Dear Pearl Jam, let's re-think this whole GA thing..

Cosmo

locked wrote:

Cosmo wrote:

Again... these G.A. gigs were my only shot at getting to the front... so I took my shots.
I don't HAVE to be up front... but, if given the opportunity... I'll have a go at it because in the normal seniority situation, I don't get a shot.

Are you forgetting the lottery for rows 1-2?

...
Rows 1 and 2?
How many lotteries have you won?
Me? Zero.

Kathi

Cosmo wrote:

The Pearl Jam floor was Roper Room compared to some General Admission floors... anyone who has been the a Rage gig can attest to that.
People, for the most part are cool and stay in the spot they came in on. Sure, there are always snakes in the pit, but there are snakes in every pit (the worst ones I've ever seen are those little girls at a Weezer show that have little experience in a pit situation... and probably a social situation and think they can squeeze their 38 inch waist into the 4 inches between me and the person in front of me. Go back to Physics class, Missy). But, Pearl Jam crowds are tame. Don't believe me? Go see Green Day or The Red Hot Chili Peppers in a General Admission pit... or worse... Pennywise ot Dropkick Murphys.

all GA sections were super relaxed, with lots of space and room to dance. I don't think I've ever had this much personal space being up front at a rock show.
the people who passed out were not victims of a rough pit, but of their own bad choices (in most cases I've seen, alcohol was the cause of them being dragged out.

People here seem to have a problem with other people's choices. If you don't want GA, pick seats. If you don't want to wait in line, don't. Doesn't mean that there's the need to attack those who like a normal rock show set up, which is just not seated, or who like seeing shows up close. If you're not interested in something, just don't participate, but don't try to shove your point of view down everybody else's throat.

Cosmo

Kathi wrote:

Cosmo wrote:

The Pearl Jam floor was Roper Room compared to some General Admission floors... anyone who has been the a Rage gig can attest to that.
People, for the most part are cool and stay in the spot they came in on. Sure, there are always snakes in the pit, but there are snakes in every pit (the worst ones I've ever seen are those little girls at a Weezer show that have little experience in a pit situation... and probably a social situation and think they can squeeze their 38 inch waist into the 4 inches between me and the person in front of me. Go back to Physics class, Missy). But, Pearl Jam crowds are tame. Don't believe me? Go see Green Day or The Red Hot Chili Peppers in a General Admission pit... or worse... Pennywise ot Dropkick Murphys.

all GA sections were super relaxed, with lots of space and room to dance. I don't think I've ever had this much personal space being up front at a rock show.
the people who passed out were not victims of a rough pit, but of their own bad choices (in most cases I've seen, alcohol was the cause of them being dragged out.

People here seem to have a problem with other people's choices. If you don't want GA, pick seats. If you don't want to wait in line, don't. Doesn't mean that there's the need to attack those who like a normal rock show set up, which is just not seated, or who like seeing shows up close. If you're not interested in something, just don't participate, but don't try to shove your point of view down everybody else's throat.

...
Agreed. There were a couple of people carried over the barricade in the 3 shows i went to. I don't know the specifics, but it could be a lot of things. Maybe they hadn't eaten anything for a while or maybe they drank too much. Maybe they were short and had a tough time breathing (which i've seen happen at other gigs). Who knows?
But, all in all... other than that punk kid that Eddie scolded in San Diego for shoving those gals... or that gal that Eddie yelled at in Los Angeles, the floor was great. Everyone jumped around and sang and had a great time and we pretty much watched out for each other.
General Admission gave everyone an equal chance.

PJ_Soul

It's true that those who need to be pulled out aren't pulled out because of GA being too rough or crowded. They are just dehydrated or hungry or drunk people who made bad decisions in the hours leading up to the show and they fainted or collapsed. There are a few at every show. Silly people. :roll:

Cosmo

PJ_Soul wrote:

It's true that those who need to be pulled out aren't pulled out because of GA being too rough or crowded. They are just dehydrated or hungry or drunk people who made bad decisions in the hours leading up to the show and they fainted or collapsed. There are a few at every show. Silly people. :roll:

...
Right. You have a plan, right?
You eat and drink plenty of water while in line or before the show. You cut off your liquid intake a couple of hours before the doors open because you know that drinking leads to peeing. You find a spot on the floor and you stay there. You drink up a storm after the last song.
...
And if you are short... don't stand in an area where you are surrounded by dudes who tower over you. The air is clammy and stale down there and you are going to have a hard time breathing.

