5
I must clarify my above post there, so you can tell how crazy lucky I was with this U2 lottery. When I say it was a lottery, it truly was. You could request 3 dates, let them know what ticket price ranges you were interested in. And then you got an email notifying you not just that you had access to a ticket, but it also assigned you a night and your exact seat. (And charged your credit card before you even got the email notification!) So I didn't get to pick the show date or where I was sitting. I just got a ticket, pre-assigned to a specific date and specific seat. I definitely had this night down as one of my three requested dates. But wow. There were over 700K requests that didn't get ticket access at all! I somehow lucked into the exact show date I was hoping for. A date I already had a hotel booked in Vegas.
Also, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this whole lottery system. This is the idea Ticketmaster is trying for high demand shows? This is a layer BEFORE its silly "verified fan" system. I can't decide whether this is better or worse than Verified Fan? It doesn't stop scalpers.
Now, U2 could certainly have implemented some things here to reduce scalping. But considering they are contracted to Live Nation, I'm not surprised they haven't.
Also, people are saying that MSG is paying U2 a $10 million bonus to play these shows, and giving them something like 90% of ticket sales? I'm not sure if that is true. If it is, then MSG is essentially using U2 to market this venue. Some quick math here tells me that if this is true U2 could easily clear $100 million gross for playing 17 shows.
|
|
|
Post by MyNameIsNoneOfYourGoddamnBusin on May 2, 2023 21:56:40 GMT -5
Also, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this whole lottery system. This is the idea Ticketmaster is trying for high demand shows? This is a layer BEFORE its silly "verified fan" system. I can't decide whether this is better or worse than Verified Fan? It doesn't stop scalpers.
I technically work for Ticketmaster (it's some labyrinthian corporate structure and I still don't know the official distinction between Live Nation and Ticketmaster beyond knowing it exists) and even I don't completely understand the verification system or what it's meant to do. It doesn't come with any way of verifying fandom other than saying "Yes, I am a verified fan." There's no litmus test so it feels like a completely unnecessary step. That being said, I did use it last week to get Pearl Jam tickets (yes, as an employee of the promoter I do have to buy my own tickets at full-price with a small number of exceptions) and there is apparently a requirement to show ID that is connected to every ticket purchase, but I have no idea how well it will be enforced and I can already think of two or three ways to circumvent it. The fine print also detailed that due to state law, that policy does not apply to the Chicago shows, so I guess Illinois is a designated free-for-all for all ticket scalpers.
|
|
|
Post by ganews on May 3, 2023 18:18:20 GMT -5
Packed in for Yeah Yeah Yeahs and theres's a screechy woman and a guy who stinks of cigarettes right next to me, but I'm up front on the rail and part of the 1% wearing a mask.
|
|
|
Post by Desert Dweller on May 3, 2023 22:56:14 GMT -5
I technically work for Ticketmaster (it's some labyrinthian corporate structure and I still don't know the official distinction between Live Nation and Ticketmaster beyond knowing it exists) and even I don't completely understand the verification system or what it's meant to do. It doesn't come with any way of verifying fandom other than saying "Yes, I am a verified fan." There's no litmus test so it feels like a completely unnecessary step. That being said, I did use it last week to get Pearl Jam tickets (yes, as an employee of the promoter I do have to buy my own tickets at full-price with a small number of exceptions) and there is apparently a requirement to show ID that is connected to every ticket purchase, but I have no idea how well it will be enforced and I can already think of two or three ways to circumvent it. The fine print also detailed that due to state law, that policy does not apply to the Chicago shows, so I guess Illinois is a designated free-for-all for all ticket scalpers.
Yes, Illinois has a law that specifically says you are not allowed to prevent scalping. It is very odd.
That Ticketmaster "Verified Fan" thing just baffles me. As you say, it doesn't verify that you are a fan of anything. How could it possibly? As far as I can tell, it is just a form of lottery for ticket access. Then Ticketmaster claims this is a "pre-sale", then they give away so much access so as to sell out all the tickets in the "pre-sale" and then cancel the "public sale". Meanwhile, they implement Platinum pricing in the "pre-sale", so basically the face value of the tickets means nothing, and Ticketmaster is... legally scalping them? "No, we're showing them what real market value is!" - Ticketmaster. The tickets are being SCALPED. Leaving no tickets for people to buy at face value. Just because crazy people WOULD pay $4000 a ticket doesn't mean that is "real market value". That's a bizarre definition of "market".
