The oddest thing i have found in this entire discussion is this...
it seems like the concept of General Admission is something new. It's not. There have been general admission shows since the beginning of concerts. There is nothing new about it.
Could a sticking point be... many Pearl Jam fans have never been to a General Admission show?
GA is cool. But how it is run, especially in the Pearl Jam camp is totally wrong. I've seen many GA show's here in Halifax since Junior High. Maybe it's a Canadian thing but when we line up outside the arena to go indoors, we don't write our names in a book or get our hands numbered. We don't leave our spot for hours to come back expecting to get our original spot in line. That's not how it works here. I haven't been to many non Pearl Jam show's in the USA, but if that's how GA is done there, wow! Just wow!!
For those that want to be up front, you need to be dedicated at heart to be the first in line & wait it out. For hours & hours. And that, you desire your spot up there. What I'm shocked & totally confused is how on the day of the show I'm seeing those folks who get the rail that night are at the pre parties. Hanging out @ the hotel, sitting at Starbucks with their buds or that one in Vancouver where he had to go back to work for a few hours. I'm sorry but that's fucked up! Fucked up indeed!! I am shocked that Pearl Jam & 10club are allowing this. Really. I'm totally shocked.
This is what ruins GA. Well the experience of GA. Pearl Jam Co isn't taken care of it. Is it wrong to hire security outside to monitor the GA line? I'm sure it isn't.
Bottom line is this. I'm ok with Pearl Jam doing GA show's. I really am. Cause with my 10club # , my reserved seat tickets here in the USA / CDN get me sweet up close seats to the stage which is awesome so I can enjoy the show much MUCH more!! Just, take care of the GA folks & put some security for those waiting in line outside. Stop this list & marking bullshit. See what happened in Spokane? You don't want that to happen again ...
Here is my post about my GA experiences in Worcester and Seattle. I chose to go to the preparty in Worcester and line up in Seattle. While I had very different experiences in the two cities, they were both excellent.
I have been to tons of GA shows. With the exception of a select few artists (Drive-By Truckers, Neil Young, My Morning Jacket once, Widespread Panic once), I don't try to get the rail. As I note below, this was my first time on the rail for Pearl Jam.
I had GA for Worcester 2 and Seattle on this tour. I didn't try for the rail in Worcester. I was 10 people from the rail in front of Jeff & had a great time. My friend (who lives in the Seattle area) and I decided to line up early to get close for Seattle. I was a bit concerned about "the list" because of the stories I had read here about people getting great list numbers then enjoying the city and coming back an hour before doors to their old spot in line. I can say that didn't happen in Seattle. There were line checks at specific times (which were announced to all who were there) so all would know when the next one was. If you missed 1 line check you no longer had a number & had to get a new (worse) one if you so chose to get a number again. Here is when the line checks were held: 6am, 9am, 11:30am, 2pm, 4pm, 5pm. As you can see, it would be impossible to go enjoy the tourist sites of Seattle & make it back for the next line check. People were looking out for each other. Donuts and (lots of) coffee were bought for sharing with other fans. I met awesome fans from (among other places) Brazil, Italy, Australia, Canada, Rhode Island, Denver, Ohio, and NYC. I caught up with friends from Chicago I had met on the 1st leg. When it was time to go inside the Key we were walked in. I had the rail between an Italian man and a Brazilian woman. This was my 58th PJ show and my first time on the rail. It was a memorable experience not only for the show (which I loved) but also for the people I shared it with. If GA can be run this way for future USA/Canada shows, then I think it can not only continue but flourish.
You see me empty, Sir, do not pause and inquire, simply assume and refill.
- Al Swearengen
yeah people won't put up with the list¬ebook crap , so here's a message for the list people forgetaboutit ....
Funny thing is , without a list you get all sorts of strange stupid people attaching themselves to you in the queue thinking they are going to get through, thats not the way it works, everyone can see individuals in right place it's obvious
I remember going to see Bob Dylan in London a few years ago and when I arrived I thought hey its 'General admission' so lets see if I can squeeze up a bit closer for a closer look at the old man and no-one would move an inch for me. Not an inch. And they were so fuckin grumpy with it too. I mean what if I was at the bar or had gone out for a piss?
