Question to PJ's Touring Fans

acrossssSsssshittt

jonbond1779 wrote:

OK - something I never really understood - Those of you lucky ones who follow the band on tour, whether it be a US, Europe or elsewhere....

How do you get the time off work and afford to go to all the gigs????

Do you just save up for this special occasion or just super rich???

Seriously - I would love to know!

gotta prioritize priorities... sacrifice ...

Loulou

Hi there, Last year my husband and I decided to go to the Adelaide, Australia concert, then Melbourne and then jetted to New Zealand for their last concert in Christchurch. We really just wanted to get away for a bit after my miscarriage a couple of months before. We didn't really have the money but we both love Pearl Jam and thought it might be a good therapy. As it happened, I was actually pregnant again! Our bubs had come with us to all 3 concerts and I just bought him/her a PJ onesy to celebrate!! So no, we didn't really have the money but jeez what it worth hearing the boys and having a li'l in utero rocker on the way too! xoxoxox :P :P :P :P

loveatree

i'm a preschool teacher, so my paycheck is crap...literally i save, save, save and save for the tour...spend all my money and the cycle continues, i save, save, and save for the next tour...

OceansMagnet

It's fairly simple. You save, sacrifice other forms of entertainment, and skip other vacations. I went to Salt Lake and Philli last year. Both trips were quite affordable. Booked with Southwest and stayed in hotels near the venue that offered free airport shuttle. Ate cheap.. Didn't go overboard at the Merch table.. and voila! I got to see Pearl Jam!! As soon as shows are announced start shopping airfare. If it is fairly reasonable and the shows can work within your other obligations purchase the concert tickets. Then watch the airfares daily. Just be sure to purchase your flight atleast 2 to 3 weeks out. Once the flight is booked get on priceline or orbitz or whatever your travel site of choice is and start looking for deals.. The key here is not to get hung up on a "nice" hotel. Any chain will usually be tolerable. Remember, you probably won't be spending any waking moments at the hotel anyway. If the door locks and the bed and bath are moderately clean then just go with it.. I usually try to limit myself to just an overnight trip flying on the day of the show and returning the following day if my flight to my destination is early enough in the morning to account for airline hazards such as delays or what-not.. I always book the earliest departing flight just incase.. For SLC that meant a 6:10AM central time zone departure for me arriving in SLC at 10:30 in the morning. That can make for a long day and a sleepy Pearl Jam fan.. However, many low to mid-priced hotels (Quality Inn, Days Inn, Best Western, etc.) will allow an early check-in unlike many of those higher priced ones. (Hilton, Westin, Sheraton, Marriott etc). So I usually try to catch a brief nap which is hard to do when you know that they will be soundchecking less than a mile away.. Try to book a room within walking distance or a very short cab ride to the venue.. No rental car means HUGE money savings.. Hope that helps you..

Blind3

I take out a SIP loan , which I pay back thru pay/roll deductions, and finance as many Pearl Jam and Gogol Bordello shows as I can . See the world and rock like a mutha !!!

tony locantro

In the early 1990's I guess most of us were into our first jobs and the well on the career path. Now in my late 30's I got myself educated and work hard as a stockbroker and write books/articles as a hobby. I found the ability to enjoy taking PJ tours came from being able to take calculated risks on say a gold or oil company that might drill into a mine or a gusher. The press doesn't give much attention to this, but a lucky hit and you get there!. The odds of winning lotto here are 55m to one, so you need to look elsewhere but it can indeed be done.

The other advice would be to stop wasting money on cars. I reckon the thrill of a PJ concert outlasts the feeling you get when you sign up for a new car. I learnt my lesson, took the pain and downgraded my new car to a much cheaper one and a bus. Being middle class and normal is very expensive as the Government doesn't give you anything. Everytime I catch the bus with a young muso he takes the piss out of my suit. My response and always is, "Well this suit keeps me in vintage guitars and Pearl Jam tours". Sure Gen Y think education and work is not cool, but how the hell are they going to pay for Keisha or Jay Z tours? Home ownership is now well beyond teachers, Police or nurses so I guess we will have to put them up for longer and foot the bills.

I don't fall for that business class rubbish either. Just pick a plane with a galley and a bar and go cattle Those biz class seats are not really conducive to the mile high club anyway. Having a tad extra leg room and a $20 dinner doesn't justify the cost. I am sure Luthansa, Aer Lingus, and Iberia are good airlines.
Bring on the tour!