I have to believe there is a better way to run this.
In the U2 case, U2 implemented a fan club-only presale BEFORE Ticketmaster's "Verified Fan". U2's fan club insists to us that this is totally separate, even though Live Nation is U2's promoter and they run the fan club. (Hello, Congress? Anti-trust issue here?) So, the fan club managers claim there was no way to cross reference the people who got tickets in the fan club lottery, versus who was selected to participate in Ticketmaster's "Verified Fan".
This, of course, seems like bullshit to every normal person. Live Nation runs U2's concerts, a Ticketmaster company ran the fan club presale, Ticketmaster runs the "Verified Fan" presale...but this is all separate and you all can't do anything if this gets screwed up? guys, you get why this confuses and pisses off fans, right? Fans would be LESS mad if Ticketmaster didn't actually own all of these systems.
And then U2 announced more shows, then Ticketmaster immediately added them to the Verified Fan presale.... violating the terms of U2's agreement to give fan club members first access. Sigh. So, now the sale on the last 5 shows is shut down, pending U2 figuring out what to do with their fan club members.
And posts on Facebook and Reddit today have people saying StubHub has been cancelling their U2 tickets to these shows and refunding their money. So, this is all a mess.
I am in disbelief that I somehow actually got a face value ticket to Opening Night of this set of shows. The price for my date, section and row on StubHub is now $800. Face value is $140, including fees.
|
|
|
Post by Desert Dweller on May 3, 2023 23:03:31 GMT -5
and there is apparently a requirement to show ID that is connected to every ticket purchase, but I have no idea how well it will be enforced and I can already think of two or three ways to circumvent it. Oh, and I want to pull this part out specifically. For these U2 shows, Ticketmaster has a "no transfer" policy on the General Admission tickets. The only way to transfer them is to sell them through a face-value only ticket exchange site, which Ticketmaster hasn't given us access to. Or maybe hasn't built? We usually just do this ourselves on the fan sites.
Anyway, there are a bunch for sale on StubHub and all the resellers and even eBay. And the listings are for 5x+ the face value. Again, the seller can't transfer these. Ticketmaster won't allow it. So, the listings say things like, "Send the deposit now. You'll get the tickets 30 minutes before the show where you'll meet your host. You will enter with your host, and then your host will depart."
Come on U2, Ticketmaster, StubHub, resale sites. You can shut these sales down as a Violation of Purchase terms, yeah? Apparently these are some of the StubHub tickets getting cancelled today.
|
|
|
Post by MyNameIsNoneOfYourGoddamnBusin on May 4, 2023 9:55:21 GMT -5
and there is apparently a requirement to show ID that is connected to every ticket purchase, but I have no idea how well it will be enforced and I can already think of two or three ways to circumvent it.
Anyway, there are a bunch for sale on StubHub and all the resellers and even eBay. And the listings are for 5x+ the face value. Again, the seller can't transfer these. Ticketmaster won't allow it. So, the listings say things like, "Send the deposit now. You'll get the tickets 30 minutes before the show where you'll meet your host. You will enter with your host, and then your host will depart."
I'm confused--are you required to buy two tickets and enter with someone who leaves immediately after (probably to let someone else in he has the same arrangement with) and then sit next to an empty seat? It seems like actual fans could work out a better system.
|
|
|
Post by MyNameIsNoneOfYourGoddamnBusin on May 4, 2023 10:00:18 GMT -5
Yes, Illinois has a law that specifically says you are not allowed to prevent scalping. It is very odd.
That Ticketmaster "Verified Fan" thing just baffles me. As you say, it doesn't verify that you are a fan of anything. How could it possibly? As far as I can tell, it is just a form of lottery for ticket access. Then Ticketmaster claims this is a "pre-sale", then they give away so much access so as to sell out all the tickets in the "pre-sale" and then cancel the "public sale". Meanwhile, they implement Platinum pricing in the "pre-sale", so basically the face value of the tickets means nothing, and Ticketmaster is... legally scalping them? "No, we're showing them what real market value is!" - Ticketmaster. The tickets are being SCALPED. Leaving no tickets for people to buy at face value. Just because crazy people WOULD pay $4000 a ticket doesn't mean that is "real market value". That's a bizarre definition of "market".
