Unsolicited Opinion from a 27-year member

F Me In The Brain

rollings

F Me In The Brain said:

I edited to credit the writer . Lol

acutejam

I firmly occupy the middle... Fan since the first year, but didn’t pull the trigger on fan club until 2008, I’m in the 400x... (and noticed I’m 4-5 rows closer for Oak 1 than I was for Portland or Spokane few years back... curious, more side seats?) I think the GA fan club pit has been an awesome development - gotten it twice now. And gotten squat enough too and had to scramble. From the moment of my first rock concert at like 14-15 I was hooked and saw 20-30 shows every year of all kinds ... fanatically ... for 15 years. 

And then, family, job, kids ... 10 years zoomed by and I’m all, “huh, I haven’t been to a concert in awhile..” Joining 10C was like the next thing I did.  Total props to those 399K before me, thanks for supporting the band. Gave a membership to my son when he turned 18. He missed the email saying his credit card was expired and just missed this tour. That’s life, he will be the kid at Oakland in the shirt that says “I Let My 10C Membership Expire 4 Months Ago!” .... up in the nosebleeds, say hi to him, I’ll be down in my seats!

Off to see Silversun Pickups at the Fox, have a good one!

sk8drchik

Darth Lizard King said:

Just a couple of observations and comments. Thanks in advance for reading -

*I joined the club in the fall of 1993, after high school graduation, and it has been very, very good to me - from front-row tickets to my very first Pearl Jam show at the Masonic Temple in my native Detroit in the spring of 1994, to great seats as my wife and I followed them around the country during the 2006 Avocado tour, to the last time they played Detroit - 2014, at the old Joe Louis Arena. The fact that this club even exists blows my mind - what could I possibly have done to deserve such good fortune? Remain loyal, I suppose. I missed out on tickets for this upcoming tour because life, as it often does, became a distraction. I tried, like many of you, for the public onsale, only to be shut out of that silly dance, as well. I'll see what I can swing on the fan exchange, but if I miss out again, life will go on for me and I will wait until next time. However....

*...people who say they were "gutted," "devastated," "crushed," etc because they did not get tickets for the North American tour - these reactions may seem overly dramatic and over-the-top, but try to remember everyone leads a unique life with its own ups and downs, and its own anchor for salvation. Maybe Pearl Jam is all they have. I heard people bagging on Laker fans crying about Kobe outside Staples Center, and it's a similar thing. We haven't walked in those people's shoes, so please try to go easy on them. Yes, some of them may actually be entitled spoiled brats, but the point is, we don't know. We don't have to hold their hands and console them, but we don't have to punch them in the face, either. I don't believe social media and online communication has made us more cruel - it has just given a megaphone to our cruelty - so hopefully we can all do better, including and especially me.

*I sometimes wonder why the Ten Club even bothers with offering tickets to fan club members. It must be an absolute logistical nightmare. And then, after all the work, they get overwhelmed with forum posts and emails from people whose problem could likely have been solved had they just actually read the extremely thorough information that was sent out to them. As a paying customer, you have every right to demand quality service, but when I read some of the demands and complaints on this board, it worries me that one day they will just throw their hands up and decide it's not worth it anymore.

*I often read newer members say that just because they have only been in the club for x amount of years does not make them less of a fan than someone who has been in the club for a greater x amount of years. Wrong. That's exactly what it means. And that's why the club has bent over backwards to make seniority an important part of the overall equation. In fact, that is exactly what seniority means - it's a hierarchy based on loyalty towards brand and product. So when someone says - "But it's not my fault! I just discovered them a year ago and I deserve the same thing as the senior members," I have to just laugh and say "No, you don't...not on any level."

*Thanks for reading. Much appreciated. Enjoy the new tunes.

THANK YOU for saying this! These are words that have been running in my mind since the tour was announced, but I'll be honest I was too afraid to say it for fear I would be bashed on here. It has saddened me to see how harsh some of the 10C members have been to others. What happened to being kind and respecting one another? Nobody knows ANYBODY'S situation in life and why this might be so important to them. I would hate to be the one to have been a bully through my words and that be the final straw for somebody's life. I have been a member since I was 13. I turn 40 in a few months. I didn't get any tickets for this tour. I'm not gonna lie, it's been a HARD one to swallow. I have dealt with some serious health issues and for me to have an escape from it all, to find some peace and joy is through this band. So, again thank you for saying what I've wanted to say. 