SOLAT319

luvisatower wrote:

I teach at University and have summers off which is how I get the time to tour from May to August
I can usually take some time off during the school year as well but only one or two days at a time.

I usually teach a boatload of overload hours to afford the tour and save what I make from that to use for the tour

That's how I do it

And she's a KICKASS ROOMIE!!

SOLAT319

Chrisilein wrote:

Pearl Jam is our hobby, our life, almost everything beside our jobs, monthly costs and family! Therefore we do not spend money for other reasons...

That's me right there...

Oh and I don't really spend all that much money on memorabilia crap either. I just spend my money on TOUR.

Sian-of-the-dead

I have 25 days holiday a year.

When the Euro tour was announced, I booked off all work days from the beginning to the end of the tour in June to ensure I got it (holiday can be competitive at work). Myself and my boyfriend then sat down, worked out the dates we were definately doing and then I went into work and cancelled the days I didn't need.

We're doing the first 5 tour dates but staying for 3 days in both Amsterdam and Berlin to make it more of a holiday. We're not having an annual holiday... just a tour!

I'm only in work for 11 days in June thanks to PJ and Rage Against The Machine

It's probably costing more than a big annual holiday to be honest... we've paid for it all on a credit card and we work full time, earning more than enough to pay it off in a couple of months, so why not eh? In order to pay it off we're sacrificing all social events from April through to June. It's what you have to do...

Hinn

Hostels and couches and floor space, not hotels
Budget airlines, not full service
Not living in the states = more annual leave from work
Telling the employer from the outset that if they want to employ me, they need to know I will go when tour time rolls around.
Sharing all the goodies amongst touring friends, so many of them, helps cuts costs down too.

Sian-of-the-dead

Hinn wrote:

Hostels and couches and floor space, not hotels
Budget airlines, not full service
Not living in the states = more annual leave from work
Telling the employer from the outset that if they want to employ me, they need to know I will go when tour time rolls around.
Sharing all the goodies amongst touring friends, so many of them, helps cuts costs down too.

Good point. We also take budget airlines and we even booked some flights in the new year sale to save even more cash. We're staying at a friend's house instead of costly hotel in Nijmegen and the rest are cheap hotels and special offers.

Friends are in invaluable at tour time :thumbup:

Jennytree

I get 20 days holidays a year, but you'd be surprised how long you can get away for on that, especially if shows are on over the weekends. I also get one flexiday a month as long as I work up the hours. I'm sure if I wanted to take unpaid leave, my work wouldn't have a problem with it so long as nobody else on my team was off at the same time (there are 4 of us, only one of us can be off at any time). For 3 weeks in June/July, I took 13 days holidays and 2 flexidays (one for June, one for July).

Regarding money? I buy tickets on credit card, then pay it off. Then book flights, pay them off etc... it's much better for me to buy things bit by bit instead of buying everything at once. I can also get overtime approved, and work up a bit of that.

Also, flights are cheap around Europe as are trains and depending on the country, hotels.

SOLAT319

Sian-of-the-dead wrote:

It's what you have to do...

this...

pjsyco

I support my Pearl Jam touring addiction with a second job: porn. I've done a few smut films under the moniker Shadowwood Midnight.....might want to check me out. I'm pretty good.

Hub.

pjsyco wrote:

I support my Pearl Jam touring addiction with a second job: porn. I've done a few smut films under the moniker Shadowwood Midnight.....might want to check me out. I'm pretty good.

dimitrispearljam

pjsyco wrote:

I support my Pearl Jam touring addiction with a second job: porn. I've done a few smut films under the moniker Shadowwood Midnight.....might want to check me out. I'm pretty good.

:thumbup: ..u are good indeed...

dimitrispearljam

Hub. wrote:

by the way now i see u..which is the link for buy tic online for train in France..i want the line Paris - Arras
and Arras - Brussels.i found the train hours,but no the buy on line..
thanks

Hub.

Generally, you can buy your tics there.

This is the official SNCF (Société Nationale des Chemins de Fers Français) site.

You have to fill:

1 Où et quand souhaitez-vous partir ?
Start
Destination
Via (as you can see, it's optional and, according to me, you won't need it).
Date and time
Wether it's a one way trip (Aller simple) or a round trip (Aller/Retour)
No need to tick the following box.