Platinum dynamic pricing is one of those other things I'm not a big fan of and I don't understand how it isn't challenged more. At my club we do try to give people some perks if they buy platinum tickets if we are able to, but this really depends on the night and where we have capacity to move them. In general we just have to apply diplomatic wording to "You paid extra because we can charge you extra" and it's never questioned after that.
|
|
|
Post by ganews on May 4, 2023 14:32:34 GMT -5
Packed in for Yeah Yeah Yeahs and theres's a screechy woman and a guy who stinks of cigarettes right next to me, but I'm up front on the rail and part of the 1% wearing a mask. It was an awesome show, I'm glad I went. This is one of those bands I got into in college/grad school and never got a chance to see in their prime. They only did festivals in 2013 so I paid big bucks for a lawn seat which wasn't great, then Karen O started putting out solo albums and I figured I missed the window. At least all the original members are there, although if this follows my life pattern one of them is going to leave now.
Cherry Glazerr opened and was also pretty good.
|
|
|
Post by Desert Dweller on May 5, 2023 1:56:07 GMT -5
Anyway, there are a bunch for sale on StubHub and all the resellers and even eBay. And the listings are for 5x+ the face value. Again, the seller can't transfer these. Ticketmaster won't allow it. So, the listings say things like, "Send the deposit now. You'll get the tickets 30 minutes before the show where you'll meet your host. You will enter with your host, and then your host will depart."
I'm confused--are you required to buy two tickets and enter with someone who leaves immediately after (probably to let someone else in he has the same arrangement with) and then sit next to an empty seat? It seems like actual fans could work out a better system. These tickets are for General Admission. Standing room only. No seats. Ticketmaster doesn't allow them to be resold or transferred. So the buyer with the tickets is the only one who can enter the venue, their entire party must enter with them.
So these are scalpers. They illegally sell the tickets at huge markups. But they can't actually transfer the tickets. So, they have to meet the buyers at the venue and walk with them through the ticket scanning at the entrance. Then the scalper can leave, having made a huge profit.
|
|
monodrone
Prolific Poster
Come To Brazil
Posts: 2,552
|
Post by monodrone on May 10, 2023 6:54:15 GMT -5
It's been 10 years since my last trip to a music festival but this one is going to get me back in the game. It's indoor so I don't have to think about the weather and I'll have a bed to go home to at the end of the day. Piss Bath!!!!
|
|
|
Post by *Deep, Pained Sigh* on May 30, 2023 18:22:56 GMT -5
turns out that you cannot beat beat a bit of bruce
|
|
|
Post by King Charles’s Butterfly on Jun 5, 2023 0:21:16 GMT -5
Grace Jones at WeHo Pride—very energetic (spent a lot of time with a hula hoop swinging a lot her hips), surprisingly non-synthy but stil driving instrumentation, still has the avant-pop look (even if the version of avant- is stil rooted in the 80s it didn’t look dated), very fun
|
|
|
Post by MyNameIsNoneOfYourGoddamnBusin on Jun 5, 2023 22:35:18 GMT -5
Mingled with the geriatric goth crowd at the Sisters of Mercy show tonight.
|
|
|
Post by MyNameIsNoneOfYourGoddamnBusin on Jun 11, 2023 6:11:42 GMT -5
Was at the Taylor Swift show last night in a strictly paid professional capacity. I can probably come up with a few positive things to say about the show (I give credit to anyone who still does a three-hour set), but what offended me most as a rock fan was that her guitarist played an Eddie Van Halen signature Fender.
|
|
|
Post by pantsgoblin on Jun 18, 2023 23:39:19 GMT -5
Free outdoor Juneteenth show with Sister Nancy. Not in the least surprising--six extended cuts from her 1982 debut--but it's hard to argue with comfort food like that on a pretty summer evening and it's nice to hear, at 62, how well her always-strong voice has weathered over the old hits.
|
|
Crash Test Dumbass
AV Clubber
ffc what now
Posts: 7,058
Gender (additional): mostly snacks
|
Post by Crash Test Dumbass on Jul 12, 2023 8:32:02 GMT -5
I got tickets to see Liz Phair touring for the 30th anniversary of Exile In Guyville in November. Also holy fuck how is it the 30th anniversary of Exile In Guyville? I'm so old.
