How do you do a whole tour?

Satans Red Mosquito

I have wondered how some ppl follow them from sea to shining sea? Even people that follow a 5 or 6 show stretch, do you all fly from town to town, fly into one place rent a car and fly home from the last city? I'm curious, because I'd like to try to 5 or 6 shows next time, and wanna see what's the cheapest way to do and logical way.

MayDay10

I got to 4 shows. Should/could have been 5

Travelling economically. (i prefer driving)
Save off days at you employer in case a tour is announced
Staying at home or with friends is a bonus... if not 10c provided some GREAT hotel deals this tour.

Multiple shows in a city or in close proximity as well as weekend shows are a bonus...

its all about getting a tour layed out and planning.

josevolution

I try to just do like 4 or 5 shows that are close to each other so i can drive to all of them ..

South of Seattle

Borrow money that you don't pay back from other fans.

Borrow money from your family.

Flip posters for ticket money.

Mooch food and rides off of people.

Spend the money you would pay for bills for the shows and go into debt.

Have a kickass job or sell drugs

Get your 10c tickets, scalp them and get better tickets from those at the pre-party for face

----
I've seen all of these happen :twisted:

MG79478

1. Live on the East Coast, preferably Pennsylvania, the best state to see the band. (PA=PJ)
2. Buy wife flowers
3. Go to College
3a. Make enough money to support your habit
3b. Make friends who you can go visit and crash in various cities.
4. Save vacation for the tour
5. Buy wife flowers
6. Go to all shows on week nights within a ~3 hour drive
7. Go to all weekend shows within ~5 hour drive or short flight, stay with college friends
8. Buy wife flowers
9. Have decent 10c number to attract friends to make week night trips with you
10. Fast internet connection for scoring 10C or TM tickets.

theserialthrilla

points 3,5 and 8 can be skipped but at pain of death

catscheller

Great thread topic! I've been wondering this myself. Although, I suppose that living in Columbus, it would have been possible for me to hit at least the Noblesville and Cleveland shows in addition to the Columbus show I went to. If, you know, I had actually planned ahead or something.

My dream would be to win the lottery and follow them to attend every single show around the world.

RockMama

This time I did 7 shows and drove between them from Kansas City to Virginia. Sometimes (like last year), I fly and rent a car (Seattle through Portland). Just depends upon where they are. I did Canada in 3 separate legs. Flew to the west coast ones, drove all over at the middle ones and flew to Newfoundland. If it is good weather, I camp. I also look for cheap hotels (not the expensive ones right next to the venue) like Motel 6, Red Roof and America's Best Value Inn, etc. If you drive you can bring your food with you (and a cooler & hot plate). Sometimes I make it a game, trying to do it as cheap as I possibly can. You can go to shows like Kansas City and St. Louis way cheaper than Madison Square Garden and you have better tickets too. I make a notebook of all the travel information, to keep everything organized and start looking for deals as soon as the tickets go on sale.

Brisk.

Satans Red Mosquito wrote:

I have wondered how some ppl follow them from sea to shining sea? Even people that follow a 5 or 6 show stretch, do you all fly from town to town, fly into one place rent a car and fly home from the last city? I'm curious, because I'd like to try to 5 or 6 shows next time, and wanna see what's the cheapest way to do and logical way.

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=125256

SPEEDY MCCREADY

South of Seattle wrote:

Borrow money that you don't pay back from other fans.

Borrow money from your family.

Flip posters for ticket money.

Mooch food and rides off of people.

Spend the money you would pay for bills for the shows and go into debt.

Have a kickass job or sell drugs

Get your 10c tickets, scalp them and get better tickets from those at the pre-party for face

----
I've seen all of these happen :twisted:

Oh cmon....

There are nothing but angels here on the message pit.

long road walker

it depends on where they play, I live in DC/VA now, so i did Bristow , I am from NY , i could only do MSG II, could of done 1 & Newark, Hartford was a Sat so that was doable

2008 -I did both MSG, Hartford & Mansfield II

it helps i have good friends in Boston, Philly also & a ton in NY so i have places to stay,

drsluggo

I was fortunate enough to have a job where I get a bunch of frequent flyer miles so the flights and hotels were free. So I was able to fly out for each 'cluster' of shows and really just had to pay for tickets, food and the rental car/shuttle.