gatorjam

Good post, I couldn't afford to go to any pearl jam concerts growing up and while I went to college.  I joined the ten club in 2004.  It has worked out for me.  It always get my butt in a seat.  I appreciate everything they do, but at the end of the day it is still a business, one that has grown a lot in the recent years and keeps growing.  The 10C evolves with the times.  As long as the members get their chance to get tickets I am happy.  I was lucky enough to get tickets for this tour, but like many, did not read the emails closely enough and screwed up my selections.  But I am not gutted or angry!  I am just happy to get to go to a show!  

bgirl59

tinz. said:

Darth Lizard King said:

Just a couple of observations and comments. Thanks in advance for reading -

👌well spoken

         Ditto      
              👌well spoken 

MR242791

how did you join the club in 1993?  was it a mail in fan club back then?  was there an internet site back then?  i remember getting an aol account probably around 1995.  a i wish i'd known about the club sooner.  i guess you'd have to be in the right circles then to be aware of the club's existence. but I didn't purchase a computer until around 2002 or 2003.  and then it wasn't till i think 2006 i discovered the ten club. 

lolobugg

MR242791 said:

how did you join the club in 1993?  was it a mail in fan club back then?  was there an internet site back then?  i remember getting an aol account probably around 1995.  a i wish i'd known about the club sooner.  i guess you'd have to be in the right circles then to be aware of the club's existence. but I didn't purchase a computer until around 2002 or 2003.  and then it wasn't till i think 2006 i discovered the ten club. 

the fan club info was included in the VS liner notes. i simply mailed in $5 and received a newsletter a few months later. The most excited i have ever been was when they mailed out the ticket order forms in early 1995. That was before the "internet" was the "internet" and the tour came as a total surprise. The only bad thing was that you had to wait months before you found out if you got tickets. I remember they also had a "hotline" that you could call for updates on what the band was doing. Things were different then........

KC2917

lolobugg said:

MR242791 said:

how did you join the club in 1993?  was it a mail in fan club back then?  was there an internet site back then?  i remember getting an aol account probably around 1995.  a i wish i'd known about the club sooner.  i guess you'd have to be in the right circles then to be aware of the club's existence. but I didn't purchase a computer until around 2002 or 2003.  and then it wasn't till i think 2006 i discovered the ten club. 

the fan club info was included in the VS liner notes. i simply mailed in $5 and received a newsletter a few months later. The most excited i have ever been was when they mailed out the ticket order forms in early 1995. That was before the "internet" was the "internet" and the tour came as a total surprise. The only bad thing was that you had to wait months before you found out if you got tickets. I remember they also had a "hotline" that you could call for updates on what the band was doing. Things were different then........

Damn dude. Bringing back some memories right there! 

SHZA

They should give out tickets to the Apollo show based on SiriusXM subscriber seniority

lolobugg

KC2917 said:

lolobugg said:

MR242791 said:

how did you join the club in 1993?  was it a mail in fan club back then?  was there an internet site back then?  i remember getting an aol account probably around 1995.  a i wish i'd known about the club sooner.  i guess you'd have to be in the right circles then to be aware of the club's existence. but I didn't purchase a computer until around 2002 or 2003.  and then it wasn't till i think 2006 i discovered the ten club. 

the fan club info was included in the VS liner notes. i simply mailed in $5 and received a newsletter a few months later. The most excited i have ever been was when they mailed out the ticket order forms in early 1995. That was before the "internet" was the "internet" and the tour came as a total surprise. The only bad thing was that you had to wait months before you found out if you got tickets. I remember they also had a "hotline" that you could call for updates on what the band was doing. Things were different then........

Damn dude. Bringing back some memories right there! 

good memories, indeed!!!

SH6224

Good points all around. My take is I never saw the seniority element of 10c having anything to do with whether you are a bigger fan or not, it's just a nice (really nice super awesome incredible holy shit really they do this? wow amazing!!) perk that's always been central to the deal.

It's arguably the main reason people keep paying their yearly dues. I paid for long stretches where there weren't shows, or I couldn't make them. It was important because I knew when things would line up....the seniority paid off.  Not only getting in the door, but getting rewarded with tix that I'd never be able to afford otherwise. Lifechanging experiences that are formative live experiences in my life. It's like a magical thing that kept rewarding the committed fan. It's amazing, and the sting I felt from being shut out in Denver this year was real. tldr, nobody cares....boohoo