|
|
|
Post by The Sensational She-Hulk on Jul 19, 2023 13:58:24 GMT -5
Seeing Le Tigre at the Baltimore Soundstage tonight with a friend and I am so pumped to be surrounded by every lesbian in the tri-county area!
|
|
|
Post by Desert Dweller on Jul 20, 2023 21:28:19 GMT -5
How is it that I have not a single friend who is willing to go see Beck with me next month? The tickets have dropped into the $20-$40 range. It is Beck and Phoenix. I don't really care about Phoenix that much, but this is Beck!
Really, friends? Really??
|
|
|
Post by ganews on Jul 23, 2023 8:05:54 GMT -5
How is it that I have not a single friend who is willing to go see Beck with me next month? The tickets have dropped into the $20-$40 range. It is Beck and Phoenix. I don't really care about Phoenix that much, but this is Beck! Really, friends? Really?? I passed on it myself, because a Beck set is short enough without another headliner. I skipped Beck and Cage the Elephant too. (I remember some commenters on their joint YouTube video saying "two brilliant artists collaborating and touring together, amazing!" Uhhhh, sure.)
At this point I'm looking for deeper cuts, and those aren't going to happen at a show like this. But I would go for a $20 indoor show if I was in Arizona.
|
|
|
Post by Desert Dweller on Jul 24, 2023 13:20:56 GMT -5
I passed on it myself, because a Beck set is short enough without another headliner. I skipped Beck and Cage the Elephant too. (I remember some commenters on their joint YouTube video saying "two brilliant artists collaborating and touring together, amazing!" Uhhhh, sure.)
At this point I'm looking for deeper cuts, and those aren't going to happen at a show like this. But I would go for a $20 indoor show if I was in Arizona.
Yeah, the issue is that the tickets dropped to under $30. I wasn't considering it when the tickets were $50. And it is an INDOOR concert. A short Beck set list with only big hit songs is worth that price. But I still can't get anyone to go with me.
|
|
|
Post by MyNameIsNoneOfYourGoddamnBusin on Jul 25, 2023 12:31:10 GMT -5
How is it that I have not a single friend who is willing to go see Beck with me next month? The tickets have dropped into the $20-$40 range. It is Beck and Phoenix. I don't really care about Phoenix that much, but this is Beck! Really, friends? Really?? I passed on it myself, because a Beck set is short enough without another headliner. I skipped Beck and Cage the Elephant too. (I remember some commenters on their joint YouTube video saying "two brilliant artists collaborating and touring together, amazing!" Uhhhh, sure.)
At this point I'm looking for deeper cuts, and those aren't going to happen at a show like this. But I would go for a $20 indoor show if I was in Arizona.
The worst aspect of that tour was bringing out Cage the Elephant again during Beck's set to do one of their songs with him, cutting into what was already a pretty short set of his own material.
|
|
|
Post by ganews on Jul 25, 2023 15:36:12 GMT -5
I passed on it myself, because a Beck set is short enough without another headliner. I skipped Beck and Cage the Elephant too. (I remember some commenters on their joint YouTube video saying "two brilliant artists collaborating and touring together, amazing!" Uhhhh, sure.)
At this point I'm looking for deeper cuts, and those aren't going to happen at a show like this. But I would go for a $20 indoor show if I was in Arizona.
The worst aspect of that tour was bringing out Cage the Elephant again during Beck's set to do one of their songs with him, cutting into what was already a pretty short set of his own material. Thank you, this validates my decisions.
|
|
|
Post by Desert Dweller on Jul 26, 2023 21:19:17 GMT -5
I passed on it myself, because a Beck set is short enough without another headliner. I skipped Beck and Cage the Elephant too. (I remember some commenters on their joint YouTube video saying "two brilliant artists collaborating and touring together, amazing!" Uhhhh, sure.)
At this point I'm looking for deeper cuts, and those aren't going to happen at a show like this. But I would go for a $20 indoor show if I was in Arizona.