PJ_Soul

Cosmo wrote:

PJ_Soul wrote:

It's true that those who need to be pulled out aren't pulled out because of GA being too rough or crowded. They are just dehydrated or hungry or drunk people who made bad decisions in the hours leading up to the show and they fainted or collapsed. There are a few at every show. Silly people. :roll:

...
Right. You have a plan, right?
You eat and drink plenty of water while in line or before the show. You cut off your liquid intake a couple of hours before the doors open because you know that drinking leads to peeing. You find a spot on the floor and you stay there. You drink up a storm after the last song.
...
And if you are short... don't stand in an area where you are surrounded by dudes who tower over you. The air is clammy and stale down there and you are going to have a hard time breathing.

Exactly! You and me would be well-suited ticket buddies Cosmo.

josevolution

I have plenty of Seniority but i say keep GA i could give two shits i had a great run at the front for many yrs seeing this band up close is not at the fore front of my priority's when it concerns shows , i'd rather meet up with great friends and spend time with them than sit on line for 4plus hrs to get the rail ... So go ahead keep GA , so now it's not the senior members up front anymore but still the same folks who get the rail everysingle night ...

Cosmo

josevolution wrote:

I have plenty of Seniority but i say keep GA i could give two shits i had a great run at the front for many yrs seeing this band up close is not at the fore front of my priority's when it concerns shows , i'd rather meet up with great friends and spend time with them than sit on line for 4plus hrs to get the rail ... So go ahead keep GA , so now it's not the senior members up front anymore but still the same folks who get the rail everysingle night ...

...
Thanx for that, sir.
And yes, I WILL shoot for the rail (while I can). When it just gets to be just too much of a hassle, I'll stop.
...
By the way... how do the same people get General Admission for so many shows? I applied for 3 shows and got 1. My girlfriend applied for 3 show and won 2... and I know people who applied for several (more than 3) and lost all.
...
How does someone apply for a ton of (General Admission) tickets... and win all of them?

PJ_Soul

Cosmo wrote:

josevolution wrote:

I have plenty of Seniority but i say keep GA i could give two shits i had a great run at the front for many yrs seeing this band up close is not at the fore front of my priority's when it concerns shows , i'd rather meet up with great friends and spend time with them than sit on line for 4plus hrs to get the rail ... So go ahead keep GA , so now it's not the senior members up front anymore but still the same folks who get the rail everysingle night ...

...
Thanx for that, sir.
And yes, I WILL shoot for the rail (while I can). When it just gets to be just too much of a hassle, I'll stop.
...
By the way... how do the same people get General Admission for so many shows? I applied for 3 shows and got 1. My girlfriend applied for 3 show and won 2... and I know people who applied for several (more than 3) and lost all.
...
How does someone apply for a ton of (General Admission) tickets... and win all of them?

I doubt they do - they just get their hands on people's spares and do trades, etc when they don't win them.

MG79478

texasistheSTEVEN wrote:

Sorry to pull the "rock credentials" card out but you went there and that is my retort

And if I had called you out on a related topic, maybe said something like you "lack any idea of what makes a good show", you would have been perfectly justified to pull them out.

northerndragon

As someone who got to experience my first concert from the pit I couldn't imagine a better experience. We weren't on the rail but we got close and the people around us were great. There were plenty of people who had to step out for whatever reason and they were let back into the place they came from without any fuss that I saw. GA levels the playing field a little and allows everyone who loves PJ a chance to get close. I can't wait for the next tour and I hope they have GA again and if not I will sit where I sit because I met great people no matter where I was from the pit to the rafters.

Yefa

Eraserhead wrote:

Yefa wrote:

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.