2 Qui participe à ce voyage ?
The Number of passengers + voucher code (if you have one, which never happened to me )
Your age
Don't care about the two following boxes, they only concern season tickets.

3 Comment souhaitez-vous voyager ?
Choose between Economy Class (2e classe) or First Class (1e classe)

Then, select the country you want your tickets to be sent (Sélectionnez le pays de réception ou de retrait des billets). For you: GRECE

Then, click on Search (RECHERCHER)

A few seconds later, you'll be invited to choose your train(s).

Good luck.

dimitrispearljam

Hub. wrote:

Generally, you can buy your tics there.

This is the official SNCF (Société Nationale des Chemins de Fers Français) site.

You have to fill:

1 Où et quand souhaitez-vous partir ?
Start
Destination
Via (as you can see, it's optional and, according to me, you won't need it).
Date and time
Wether it's a one way trip (Aller simple) or a round trip (Aller/Retour)
No need to tick the following box.

2 Qui participe à ce voyage ?
The Number of passengers + voucher code (if you have one, which never happened to me )
Your age
Don't care about the two following boxes, they only concern season tickets.

3 Comment souhaitez-vous voyager ?
Choose between Economy Class (2e classe) or First Class (1e classe)

Then, select the country you want your tickets to be sent (Sélectionnez le pays de réception ou de retrait des billets). For you: GRECE

Then, click on Search (RECHERCHER)

A few seconds later, you'll be invited to choose your train(s).

Good luck.

maybe we tour together to help me in France ..if u are a girl u can sleep in my hotel,,
thanks alot..for all the help..

PaddYank

The only time I really toured around to see Pearl Jam was when I flew from Dublin to London to see their two shows at Wembley Arena in 2000. I supported that mainly by having 2 jobs for the few months previous. I quit the second job shortly before those PJ gigs and going to the gigs was my way of celebrating my liberation from the shitty second job. I also went to the Point gig shortly after the London gigs.

Since they've I've only gone or will go to see Pearl Jam at their Dublin shows. For the upcoming Dublin show, I only need to hop on the Luas just 'round the corner from my place and take it all the way to the end at the Point stop.

Jennytree

PaddYank wrote:

Since they've I've only gone or will go to see Pearl Jam at their Dublin shows. For the upcoming Dublin show, I only need to hop on the Luas just 'round the corner from my place and take it all the way to the end at the Point stop.

Would you not think of getting the train to Belfast? It'd only cos you about €50 extra!

Hub.

dimitrispearljam wrote:

maybe we tour together to help me in France ..if u are a girl u can sleep in my hotel,,
thanks alot..for all the help..

Sorry dude! I'm a guy.

And i'm only going to London because I can't attend many shows (I haven't got a flexible agenda) and, to me, flying from Poitiers to London is faster and more convenient than going to Arras by train (and there's nothing to see there, whereas in London, I'll go shopping in Oxford street).

PaddYank

Jennytree wrote:

PaddYank wrote:

Since they've I've only gone or will go to see Pearl Jam at their Dublin shows. For the upcoming Dublin show, I only need to hop on the Luas just 'round the corner from my place and take it all the way to the end at the Point stop.

Would you not think of getting the train to Belfast? It'd only cos you about €50 extra!

I've got a daughter at home so I can only really manage one gig these days. We did bring her to the last gig but she was "in progress" then.

SpinTheBlackCircle74

Hub. wrote:

dimitrispearljam wrote:

maybe we tour together to help me in France ..if u are a girl u can sleep in my hotel,,
thanks alot..for all the help..

Sorry dude! I'm a guy.

And i'm only going to London because I can't attend many shows (I haven't got a flexible agenda) and, to me, flying from Poitiers to London is faster and more convenient than going to Arras by train (and there's nothing to see there, whereas in London, I'll go shopping in Oxford street).

Oxford street is expensive and overrated. You should visit Camden Market and buy some cool DC Martens :-) Amazing Place

dimitrispearljam

SpinTheBlackCircle74 wrote:

Oxford street is expensive and overrated. You should visit Camden Market and buy some cool DC Martens :-) Amazing Place

or shoot your new tattoo

Hub.

Don't worry, I often go to london (maybe twice or three times a year) and I've spent many times in Camden (I and think I'll go back there again), but there's a huge choice of Jelly Belly's at Selfridges.