The only downside was I had to work at the hotels so my job would allow me to be gone, but that's a small price to pay for 12 amazing shows.

My wife was also quite forgiving in that she only got to see 4 of the shows... I dont know that she will offer up the idea of going to that many shows ever again though.

Sian-of-the-dead

Myself and my boyfriend are doing 5 shows, in 5 different countries: Dublin, Belfast, London, Nijmegen and Berlin.

For Dublin we booked UBER cheap (as in £11 return for both of us) flights to Belfast. We were due to book the train down to Dublin for the following Belfast show but instead a very generous friend has offered us a lift (We will be paying petrol money). We're staying at a hotel in Dublin that we got cheap through searching t'interwebs. The deal includes breakfast so we don't have to eat much during the day, thus saving valuable cash.

We have a lift back up to Belfast and a cheap, basic hotel for one night.

We fly back to England and then spend our free night at home, eating our own food and sleeping in our own bed.

London is a £10 each train down to Euston station on the day of the show. We're staying in a very cheap Easy hotel (minus the window, that costs extra) for one night.

The following day we fly to Amsterdam on a cheap sale flight. The same generous friend as before has offered us his spare room at his house in Amsterdam so accomodation is sorted.

To get to Berlin we're taking the train to Dusseldorf and then a flight to Berlin from there. This was considerably cheaper.

In Berlin we have a nice hotel (another online bargain) for 3 nights. We then fly back to East Midlands airport in the dead of night on 2nd July as flights were dirt cheap for that time and that airport...


Myself and my boyfriend both work full time and are both current members of Tenclub. We have no children.

Both our lift and accomodation were offered to us by a generous friend and not asked for.

I get 26 days holiday a year and he gets 20... the tour has used 10 each.

We have saved like crazy for these past few months and told various friends 'no' when invited to events as we know we have the tour to pay for.

The show tickets at the time were put on a credit card as the tour was announced just before Christmas and we were skint. That has since been paid off.

I have sold of the possessions I don't need, on Ebay.

We have had no financial help.



...And that, my dear, is how we do a 5 date stint on a PJ European tour.

Get_Right

Drive to shows (within a two or three hour drive only)
Tailgate instead of bar hopping and eating at restaurants
Buy nothing inside the venue, maybe one beer or water
Never book hotels unless its a festival like lolla.
Im saving my pennies for the next Japanese tour.

JaneNY

East Coast - yes - we're in upstate, and within a 500 mile drive, the following cities are available: New York,Albany, Hartford, Newark, Boston, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal,Quebec C., London, Kitchener, Philly, Pittsburgh, which pretty much covers it. If you want to stretch a bit more, Cleveland, though I've never seen PJ in Cleveland. Just got our own little hub and spoke system up here. I don't spend for flying - I've I lived elsewhere I'd have to. If there's a 20th anniversary show however, wherever it is, I'll try to go.

I don't do a whole tour, but I save and go to as many as possible (4-6 usually). I eat cheap (my whole NYC trip last weekend, we ate in a restaurant once; the rest was stuff off carts and corner shops, eaten in places like Bryant Park). I'm not a drinker, so I don't spend money on booze (yeah I know the majority doesn't think thats a waste of $$ heh). I park cheap. I stay in cheap hotels whenever possible. (In NYC I paid under $100 per night - hostel type places offer this if you don't mind a shared bathroom for example). Not only for Pearl Jam, but its a whole life philosophy - its not about being a miser on everything but its about saving when possible, not wasting money on things that aren't that meaningful to you, so you have the funds for the things that are important.

Flowers - my husband doesn't care about them heh, but he does like Indian sweets/snacks, so I always bring some back from wherever I've been! (He's not that into western music so not interested in going to shows)

TunnelThroughDenial

Get a job as a field sales rep covering a big chunk of the country and plan customer visits and business trips that just happen to coincide with tour dates so flights and hotels are free

CantKeepmedown

Did a big run back in 2000. 8 shows in 10 days. Starting in Cincy and all the way through to Mansfield.

My buddy and I left Maine in the middle of the night and drove to Cincy. We met some guys from Detroit at the show. They agreed to let us stay with them, and in return, we let them stay with us in Columbus the next night.

We spent 2 nights total in his van (or driving through the night, at least). The other nights were either crashing at friends houses or splitting hotels with friends (we crammed 6 of us in a hotel room after Jones Beach 1-2).