What if the line-check police went off all day drinking and sightseeing....?! :shock: :shock:

How would they possibly conduct the line checks if they were off all day?
I'm saying line checks WERE conducted at all the times I mentioned above...I know because I was there for every one of them.

Yefa

Cosmo wrote:

Eraserhead wrote:

Yefa wrote:

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.

What if the line-check police went off all day drinking and sightseeing....?! :shock: :shock:

...
That's nanny-state line Nazism bullshit. We are fucking ADULTS... we don't need anyone's fantasy of self-imposed authority to oversee us. Those are the assholes that fuck shit up.
Quit being fucking Nazi-esque assholes... that's why people think you are assholes... because you are acting like an asshole.
...
Also... if you want to see the sights of Seattle... get there a day before or stay a day later. Commit the show day to the show.

People did wait out in the cold. There were line checks when you had to be there or you lost your number. There was no one that showed up early, got a good number, then went off & enjoyed Seattle all day only to return for the last line check at 5.
If the numbers were abused in other cities then that sucks. But it didn't happen in Seattle.

OceansJenny

shortstack wrote:

everyone is going to be "for" whatever benefits them personally

locked.

This.

Everyone is me me me me me me. You think this band didn't give enough back to its fans. Did anyone at any point think about what the BAND wants? To them, I'm sure they don't give a crap who's up front. Fans, especially fan club fans, are interchangeable. So your pleas are in vain. And I'm sure a bit petty.

I would speculate that if we asked the BAND, they wanted GA back for the energy. Thats it. And the amount of energy in the GA pit has made a larger impact, I would dare say. Eddie also seems to like to give people with bad seats a chance for good seats (countless evidence during this tour and Eddie's tours where he's upgraded people).

So, does the BAND want the same fan club fans from ten club birth to 1994 in the front all the time? Sorry, if you actually thought about it, I would say no. So sorry you feel entitled to awesome seats every show you go to because you happened to send $5 to the fan club in 1992. I don't think that makes you any more privileged then any of the rest of us who love this band just as much, or even those who may NOT but MAY if they have an experience close to the stage.

acutejam

First and foremost -- GA worked, it just looked and felt like a f'n rock n roll concert should.

As for GA, been there done that, heck just did it at Outside Lands for McCartney for nine hours! But rolling in 10 mins before PJ goes on, taking a pee, grabbing a drink, knowing I have a place to sit for a moment, sweetness. Reserved was my first choice for all six cities I put in for, got 3 I needed, and as I said elsewhere, heck, I woulda done the same if I had GA, roll in 10 mins before curtain and take a spot in the back of GA.... I hope they keep it, I will put GA down first for a few nights and cross my fingers.

GA favors the youthful and I think that's the energy that needs to be there in front. But I am so bringing confetti to my next show, that was soooo well done at Portland! Exploring a city, having a good meal, getting into the venue with low stress and good vibes building, that's my approach these days.

MG79478

OceansJenny wrote:

I would speculate that if we asked the BAND, they wanted GA back for the energy. Thats it.

For what purpose? To offset the fact that they no longer stand the entire show themselves.

dimitrispearljam

Thank you Mike

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwamCGQU7_s

OceansJenny

MG79478 wrote:

OceansJenny wrote:

I would speculate that if we asked the BAND, they wanted GA back for the energy. Thats it.

For what purpose? To offset the fact that they no longer stand the entire show themselves.

The band obviously feeds off the energy of the crowd. To pretend like they don't to support your point is just silly.

SVRDhand13

MG79478 wrote:

OceansJenny wrote:

I would speculate that if we asked the BAND, they wanted GA back for the energy. Thats it.

For what purpose? To offset the fact that they no longer stand the entire show themselves.

But the shows got longer, so they are standing just as much

High Fidelity 2000

The other thing I thought about with GA was that it seemed like there was a lot of wasted/unused space between GA and the reserved floor, which were supposedly ten club members too. It's gotta be weird standing in that front row of reserved seats, and seeing feet and feet of bare floor with nobody standing on it ahead of you, leading up to back of GA pit. Seems like they could have tightened up the space a little more.