At every other concert for any other band there's always a bit of give and take when it comes to the movement of the crowd - there has to be right? otherwise how can anyone enjoy it? If you get all uppity and mean in your head? How can you smell the flowers when inside your head you are counting little lumps of black coal?
All these old geezers standing around and you could just tell they'd been to every show on the tour and that their 'position' was SO important to them.
You'd see them phoning people right after the gig had ended to record the setlist and such like!
In their spare time I could just imagine them down at clapham junction recording serial numbers of passing trains into little black books
I wonder if some Pearl Jam fans becoming like grumpy Dylanologists?
dublin 1996 london 2000 dublin 2006 prague 2006 copenhagen 2007 london 2007 rotterdam 2009 london 2009 dublin 2010 belfast 2010 vienna 2014 amsterdam 2014 london 2018
I remember going to see Bob Dylan in London a few years ago and when I arrived I thought hey its 'General admission' so lets see if I can squeeze up a bit closer for a closer look at the old man and no-one would move an inch for me. Not an inch. And they were so fuckin grumpy with it too. I mean what if I was at the bar or had gone out for a piss?
At every other concert for any other band there's always a bit of give and take when it comes to the movement of the crowd - there has to be right? otherwise how can anyone enjoy it? If you get all uppity and mean in your head? How can you smell the flowers when inside your head you are counting little lumps of black coal?
All these old geezers standing around and you could just tell they'd been to every show on the tour and that their 'position' was SO important to them.
You'd see them phoning people right after the gig had ended to record the setlist and such like!
In their spare time I could just imagine them down at clapham junction recording serial numbers of passing trains into little black books
I wonder if some Pearl Jam fans becoming like grumpy Dylanologists?
Then they should get rid of GA because too many people take it way too seriously. Seriously.
I remember going to see Bob Dylan in London a few years ago and when I arrived I thought hey its 'General admission' so lets see if I can squeeze up a bit closer for a closer look at the old man and no-one would move an inch for me. Not an inch. And they were so fuckin grumpy with it too. I mean what if I was at the bar or had gone out for a piss?
At every other concert for any other band there's always a bit of give and take when it comes to the movement of the crowd - there has to be right? otherwise how can anyone enjoy it? If you get all uppity and mean in your head? How can you smell the flowers when inside your head you are counting little lumps of black coal?
All these old geezers standing around and you could just tell they'd been to every show on the tour and that their 'position' was SO important to them.
You'd see them phoning people right after the gig had ended to record the setlist and such like!
In their spare time I could just imagine them down at clapham junction recording serial numbers of passing trains into little black books
I wonder if some Pearl Jam fans becoming like grumpy Dylanologists?
Then they should get rid of GA because too many people take it way too seriously. Seriously.
I love GA because you can move around in the arena and experience different views - it's like you can get to see and experience three different concerts all in the one night - whereas if you cling to the rail all night up front, not only are you fuckin exhausted (because you waited and worried in line all day) you just don't get to commune with your fellow jammers!
dublin 1996 london 2000 dublin 2006 prague 2006 copenhagen 2007 london 2007 rotterdam 2009 london 2009 dublin 2010 belfast 2010 vienna 2014 amsterdam 2014 london 2018
I remember going to see Bob Dylan in London a few years ago and when I arrived I thought hey its 'General admission' so lets see if I can squeeze up a bit closer for a closer look at the old man and no-one would move an inch for me. Not an inch. And they were so fuckin grumpy with it too. I mean what if I was at the bar or had gone out for a piss?
At every other concert for any other band there's always a bit of give and take when it comes to the movement of the crowd - there has to be right? otherwise how can anyone enjoy it? If you get all uppity and mean in your head? How can you smell the flowers when inside your head you are counting little lumps of black coal?
All these old geezers standing around and you could just tell they'd been to every show on the tour and that their 'position' was SO important to them.
You'd see them phoning people right after the gig had ended to record the setlist and such like!
In their spare time I could just imagine them down at clapham junction recording serial numbers of passing trains into little black books
I wonder if some Pearl Jam fans becoming like grumpy Dylanologists?
Then they should get rid of GA because too many people take it way too seriously. Seriously.