We stopped along the way at supermarkets and bought bread and sandwich meat,and beer/soda/water. Never really went to any bars, every show was tailgating.

Remarkably, we got through it pretty cheap (the biggest expense was tickets to 8 shows). Considering we partied like rock stars for 11 straight days, I can't believe we made it home alive.

It's hard now (with tickets and gas even more expensive). Plus, I was 24 back then. 33 now......I just did Hartford and Boston this tour and was exhausted.

UpSideDown

my biggest hurdle is getting time off from work...........only have 10 vacation days a year, and I cant take ends of months or quarters.

PJ is really the only thing I blow my money on......Im pretty thrifty when it comes to other purchases.

The # of shows I try to go to each year just keeps growing though

dimitrispearljam

im doing Dublin,Belfast,London,Nijmegen,Berlin,Arras,Werchter,Venice,Bilbao,Lisbon...

starting at 20-6-2010,go back home at 11-7-2010

Here we go:
Volos - Athens /train
Athens - London /flight
London - Dublin /flight
Dublin - Belfast /train
Belfast - London/ flight
London - Amsterdam /Flight
Amsterdam - Leiden /train
Leiden Nijmegen /train
Nijmegen - Vlaardingen /car
Vlaardingen - Leiden /train
Leiden - Amsterdam /train
Amsterdam - Berlin /train
Berlin - Paris /flight
Paris - Arras /train
Arras - Werchter /train
Werchter - Brussels /train
Brussels - Venice /flight
Venice - Barcelona /flight
Barcelona - Bilbao /flight
Bilbao - Madrid /bus
Madrid - Lisbon /flight
Lisbon - Barcelona /flights
Barcelona - Athens /flight
Athens Volos /train

i dont really know whats it gonna cost but the moto is
First PEARL JAM and after the BANK

all i need is this

megatron

i looked at this thread and thought more about health than money.

i went to 3 shows this year and am near death. in a fuzz. life seems pointless.

pretty convinced if i did a whole tour i'd end up dead

FenwayFaithful

I've wondered this myself. I've been to 18 shows, all of them in New England. Always wanted to travel, never really had the means.

dimitrispearljam

jones wrote:

i looked at this thread and thought more about health than money.

i went to 3 shows this year and am near death. in a fuzz. life seems pointless.

pretty convinced if i did a whole tour i'd end up dead

i know that after Belfast i will not be able to speak,and after Berlin,to walk...

dottles

I’m going to six shows on the Euro tour, Dublin. Belfast, London, Berlin, Arras and Werchter then stopping off on the way home in Manchester to see The Black keys.

I am in a lucky position I guess, I am single with no dependants and currently live with family, so although I pay rent, it is not market value and it includes household bills/food. I work hard, and earn a very good wage so have a fair amount of free cash. I get 32 days annual leave a year, plus the 8 English bank holidays and can accrue an additional 24 days flexi days off a year if there is a business need for me to work over my 37 hour week.

I knew I wanted to go to multiple shows and decided to do six if possible. When I knew the dates of the tour I put in an advance request for 15 days annual leave to my boss, which was approved, so I went ahead and bought the tickets.
My parents very kindly gave me the money to cover the cost of the six PJ show tickets as my Christmas present. I am using another members 10C spare for Dublin, and he is using mine for Belfast, another 10c friend is having my spare for Berlin and one of my oldest friends from home is using my spare for London.

I scanned the net for cheap flights as soon as the tickets were confirmed and was able to get some absolute bargains.
I am staying in hotels for the 17 nights I am away, which is the most expensive way to do it I know, but it is what I wanted, and the average is £60 per night B&B. Plus, I wanted to see some of the cities so have extended my stays.
In order to pay for my hotels and any other spending I have been saving a quarter of my monthly pay since January, I am hoping not to spend all the moneyy I've saved but wanted to know that I had it there. It has meant that I have curbed my spending on other things and althoughI have gone out with friends I've done things like caught the bus home costing £4 rather than getting a taxi which costs £25. It is my birthday the week before the tour and my family are giving me Euros as my present. My friends are buying me other bits and bobs to take away with me.

