Fighting For GA Is No Different Than Fighting For Yourself

[DS1119]

Sorry, I just have to call a spade a spade. Year in and year out it's the same old debate...we want GA seating. Who wants that? The newest memebrs or members with low fan club members that's who. They use excuses like:

"it's more fair for everyone"....really when you have groups of people making lists to hold people's place in line for hours so they can eat, drink, check out the scene, wait in line for a fucking poster or let their buddies cut in with them. 40% of the the first ten rows of reserved seats are randomly distributed. I'd call that pretty fair.

"I'm short and can't see with resereved seats"...really, so a GA show suddenly makes you taller and have the ability to see?

"I want to be with my friends"....we're all friends at a PJ show. If you want to sit with specific people then find tickets together. Other than that hang out with your friends at the pre or post parties.

"Reserved ticket crowds are lame"....hmmm I've been to quite a few shows and they were far from lame. As an observer from the stands at MT the floor was no different there than a reserved show crowd. Sorry, but it wasn't.

What these pushes for GA shows in the US is nothing more than members trying to look out for themselves...and if I were in their shoes I would probably do the same thing...but lets call it what it is. An attempt for YOU to have better seats. That's it. It has nothing to do with crowd energy. It has nothing to do with being with friends. It has nothing to do with your height. It has EVERYTHING to do with what YOU feel will give YOU the best shot to be up close. Just saying how it is.

[Cosmo]

I wouldn't say it was fighting... more like you invest the effort, you reap the rewards.
Fighting sound like if you want to punch and claw your way to the front... you deserve it. You should get their early... sit on the sidewalk... get a spot on the rail... don't move from there til Mike finishes the 'Star-Spangled Banner'.
But, i agree with the gist of your point... sacrifice a little... gain alot. What's the problem, right?

[DS1119]

I wouldn't say it was fighting... more like you invest the effort, you reap the rewards.
Fighting sound like if you want to punch and claw your way to the front... you deserve it. You should get their early... sit on the sidewalk... get a spot on the rail... don't move from there til Mike finishes the 'Star-Spangled Banner'.
But, i agree with the gist of your point... sacrifice a little... gain alot. What's the problem, right?

If the band chooses to go to GA shows (they won't), but if they did then members better be ready for full on GA. Not these line list Nazis. Not these let me hold your place in line while you go eat and then I'll do the same for you. Bring on the full fledged GA. You move....you lose. Let some bastard try skipping me in line becasue his name is on some made up list. I'll personally shove those 6 posters your holding in your hand right up your ass and send you in embarrassment to the back of the line.

[sparky_fry]

Actually I feel that its a shame that there is little chance (~ <1%) of me ever seeing my favorite band up close as i wasn't able to join tenclub at the age of 3. I don't mind seated concerts but why not have the whole floor random so people who don't like GA still get to take a seat and the chance of me ever getting to see mikes fingers moving is not lower than winning the actual lottery. Either that or at least add more random rows to the floor besides the 1,2 and 10 or whatever it is.

I just feel its a shame to music that i will probably never get to see my favorite band up close, which isn't a debate of GA Vs Seating.

[Cosmo]

If the band chooses to go to GA shows (they won't), but if they did then members better be ready for full on GA. Not these line list Nazis. Not these let me hold your place in line while you go eat and then I'll do the same for you. Bring on the full fledged GA. You move....you lose. Let some bastard try skipping me in line becasue his name is on some made up list. I'll personally shove those 6 posters your holding in your hand right up your ass and send you in embarrassment to the back of the line.

...
Note to self: Make sure to get in line AFTER DS1119 at the Gen.adm gig... because staying hydrated means urinating which will lead to a poster colonostrophy.

[DS1119]

Actually I feel that its a shame that there is little chance (~ <1%) of me ever seeing my favorite band up close as i wasn't able to join tenclub at the age of 3. I don't mind seated concerts but why not have the whole floor random so people who don't like GA still get to take a seat and the chance of me ever getting to see mikes fingers moving is not lower than winning the actual lottery. Either that or at least add more random rows to the floor besides the 1,2 and 10 or whatever it is.

