Phish (attempts) to eliminate early line waiters for GA Pit

mrz200

I'm going to assume this is coming from the promoter and or venue and not the band, so it's quite possible we see this concept on PJ tour this year:

https://touringinfo.me/phish-msg/

"Over the years, the GA floor entry procedures have evolved in an effort to allow more fans the opportunity of standing close to the stage and to discourage fans from waiting in line for hours to be first in line for entry. 

For the Madison Square Garden run, we are changing the GA Floor entry process.  Fans interested in entering the GA floor area first can submit their information via a form for the chance to be selected via a random drawing.

Here’s how it works:

• If you are a GA Floor ticket holder and would like to be eligible for first entry you must fill out a form.
• Fill out the form for yourself and if you would like to include a friend you must enter their name when you submit the form. There are no name changes once you have submitted the form and no transfers if you are selected.
• Each form will begin accepting entries 9AM two days prior to each show.
• The deadline to enter for each show is 9AM the day prior to each show.
• At approximately 3PM on the day prior to each show we will select a limited number of fans to receive first entry.  All entrants will receive an email notification of whether or not they were selected to be eligible for first entry.
• Those who are selected will receive an email with details on when and where to meet to enter the venue.

gotthebottle

Pretty much what Springsteen tour has done for YEARS.... the lottery get in first to the pit, except this is a submitted form.
I love the idea of random draw for first in.. as I recall Bruce management telling someone I know..."Bruce likes to see different people up front".

jjflash

Interesting. This type of system, whether for Phish or another band, should be communicated prior to the purchase of GA tix. Trying to secure GA tickets, at least in the PJ world, is enough of a gamble in and of itself....a gamble in that attempting to 'win' them you're possibly foregone any tickets at all for a particular show. To add another layer to the gamut AFTER the fact is, IMO, bad business despite what is most likely good intentions.

pledgeagrievance

I love any attempt at this. I forget if it’s Bruce or u2 where everyone gets a number and a random # is selected and that’s essentially #1. Come back later and line up. All the craziness with the line manipulators eliminated. And the lists and aggressiveness I’ve read about it. You’re still closer than 90% of the venue in the pit. 

I have GA for September and don’t care where I land. I don’t need EV to look into my eyes for me to be grateful to be there 

gotthebottle

pledgeagrievance said:

I love any attempt at this. I forget if it’s Bruce or u2 where everyone gets a number and a random # is selected and that’s essentially #1. Come back later and line up. All the craziness with the line manipulators eliminated. And the lists and aggressiveness I’ve read about it. You’re still closer than 90% of the venue in the pit. 

I have GA for September and don’t care where I land. I don’t need EV to look into my eyes for me to be grateful to be there 

It's Bruce.. your wristband is numbered abs they draw for number of people who get in to front pit, and for entry order

JeBurkhardt

pledgeagrievance said:

I love any attempt at this. I forget if it’s Bruce or u2 where everyone gets a number and a random # is selected and that’s essentially #1. Come back later and line up. All the craziness with the line manipulators eliminated. And the lists and aggressiveness I’ve read about it. You’re still closer than 90% of the venue in the pit. 

I have GA for September and don’t care where I land. I don’t need EV to look into my eyes for me to be grateful to be there 

I have GA for Nashville, and I plan on hanging somewhere in the back half. My wife is short, so we will be looking for spots that she can see the guys. I am looking into platform sneakers for her to add some height. Every little bit helps. However to be honest, I am 5'11" and once people start bringing out the phones to record, it blocks my view too. I ended up moving a couple of times at Ohana Encore due to people doing extended documentaries of the show on their phones.

mcgruff10

I love this idea.  

JojoRice

I think it's a good idea.  I remember those people that cut the front of the GA line at Wrigley night 2 in 2018.  

ClownofThorns

JeBurkhardt said:

pledgeagrievance said:

I love any attempt at this. I forget if it’s Bruce or u2 where everyone gets a number and a random # is selected and that’s essentially #1. Come back later and line up. All the craziness with the line manipulators eliminated. And the lists and aggressiveness I’ve read about it. You’re still closer than 90% of the venue in the pit. 