The worst aspect of that tour was bringing out Cage the Elephant again during Beck's set to do one of their songs with him, cutting into what was already a pretty short set of his own material. Ugh, terrible.
|
|
|
Post by MyNameIsNoneOfYourGoddamnBusin on Jul 30, 2023 11:37:02 GMT -5
Ryan Adams and the Cardinals last night. Now, you might think doing two slowed-down minor key KISS covers in a set is a little gratuitous, but when he did that third one, it felt just right,
|
|
|
Post by MyNameIsNoneOfYourGoddamnBusin on Aug 13, 2023 10:33:54 GMT -5
Someone had an extra ticket for the Steve Miller Band last night and I ended up using it. Very curious about the decision to play "Jet Airliner" twice in-full at non-consecutive points in the set.
|
|
|
Post by MyNameIsNoneOfYourGoddamnBusin on Sept 3, 2023 10:19:43 GMT -5
Went to the Beck show last night. It wasn't as much of a debacle as his last co-headline amphitheatre run and I really enjoyed it. Set was a little short at somewhere under ninety minutes (including a duet with Phoenix I could have done without), but he did manage to work in a few deeper cuts beyond the surface level radio hits. It doesn't compare to either of the theatre shows I saw him at before, but I wasn't disappointed either. Hoping he does a solo headlining theatre tour next time.
|
|
|
Post by MyNameIsNoneOfYourGoddamnBusin on Sept 7, 2023 10:14:20 GMT -5
We hosted a Pretenders concert for about four hundred people the other night. They didn't play any of their hits and brought in more equipment (some apparently purchased used from a somewhat obscure indie band) than any band I've ever seen playing a club show.
|
|
|
Post by Desert Dweller on Sept 21, 2023 21:57:42 GMT -5
I am so broke due to $600 in car repairs. The only way I can make cash fast is by selling concert tickets that I have. There is no way I am missing U2's Vegas concert, and I am still not sure Ticketmaster would even let me sell or transfer that ticket.
But I had 2 tickets to Sting's upcoming concert. I just went to Ticketmaster's site and checked what those are going for. Wow, Ticketmaster is recommending I set a price of $275 per ticket. I paid $70 per ticket when I bought them. This would definitely help me.
So, someone in Phoenix, please buy these ASAP. Please please please.
|
|
|
Post by Desert Dweller on Sept 29, 2023 22:12:14 GMT -5
I am here at the new MSG venue in Vegas, the Sphere. This is opening night. U2 is going on in about an hour. MSG spent approximately a gazillion dollars building this venue. I want to see what it can do.
Update post-concert: It is pretty dang cool! The venue allowed cell phones in, and U2 encouraged the audience to take photos and video and post it online. I am pretty sure EVERYONE filmed at least one of the songs. This should be flooding YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. I don't know how the screen effects will translate to 2-D videos, though.
Definitely some of the most fun visual effects are the way the visual projections can seem to reshape the room into a square space, or seemingly project 3D images. That was very cool!
Also, Paul McCartney was at the concert. At one point Bono remarked that he thinks this venue was what would have solved the Beatles' touring problems. Um, yeah. I sometimes wonder what Paul McCartney thinks about all the advancements in concert audio tech, and how that all came decades too late for his band.
|
|
Dellarigg
AV Clubber
This is a public service announcement - with guitars
Posts: 7,514
Member is Online
|
Post by Dellarigg on Sept 30, 2023 9:16:47 GMT -5
I am here at the new MSG venue in Vegas, the Sphere. This is opening night. U2 is going on in about an hour. MSG spent approximately a gazillion dollars building this venue. I want to see what it can do.
Update post-concert: It is pretty dang cool! The venue allowed cell phones in, and U2 encouraged the audience to take photos and video and post it online. I am pretty sure EVERYONE filmed at least one of the songs. This should be flooding YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. I don't know how the screen effects will translate to 2-D videos, though.
Definitely some of the most fun visual effects are the way the visual projections can seem to reshape the room into a square space, or seemingly project 3D images. That was very cool!
Also, Paul McCartney was at the concert. At one point Bono remarked that he thinks this venue was what would have solved the Beatles' touring problems. Um, yeah. I sometimes wonder what Paul McCartney thinks about all the advancements in concert audio tech, and how that all came decades too late for his band.
Our friends at The Guardian liked it, too. Maybe not so much in the comments, but never mind them. www.theguardian.com/music/2023/sep/30/u2-review-an-utterly-astonishing-admirably-raw-vegas-extravaganza
|
|