I just feel its a shame to music that i will probably never get to see my favorite band up close, which isn't a debate of GA Vs Seating.

I never got to see Stevie Ray Vaughn in concert either. I will also never marry a super model and I'll never be over 6 feet tall. Sometimes life isn't fair. At least you have a chance to be close to a PJ concert with the random rows of 1,2 and 9,10. All I'm saying with my original post is these "excuses" are shallow attempts at people trying to better themselves. That's it.

[sparky_fry]

"but lets call it what it is. An attempt for YOU to have better seats. That's it. It has nothing to do with crowd energy. It has nothing to do with being with friends. It has nothing to do with your height. It has EVERYTHING to do with what YOU feel will give YOU the best shot to be up close. Just saying how it is"

The same can be said for you no?

[Wilds]

Actually I feel that its a shame that there is little chance (~ <1%) of me ever seeing my favorite band up close as i wasn't able to join tenclub at the age of 3. I don't mind seated concerts but why not have the whole floor random so people who don't like GA still get to take a seat and the chance of me ever getting to see mikes fingers moving is not lower than winning the actual lottery. Either that or at least add more random rows to the floor besides the 1,2 and 10 or whatever it is.

I just feel its a shame to music that i will probably never get to see my favorite band up close, which isn't a debate of GA Vs Seating.

5 of the last 5 shows were GA on the floor. I'm pretty sure your can find you way to the front in the future.

If we include Europe it might be something like 20 of the last 20 shows.

[sparky_fry]

Actually I feel that its a shame that there is little chance (~ <1%) of me ever seeing my favorite band up close as i wasn't able to join tenclub at the age of 3. I don't mind seated concerts but why not have the whole floor random so people who don't like GA still get to take a seat and the chance of me ever getting to see mikes fingers moving is not lower than winning the actual lottery. Either that or at least add more random rows to the floor besides the 1,2 and 10 or whatever it is.

I just feel its a shame to music that i will probably never get to see my favorite band up close, which isn't a debate of GA Vs Seating.

4 of the last 5 shows were GA. I'm pretty sure you can find you way to the front in the future.

I could also find my way to the moon, own a yacht, and buy the playboy mansion. Traveling twice as far and spending twice the money isn't an option unfortunately. I also don't know why i got sucked into this topic again

[Cosmo]

I could also find my way to the moon, own a yacht, and buy the playboy mansion. Traveling twice as far and spending twice the money isn't an option unfortunately. I also don't know why i got sucked into this topic again

...
Here is hope... I hope you win the lottery.

[Porchsitter]

While my number isn't great, I've been happy with the seats I've gotten (to include winning the lottery - 10th row - at PJ20). I was also fortunate that, after 9 years, PJ finally played Atlanta and after spending ~12 hours of standing at the front I finally got to see them up close and personal....and it was everything I hoped. And there was no fighting involved (although it was touch and go there before the boys hit the stage. Nothing like a drunken prick to try to ruin what had been a perfect day).

[Cosmo]

You know how to resolve a lot of the issues?
A. No More Lottery.
B. One pair of tickets with your membership number per tour. Period.
...
You can still go to as many shows as as you want... but, you only get one pair that uses your membership number.
That's how it was prior to 2003. We got to pick one show. This made us choose wisely... and it made us pair up with other members so we could split our tickets and get 2 shows (if we want).
Example: my 139,xxx number landed me in the center of the third row in 1998's Yield Tour.
That same number in the same venue in 2006 landed me in Row 14.
Still, a great seat... but, i'll tell you... Row 3 was 1,000 times better.
...
I would also like to see some sort of method where a kid with a 400,000 number who lives in Utah... get a better seat that an old guy with a 139,000 seat flying in from Los Angeles. It is his home... he should sit closer than people flying in from all over the place.
Same thing for the old guy with the 139,000 number should sit closer than the guy from New York with the 45,000 number. The New York guy can go to New York and sit in the front row with that number. That should be good enough.
Granted... a lot of people will still be further back... unless they choose wisely.