Don't mistake a few vocal people on the forum as representing the fanbase. I may or may not be including myself in those few
Now that the tour is over and I have read many things about GA and experienced it myself ~ let's call it the experiment of 2013 and go back to rows of seats.
My own experience and have read the same situations over and over.. you get there early, you line up.. there is BS about a "list" ~ people get pissed that you have to have some number on your hand.. so you go along with it because hell you want to get in at number 113 and not 183! You are told we will all line up in one single line and enter this way and then when they call for the doors to be open and there is actually going to be three lines and all hell breaks loose and your number on your hand did not mean crap.. the only people whose numbers seemed to matter were like the first 30 or so.
So you get in the doors and it is a mad scramble to the floor and then you stand for an hour and half ~ waiting for the opening act.. you are already packed in like sardines in a little tin can.. and you know it will only get worst. Standing for 1.5 hours with no entertainment you can start to feel your back or feet saying "yeah ~ right this is going to happen for three more hours.."
Finally the music begans and you realize hey Mudhoney is ok.. and then some asshole decides to push his way into the crowd.. elblowing your neighbor in the face.. hitting the person you came with in the back of the head.. and then it begins.. you are dealing with assholes for the rest of the night trying to push their way up.. they are usually heavily intoxicated and usually some of the biggest jerks you have ever encountered. It makes one wonder what we both see in this band that we both apparently like because these guys are prime jackasses.. they consistantly try getting up closer.. one yells "this is not a reserved concert, this is GA motherfuckers ~ DEAL with it"! This goes on until he decides he needs another beer.. but we all now he will be back during Even Flow!
So, you are doing your best to try enjoy this band you love.. but it is getting hotter and hotter and the oxygen level is less and less and you find you are having kind of a hard time breathing in the packed sardine can because you are packed in so tight to the stage.. You are skin to skin on all for sides of you.. personal space goes out the window.. is this really fun? is this really what adults do?
PLEASE PEARL JAM GIVE US BACK OUR ROWED SEATS! It worked well for years and years.. you could spend the morning in line and meet other fans while you waited for your tickets, you could then go experience some of the town you were in or at least get some dinner.. there was none of this other crap that I experienced at this last show.
I know I am one person, with one opinion but I know I have read other peoples posts that have been similar to mine.. let our voices be heard!
NO TO GA!!!!!
Its been like this for years in Europe for PJ (Tenclub) fans. I think that the American fans got a bit spoiled with the seating .
That said, I like it the way the handle it in Amsterdam: that you have a GA section for the fans only. Out of safety reasons alone, I am not sure why don't have this in every venue. Maybe the venue decides, but PJ could probably pull some demands...
That said, I like it the way the handle it in Amsterdam: that you have a GA section for the fans only. Out of safety reasons alone, I am not sure why don't have this in every venue. Maybe the venue decides, but PJ could probably pull some demands...
Rotterdam in 09 was great also for this - my wife was 5 months pregnant at the time and we were able to safely enjoy the concert from the back of the front pit
dublin 1996 london 2000 dublin 2006 prague 2006 copenhagen 2007 london 2007 rotterdam 2009 london 2009 dublin 2010 belfast 2010 vienna 2014 amsterdam 2014 london 2018
That said, I like it the way the handle it in Amsterdam: that you have a GA section for the fans only. Out of safety reasons alone, I am not sure why don't have this in every venue. Maybe the venue decides, but PJ could probably pull some demands...
Rotterdam in 09 was great also for this - my wife was 5 months pregnant at the time and we were able to safely enjoy the concert from the back of the front pit
I think it has to do with the safety measures in the Netherlands. But like I said, I think that PJ could throw some punches here. To me, for example - even though I like the venue - Wulheide is one big push and pull.
Comments
GA is cool. But how it is run, especially in the Pearl Jam camp is totally wrong. I've seen many GA show's here in Halifax since Junior High. Maybe it's a Canadian thing but when we line up outside the arena to go indoors, we don't write our names in a book or get our hands numbered. We don't leave our spot for hours to come back expecting to get our original spot in line. That's not how it works here. I haven't been to many non Pearl Jam show's in the USA, but if that's how GA is done there, wow! Just wow!!