My itinerary is – My best mate is taking me from home to Newquay Airport, flight from Newquay to Dublin, 3 nights in Dublin in a guest house, train to Belfast, 1 night in Belfast in Premier Inn, flight to London, 2 nights in London in a hotel, flight to Berlin, 5 nights in Berlin in Motel One hotel, flight to Paris, 1 night in Paris in a hostel, train to Arras, 2 nights in Arras in a hotel, lift from Arras to Leuven, 1 night in Leuven/Werchter in a hotel, train to Brussels and then flight to Manchester, 2 nights in Manchester in a hotel, flight to Newquay, my Mum is picking me up from the airport and taking me home

I know I am very lucky, and my parents were lovely to give me the money for my tickets (my brother got the same amount of cash). I don't know if I will ever be in the position to do this again, so decided to grab it now whilst I could. I would love to be in the position of having a family and a mortgage, but that's not me right now, so following PJ for a few weeks it is

CServant

A decent paying gov't job as well as a cool wife made it possible for me. Did 6 shows this time around by car, which is a great way to see the country. My only gripe was the back-and-forth from Columbus, back to Indy, then on to Cleveland. The shows actually break-up the driving pretty nicely. Went to baseball games in CLE, PIT, STL, and KC to break-up the trip back home. 72 vacation hours and a personal day is all it took from work.

riffrandall

Quit the job you hate & go full tilt after a job that will pay you to travel to see bands.

gndcd402

UpSideDown wrote:

my biggest hurdle is getting time off from work...........only have 10 vacation days a year, and I cant take ends of months or quarters.

PJ is really the only thing I blow my money on......Im pretty thrifty when it comes to other purchases.

The # of shows I try to go to each year just keeps growing though

sucks working here in the US eh? i have 10 days too and would much rather use my time off on something other than pj

in eds tree

i'm lucky on the job front, i have a job that is flexible and i can pretty much take off whenever i want, as long as i can afford it. it's a shitty job, but i work to live not live to work and all that jazz.

i saved up some $, flew into kansas city from denver, rocked out, met a bunch of cool people, woke up the next morning and took the amtrak to st. louis (dropped me off right in front of the venue and my hotel, that was awesome!) then flew home from there. worked a couple weeks to save up more $$, then flew into nyc where i stayed in a hostel for $43 a night in times square. went to newark, msg 1, and msg2.

other than vacations/concerts, i'm kind of a tightwad with my money. i save it all up then blow it all at once :P but it was worth it. now i just have to worry about the come down...

RKCNDY

Surprised I have not seen 'Rent an RV and GO!'. I am unemployed right now, but, I gave up so many concerts in the last 5 years (besides PJ, we used to average 20 concerts a year) so it's ok (that job only gave me 50 hours of vacay a year). Reading this post, I thought, we have an all inclusive camper (real head & shower, sitting area, bed, stove/oven, fridge, tv/DVD, heater), on the next tour, just take the camper from venue to venue, save on hotels and cook for ourselves instead of eating out. Feels so Grateful Dead! So maybe I'd have to splurge on a hotel once in a while....

SentimentalOrnament

I did every show but 1 this tour and was unemployed.

Save your money for future tours, Priceline hotels or stay w/ friends, book the cheapest flight to your start location and ride with friends and chip in on gas money.


I've always thought an RV would be a great way to do the next tour. Get a tour bus that sleeps 24 people, hire a driver, split the costs, grill out every night.

milan

Make sure you have Platinum Amex card.
Take one month off work
Fly London to Perth business class.
Perth to Sydney to Brisbane Qantas economy
Fly Brisbane to London business class
Stay in 5 star hotels all the way.
Have greatest holiday ever.
Keep the economy of the world ticking over
Hey the UK, Greece, Spain, Portugal etc are up to their eyes in debt and the money I have saved is for me and the wife and kids and we are spending it.
Just keep laughing.

See you in Europe folks.

dimitrispearljam

milan wrote:

Make sure you have Platinum Amex card.
Take one month off work
Fly London to Perth business class.
Perth to Sydney to Brisbane Qantas economy
Fly Brisbane to London business class
Stay in 5 star hotels all the way.
Have greatest holiday ever.
Keep the economy of the world ticking over
Hey the UK, Greece, Spain, Portugal etc are up to their eyes in debt and the money I have saved is for me and the wife and kids and we are spending it.
Just keep laughing.

See you in Europe folks.

see u soon brother!!