I have GA for September and don’t care where I land. I don’t need EV to look into my eyes for me to be grateful to be there 

I have GA for Nashville, and I plan on hanging somewhere in the back half. My wife is short, so we will be looking for spots that she can see the guys. I am looking into platform sneakers for her to add some height. Every little bit helps. However to be honest, I am 5'11" and once people start bringing out the phones to record, it blocks my view too. I ended up moving a couple of times at Ohana Encore due to people doing extended documentaries of the show on their phones.

I'm 6"4" and I couldn't see over people's phones at Encore. 

Zod

Springsteen's a bit different though.  There's usually 2 sections to the pit.  A front section, then the rest of the floor.   The puling the # is mostly to determine who goes into the front section.

PJ only has a front section.

I'd be all for it really, because wasting time in the lineup is annoying.   But really we're just asking the 10c to save us from ourselves.. lol.

gotthebottle

The phones annoy me so much... honestly, who looks at all their videos? 
That's why I put up my floor seats from 10C for LA1 and got some 100 level seats instead

JojoRice

gotthebottle said:

The phones annoy me so much... honestly, who looks at all their videos? 
That's why I put up my floor seats from 10C for LA1 and got some 100 level seats instead

Great minds think alike.  I did the same thing for LA2.  Gave up floor seats and got section 131. 

I agree on the videos too.  I never go back and look at my videos and always end up deleting them eventually. 

JeBurkhardt

ClownofThorns said:

JeBurkhardt said:

pledgeagrievance said:

I love any attempt at this. I forget if it’s Bruce or u2 where everyone gets a number and a random # is selected and that’s essentially #1. Come back later and line up. All the craziness with the line manipulators eliminated. And the lists and aggressiveness I’ve read about it. You’re still closer than 90% of the venue in the pit. 

I have GA for September and don’t care where I land. I don’t need EV to look into my eyes for me to be grateful to be there 

I have GA for Nashville, and I plan on hanging somewhere in the back half. My wife is short, so we will be looking for spots that she can see the guys. I am looking into platform sneakers for her to add some height. Every little bit helps. However to be honest, I am 5'11" and once people start bringing out the phones to record, it blocks my view too. I ended up moving a couple of times at Ohana Encore due to people doing extended documentaries of the show on their phones.

I'm 6"4" and I couldn't see over people's phones at Encore. 

It's crazy. Just enjoy the moment and not worry about having some archive of a song that probably ends up sounding bad on your phone anyway. 

JBob87

Phish has a particularly bad problem up front in GA if you can believe it. They let people into the venue to camp early with tarps/blankets to "secure" more space. There is a "scene" of individuals who do this at every single show of the tour. The people up front have a 4 ft radius of dancing room around them that they aggressively enforce...they do everything they can to allow any "normals" access to this space. 

Meanwhile everyone else in the back of the pit is directly on top of each other and/or unable to even enter the pit. Last summer I got stuck at work late and arrived right at show time...there was literally no room to enter the pit because the back was so crammed, security would do nothing about the situation other than not allow me to hang in the aisle behind the pit, so my options were either to force my way through a literal shoulder to shoulder situation or turn my pit ticket into the most expensive lawn ticket in the house. 

I am a big believer in "don't be the asshole" in GA situations and think those that did the time waiting generally deserve to be up close. But when it affects others' ability to access the pit it's not acceptable. Haven't seen/heard of this happening at PJ yet which is good. 

JeBurkhardt

JBob87 said:

Phish has a particularly bad problem up front in GA if you can believe it. They let people into the venue to camp early with tarps/blankets to "secure" more space. There is a "scene" of individuals who do this at every single show of the tour. The people up front have a 4 ft radius of dancing room around them that they aggressively enforce...they do everything they can to allow any "normals" access to this space. 

Meanwhile everyone else in the back of the pit is directly on top of each other and/or unable to even enter the pit. Last summer I got stuck at work late and arrived right at show time...there was literally no room to enter the pit because the back was so crammed, security would do nothing about the situation other than not allow me to hang in the aisle behind the pit, so my options were either to force my way through a literal shoulder to shoulder situation or turn my pit ticket into the most expensive lawn ticket in the house. 