For those that want to be up front, you need to be dedicated at heart to be the first in line & wait it out. For hours & hours. And that, you desire your spot up there. What I'm shocked & totally confused is how on the day of the show I'm seeing those folks who get the rail that night are at the pre parties. Hanging out @ the hotel, sitting at Starbucks with their buds or that one in Vancouver where he had to go back to work for a few hours. I'm sorry but that's fucked up! Fucked up indeed!! I am shocked that Pearl Jam & 10club are allowing this. Really. I'm totally shocked.
This is what ruins GA. Well the experience of GA. Pearl Jam Co isn't taken care of it. Is it wrong to hire security outside to monitor the GA line? I'm sure it isn't.
Bottom line is this. I'm ok with Pearl Jam doing GA show's. I really am. Cause with my 10club # , my reserved seat tickets here in the USA / CDN get me sweet up close seats to the stage which is awesome so I can enjoy the show much MUCH more!! Just, take care of the GA folks & put some security for those waiting in line outside. Stop this list & marking bullshit. See what happened in Spokane? You don't want that to happen again ...
I have been to tons of GA shows. With the exception of a select few artists (Drive-By Truckers, Neil Young, My Morning Jacket once, Widespread Panic once), I don't try to get the rail. As I note below, this was my first time on the rail for Pearl Jam.
I had GA for Worcester 2 and Seattle on this tour. I didn't try for the rail in Worcester. I was 10 people from the rail in front of Jeff & had a great time. My friend (who lives in the Seattle area) and I decided to line up early to get close for Seattle. I was a bit concerned about "the list" because of the stories I had read here about people getting great list numbers then enjoying the city and coming back an hour before doors to their old spot in line. I can say that didn't happen in Seattle. There were line checks at specific times (which were announced to all who were there) so all would know when the next one was. If you missed 1 line check you no longer had a number & had to get a new (worse) one if you so chose to get a number again. Here is when the line checks were held: 6am, 9am, 11:30am, 2pm, 4pm, 5pm. As you can see, it would be impossible to go enjoy the tourist sites of Seattle & make it back for the next line check. People were looking out for each other. Donuts and (lots of) coffee were bought for sharing with other fans. I met awesome fans from (among other places) Brazil, Italy, Australia, Canada, Rhode Island, Denver, Ohio, and NYC. I caught up with friends from Chicago I had met on the 1st leg. When it was time to go inside the Key we were walked in. I had the rail between an Italian man and a Brazilian woman. This was my 58th PJ show and my first time on the rail. It was a memorable experience not only for the show (which I loved) but also for the people I shared it with. If GA can be run this way for future USA/Canada shows, then I think it can not only continue but flourish.
- Al Swearengen
http://www.cantstoptheserenity.com
- Al Swearengen
http://www.cantstoptheserenity.com
At every other concert for any other band there's always a bit of give and take when it comes to the movement of the crowd - there has to be right? otherwise how can anyone enjoy it? If you get all uppity and mean in your head? How can you smell the flowers when inside your head you are counting little lumps of black coal?
All these old geezers standing around and you could just tell they'd been to every show on the tour and that their 'position' was SO important to them.
You'd see them phoning people right after the gig had ended to record the setlist and such like!
In their spare time I could just imagine them down at clapham junction recording serial numbers of passing trains into little black books
I wonder if some Pearl Jam fans becoming like grumpy Dylanologists?
Then they should get rid of GA because too many people take it way too seriously. Seriously.
I love GA because you can move around in the arena and experience different views - it's like you can get to see and experience three different concerts all in the one night - whereas if you cling to the rail all night up front, not only are you fuckin exhausted (because you waited and worried in line all day) you just don't get to commune with your fellow jammers!
Its been like this for years in Europe for PJ (Tenclub) fans. I think that the American fans got a bit spoiled with the seating
Rotterdam in 09 was great also for this - my wife was 5 months pregnant at the time and we were able to safely enjoy the concert from the back of the front pit
I think it has to do with the safety measures in the Netherlands. But like I said, I think that PJ could throw some punches here. To me, for example - even though I like the venue - Wulheide is one big push and pull.