[DS1119]

"but lets call it what it is. An attempt for YOU to have better seats. That's it. It has nothing to do with crowd energy. It has nothing to do with being with friends. It has nothing to do with your height. It has EVERYTHING to do with what YOU feel will give YOU the best shot to be up close. Just saying how it is"

The same can be said for you no?

Yup. But I don't hide behind excuses. I'm very fortunate to have the number I have. I've always been very candid about that. I just wish people would stop hiding behind these other excuses when it simply boils down to the fact that they want to be close. It's that simple and that's all that my post states.

[Carey]

I wouldn't say it was fighting... more like you invest the effort, you reap the rewards.
Fighting sound like if you want to punch and claw your way to the front... you deserve it. You should get their early... sit on the sidewalk... get a spot on the rail... don't move from there til Mike finishes the 'Star-Spangled Banner'.
But, i agree with the gist of your point... sacrifice a little... gain alot. What's the problem, right?

If the band chooses to go to GA shows (they won't), but if they did then members better be ready for full on GA. Not these line list Nazis. Not these let me hold your place in line while you go eat and then I'll do the same for you. Bring on the full fledged GA. You move....you lose. Let some bastard try skipping me in line becasue his name is on some made up list. I'll personally shove those 6 posters your holding in your hand right up your ass and send you in embarrassment to the back of the line.

I am not sure you have a completely accurate picture of how the line and the list works. And I have only had one experience with a GA line at Missoula, but here is my take. The first person in line starts the list, everyone signs in and their hand gets numbered accordingly. I arrived at the line around 9:30 AM and was 39th in line at Missoula. I left the line a few different times to use the restroom, but otherwise I was there the entire day. And when I say "line" I mean the area near the 10 club entrance. People were sitting in a grassy area, or sitting on the curb, or sitting in chairs in the general area of the "line", but no one was in a single file line all day. The majority of the people were there all day long. Sure there were some people who signed in and then tried to leave for the entire day and that pissed many of us off. And there were also people who waited in line all day and then suddenly had several friends join them to go in when the doors opened. There were also a couple of people who arrived too late and then just tried to write a random number on their hand (bald guys, you know who you are ). But the majority of the people ushe the system in a fair and respectable manner. If people could just act civilized and respect the system it would all work out fine. But once you get in you also have people pushing their way to the front of you, which fortunately did not happen to me because I have a giant brother and there were some other giant dudes standing near me. I am not against GA, nor am I against the "unofficial" line. The numbering system and list is crucial because people cannot stand in line all day without using the restroom. Sure, a guy could just pee in a bottle or something, but where does that leave the ladies? Also, to step away from the line to get food or drink should not be a big deal either. The tricky part is that people abuse the system, and it leaves people like me who tried to follow the rules somewhat pissed off by the end of the day. All of this is to say, the system can work, and much like everything else in life, some people will just try to fuck it up.

[SolarWorld]

I wouldn't say it was fighting... more like you invest the effort, you reap the rewards.
Fighting sound like if you want to punch and claw your way to the front... you deserve it. You should get their early... sit on the sidewalk... get a spot on the rail... don't move from there til Mike finishes the 'Star-Spangled Banner'.
But, i agree with the gist of your point... sacrifice a little... gain alot. What's the problem, right?

If the band chooses to go to GA shows (they won't), but if they did then members better be ready for full on GA. Not these line list Nazis. Not these let me hold your place in line while you go eat and then I'll do the same for you. Bring on the full fledged GA. You move....you lose. Let some bastard try skipping me in line becasue his name is on some made up list. I'll personally shove those 6 posters your holding in your hand right up your ass and send you in embarrassment to the back of the line.

Well if the people that got there early in line have decided on the list and the venue is enforcing the list anyone trying to cut will get bounced, happened in Montana. Only one embarrassed is going to be you, just like the other people that got bounced out of line that tried to cut before we got in. Venue staff led us all calmly to the floor, it was like we had seats.