I am a big believer in "don't be the asshole" in GA situations and think those that did the time waiting generally deserve to be up close. But when it affects others' ability to access the pit it's not acceptable. Haven't seen/heard of this happening at PJ yet which is good. 

I saw a video of Phish fans rushing around marking off the seats with blankets and tarps at Red Rocks. It was insane.

on2legs

This is a great idea.  

pledgeagrievance

JBob87 said:

Phish has a particularly bad problem up front in GA if you can believe it. They let people into the venue to camp early with tarps/blankets to "secure" more space. There is a "scene" of individuals who do this at every single show of the tour. The people up front have a 4 ft radius of dancing room around them that they aggressively enforce...they do everything they can to allow any "normals" access to this space. 

Meanwhile everyone else in the back of the pit is directly on top of each other and/or unable to even enter the pit. Last summer I got stuck at work late and arrived right at show time...there was literally no room to enter the pit because the back was so crammed, security would do nothing about the situation other than not allow me to hang in the aisle behind the pit, so my options were either to force my way through a literal shoulder to shoulder situation or turn my pit ticket into the most expensive lawn ticket in the house. 

I am a big believer in "don't be the asshole" in GA situations and think those that did the time waiting generally deserve to be up close. But when it affects others' ability to access the pit it's not acceptable. Haven't seen/heard of this happening at PJ yet which is good. 

To comment on the last part of your post, the first time I saw it at a PJ show was SHN festival. A couple had a big blanket laid out, probably a 4-5 foot radius around and anyone that came close or stepped on the blanket as they passed got either yelled at or even a shove. It was obnoxious. Everyone else is shoulder to shoulder but you get 4-5 feet of dance space. Real thoughtful. 

lexicondevil

All bands should do this. The only thing I didn't like about Springsteen's method was that we all had to go there in person to get a wristband and then stand around waiting anyway in the drizzle. Then they called the first number and we all lined up. We crapped out in the second GA section and were so cold and wet we didn't enjoy the show all that much. Not that Bruce had any control over the weather.
Doing an online form would make much more sense. Such simple solutions.

BloodMeridian80

Some form of this would be great for PJ. Ditto on documentarians and day long picnics in prime spots at Ohana. 

ClownofThorns

pledgeagrievance said:

JBob87 said:

Phish has a particularly bad problem up front in GA if you can believe it. They let people into the venue to camp early with tarps/blankets to "secure" more space. There is a "scene" of individuals who do this at every single show of the tour. The people up front have a 4 ft radius of dancing room around them that they aggressively enforce...they do everything they can to allow any "normals" access to this space. 

Meanwhile everyone else in the back of the pit is directly on top of each other and/or unable to even enter the pit. Last summer I got stuck at work late and arrived right at show time...there was literally no room to enter the pit because the back was so crammed, security would do nothing about the situation other than not allow me to hang in the aisle behind the pit, so my options were either to force my way through a literal shoulder to shoulder situation or turn my pit ticket into the most expensive lawn ticket in the house. 

I am a big believer in "don't be the asshole" in GA situations and think those that did the time waiting generally deserve to be up close. But when it affects others' ability to access the pit it's not acceptable. Haven't seen/heard of this happening at PJ yet which is good. 

To comment on the last part of your post, the first time I saw it at a PJ show was SHN festival. A couple had a big blanket laid out, probably a 4-5 foot radius around and anyone that came close or stepped on the blanket as they passed got either yelled at or even a shove. It was obnoxious. Everyone else is shoulder to shoulder but you get 4-5 feet of dance space. Real thoughtful. 

At Ohana Encore, I was solo. Ended up right next to two seemingly nice people and chatted with them for most of the day. We weren't super close, but obviously close enough that we'll be shoulder-to-shoulder when PJ plays. The press begins and they don't move their rather large blanket. So, I've got these two clowns telling everyone who comes within 3 feet of them to avoid their blanket AND latecomers shoving me in the back trying to get through. This is why I'd almost always rather have a seat--even when most people try to be chill, it only takes a couple of asshats to ruin things for everyone around them. 

apirk72

Phish Rail riders are exceptionally bad, they all think it is their birth right or something. 

