Scoring GA For First Time

joseph33

Looking for some advice from some of you who were lucky enough to score GA from past shows. Around what time is good to pick up the tickets? How long do you wait in line until doors open? How do you buy merch at the tent without losing your place in line?

CW55354

Depends on which shows, but early morning gets you a good place. In Detroit last tour I got there around 11am and got about 4 rows back in front of Ed. The crowd rushes to Mike's side so unless you are one of the 1st in line, you will be farther back on that side. Best way to get merch is have your +1 stand in that line as you get in the GA line. He or she can have your merch in hand and can then save your place on the GA line while you pick up your wrist band when the box office will call opens. What's cool is if you get there early, you will get to know your line mates and they will save your place for bathroom breaks, etc. I would use the lottery odds as a judge to see how high demand is and base arrival time on that. Toronto, NYC AND Philly get there at dawn. The greater odds shows, probably closer to noon and you would still get a good location. I've only gotten lucky in the lottery a few times, so more seasoned fans may have better advice.

PJNB

CW55354 said:

Depends on which shows, but early morning gets you a good place. In Detroit last tour I got there around 11am and got about 4 rows back in front of Ed. The crowd rushes to Mike's side so unless you are one of the 1st in line, you will be farther back on that side. Best way to get merch is have your +1 stand in that line as you get in the GA line. He or she can have your merch in hand and can then save your place on the GA line while you pick up your wrist band when the box office will call opens. What's cool is if you get there early, you will get to know your line mates and they will save your place for bathroom breaks, etc. I would use the lottery odds as a judge to see how high demand is and base arrival time on that. Toronto, NYC AND Philly get there at dawn. The greater odds shows, probably closer to noon and you would still get a good location. I've only gotten lucky in the lottery a few times, so more seasoned fans may have better advice.

What is the will call? The tenclub ticket booth? And what time does this become available usually?

CW55354

Will call is where you will pick up your tickets and wrist band. Usually opens in the afternoon. The GA line will start several hours before that. If you got reserved seats you don't have to worry about that. You will get info regarding what time will call opens. Used to be your fan club # only determined which "block" of seats you got for reserved, so getting there early even for reserved got you better seats within that block, but I think that has changed and your seats will be pre-determined for reserved.

bootlegger10

Will call usually opens at 2pm or 3pm. People in the GA line will hold your spot while you get tickets and go to the bathroom. You should get a plus one for merch though as merch lines can last hours and that is too long to leave the GA line.

Most shows you can walk in when doors open and be within 5 rows of Mike or Stone, so if you don't need front row then save yourself 5-10 hours and enjoy your spot 4 feet behind someone who camped out overnight.

If you want front row at the big cities you probably need to get in line the night before. At the smaller shows it will probably need to be sometime before 8am. The times I got front row I got to the line at 11am and about 2pm, so nothing is certain. Some people in line want to be in front of Ed so they can get four deep in front of Ed before front row fills up on the ends.

PJNB

Thanks for the pointers. I am going back in forth if it is worth it to wait or enjoy the day and I do not even have GA tickets yet. Talk about putting the cart before the horse.

bootlegger10

Nothing wrong with spending the day in line if you want to do front row. It is the ones that do it every show are the strange ones.

waupaca11

depends where you want to be on the floor. I did GA at the LA shows in 2013 and I got there 30min before showtime. I wasn't looking for being at the barricade (did that enough in my teens and 20s). I wanted to be around the energy of the floor but have room to sip my wine and enjoy the show. I hung on Stone's side, 40ft from the stage or show. Cool vibe and everyone on the floor was super cool.

If you want to be up close, do the line waiting thing. If you just want to be in GA and still have a good line of sight show up 30-60 min before showtime.

IamTom

bootlegger10 said:

Nothing wrong with spending the day in line if you want to do front row. It is the ones that do it every show are the strange ones.

I do believe you've just left the door open to a mention of the Strangest Tribe

Mignelli14

What time roughly does the merch bus open up? And would people in line be willing to hold your spot while you're there?
Although I think I'd rather have a good spot in the pit than a poster or shirt I'd have to hang on to all night anyways.

CW55354

Usually the merch bus opens around 11, but line forms much earlier. If you are with someone it's best to have one of you guys go so the other holds your place, but if you make friends with your neighbors, there's usually not a problem. Most of the time I've stood in GA line, everybody looks out for each other. If you know anybody with reserved tickets, you can always have them buy your stuff. Buy them a beer or stickers for their inconvenience. Then they can put it in their car so you don't have to worry about it.

ldent42

bootlegger10 said:

Will call usually opens at 2pm or 3pm. People in the GA line will hold your spot while you get tickets and go to the bathroom. You should get a plus one for merch though as merch lines can last hours and that is too long to leave the GA line.

Most shows you can walk in when doors open and be within 5 rows of Mike or Stone, so if you don't need front row then save yourself 5-10 hours and enjoy your spot 4 feet behind someone who camped out overnight.

If you want front row at the big cities you probably need to get in line the night before. At the smaller shows it will probably need to be sometime before 8am. The times I got front row I got to the line at 11am and about 2pm, so nothing is certain. Some people in line want to be in front of Ed so they can get four deep in front of Ed before front row fills up on the ends.

This. 100000000000000000000x this.

There's really no sense is waiting in the GA line all day unless you are hell bent on being in the first two rows.

dmbolp

joseph33 said:

Looking for some advice from some of you who were lucky enough to score GA from past shows. Around what time is good to pick up the tickets?

I like 6:42

mcgruff10

I had ga at brooklyn 1 in 2013. I think the show started around 8:30 and I entered the ga area at about 8:15. I was no more than 8 people away from Stone.

gotthebottle

PJNB said:

Thanks for the pointers. I am going back in forth if it is worth it to wait or enjoy the day and I do not even have GA tickets yet. Talk about putting the cart before the horse.

This is something you can decide a couple days before the show...

Mignelli14

CW55354 said:

Usually the merch bus opens around 11, but line forms much earlier. If you are with someone it's best to have one of you guys go so the other holds your place, but if you make friends with your neighbors, there's usually not a problem. Most of the time I've stood in GA line, everybody looks out for each other. If you know anybody with reserved tickets, you can always have them buy your stuff. Buy them a beer or stickers for their inconvenience. Then they can put it in their car so you don't have to worry about it.

Thanks for the reply! I'll be alone for my first 2 of my trip around. Getting merch and being a bit away vs not getting anything but being right up front are not exactly life or death decisions then. I'll be able to make the call day of without losing sleep over it.

ham_on_rye

I had GA in Memphis 2013 and had a great spot on Mikes side about 6 rows back 30 minutes before show. The merch line was a different story.They had an announcement on this site regarding what time the merch booth would open for each show. I read stories of crazy lines so I was there 2 hours early and was about 10th in line. Very much worth it. At one point they ran out of posters and split the line in two so people could wait for the re-supply and that turned into a big cluster fuck. There was hundreds of people in line, they must have waited forever!