RK50065

JeBurkhardt said:

JBob87 said:

Phish has a particularly bad problem up front in GA if you can believe it. They let people into the venue to camp early with tarps/blankets to "secure" more space. There is a "scene" of individuals who do this at every single show of the tour. The people up front have a 4 ft radius of dancing room around them that they aggressively enforce...they do everything they can to allow any "normals" access to this space. 

Meanwhile everyone else in the back of the pit is directly on top of each other and/or unable to even enter the pit. Last summer I got stuck at work late and arrived right at show time...there was literally no room to enter the pit because the back was so crammed, security would do nothing about the situation other than not allow me to hang in the aisle behind the pit, so my options were either to force my way through a literal shoulder to shoulder situation or turn my pit ticket into the most expensive lawn ticket in the house. 

I am a big believer in "don't be the asshole" in GA situations and think those that did the time waiting generally deserve to be up close. But when it affects others' ability to access the pit it's not acceptable. Haven't seen/heard of this happening at PJ yet which is good. 

I saw a video of Phish fans rushing around marking off the seats with blankets and tarps at Red Rocks. It was insane.

Might have been for WSP running of the tarps.

@ryanphishes you doing MSG and try the early entry lotto?

JeBurkhardt

RK50065 said:

JeBurkhardt said:

JBob87 said:

Phish has a particularly bad problem up front in GA if you can believe it. They let people into the venue to camp early with tarps/blankets to "secure" more space. There is a "scene" of individuals who do this at every single show of the tour. The people up front have a 4 ft radius of dancing room around them that they aggressively enforce...they do everything they can to allow any "normals" access to this space. 

Meanwhile everyone else in the back of the pit is directly on top of each other and/or unable to even enter the pit. Last summer I got stuck at work late and arrived right at show time...there was literally no room to enter the pit because the back was so crammed, security would do nothing about the situation other than not allow me to hang in the aisle behind the pit, so my options were either to force my way through a literal shoulder to shoulder situation or turn my pit ticket into the most expensive lawn ticket in the house. 

I am a big believer in "don't be the asshole" in GA situations and think those that did the time waiting generally deserve to be up close. But when it affects others' ability to access the pit it's not acceptable. Haven't seen/heard of this happening at PJ yet which is good. 

I saw a video of Phish fans rushing around marking off the seats with blankets and tarps at Red Rocks. It was insane.

Might have been for WSP running of the tarps.

@ryanphishes you doing MSG and try the early entry lotto?

Could have been. I thought I remembered it being Phish, but it was a while ago and my "rememberer" isn't as sharp as it once was. 

Bentleyspop

apirk72 said:

Phish Rail riders are exceptionally bad, they all think it is their birth right or something. 

I've seen this type of behavior in Springsteen fans, U2 fans, PJ fans

washed in black

I love this idea. And it's fabulous that they inform you the day before whether or not you were selected, so you can make plans.

JimmyV

Ours is a fanbase that had trouble entering a ticket lottery, so the number of people who would successfully fill out one of these forms might be smaller than you think. 

JojoRice

JimmyV said:

Ours is a fanbase that had trouble entering a ticket lottery, so the number of people who would successfully fill out one of these forms might be smaller than you think. 

mcgruff10

JimmyV said:

Ours is a fanbase that had trouble entering a ticket lottery, so the number of people who would successfully fill out one of these forms might be smaller than you think. 

Ha ha. So damn true!!

MayDay10

count me in for this.  Enthusiastically

100 Pacer

I have nothing invested as I’m always comfortably at the back of GA and you have to think the band (Ed) is certainly aware he’s seeing the same dozen or two dozen faces continuously…having said that the ones that make it their business to always be on the rail are alongside a whole bunch of others on the rail who aren’t making a name for themselves doing so. If the band doesn’t mind it one assumes they’re enjoying the reactions and energy from those unique group of folks and don’t want to make it more difficult for them to repeat. Completely the band’s decision; however, fewer (or no) line shenanigans would be welcome. Holding spots, numbers on hands, line buddies, etc. Certain people take advantage for their own benefit.

on2legs

Anything that undermines the PJ GA Line Mafia would be a blessing.