Parking, Arena shows, and being old

bootlegger10

MW55037 said:

Sorry guys, OP here. Was just venting about a frustrating night after a 12 hour work day. I never intended to be blaming the fanclub and definitely not the band. Even the venue probably can't be blamed much; SDSU has lots of night classes and just isn't set up to handle concert traffic in addition to regular evening traffic through the area. I am serious about being done with arena shows--don't want the hassle--and hence don't need to maintain my fanclub membership. (Sorry, no my number is not particularly low. Only been a member since 2000.) Not quitting the fanclub out of spite but because it's just not necessary for me anymore. I'll stick to smaller bands doing more chill shows at bars and clubs. That's definitely more my vibe these days.

People read stuff into your post that wasn’t there. Nothing to apologize for.  

I get that eventually concerts aren’t the priority anymore and not wanting to deal with all the hassle.

mattcoz

Follow Eddie's lead, bike to the show, don't have to worry about parking and it keeps you young.

PJ_Soul

MW55037 said:

Had to work late tonight. Left work at 8 to try to make it to the San Diego show. Then spent an hour in traffic trying to park at SDSU, made a wrong turn and faced the prospect of having to go all the way to the back of the line. There was no signage for parking, no traffic control except at the one intersection you'd expect to turn at but couldn't. I bailed. I'm too old for this shit. Done with arena shows, done with the fan club. $250 for tickets down the drain. C'est la vie. Learned my lesson. I've seen the band 5 or 6 times over the years and my memories of those shows are enough.

It pays to plan. Too bad you didn't make arrangements with work to ensure you didn't leave so late. Then you would have had plenty of time for the trip there and parking, and you would have spared yourself the frustration and this ultimate rash decision to give up on Pearl Jam shows forever because you didn't plan ahead.

josevolution

MW55037 said:

Sorry guys, OP here. Was just venting about a frustrating night after a 12 hour work day. I never intended to be blaming the fanclub and definitely not the band. Even the venue probably can't be blamed much; SDSU has lots of night classes and just isn't set up to handle concert traffic in addition to regular evening traffic through the area. I am serious about being done with arena shows--don't want the hassle--and hence don't need to maintain my fanclub membership. (Sorry, no my number is not particularly low. Only been a member since 2000.) Not quitting the fanclub out of spite but because it's just not necessary for me anymore. I'll stick to smaller bands doing more chill shows at bars and clubs. That's definitely more my vibe these days.

I can def identify with this^^ 

Weston1283

MW55037 said:

Sorry guys, OP here. Was just venting about a frustrating night after a 12 hour work day. I never intended to be blaming the fanclub and definitely not the band. Even the venue probably can't be blamed much; SDSU has lots of night classes and just isn't set up to handle concert traffic in addition to regular evening traffic through the area. I am serious about being done with arena shows--don't want the hassle--and hence don't need to maintain my fanclub membership. (Sorry, no my number is not particularly low. Only been a member since 2000.) Not quitting the fanclub out of spite but because it's just not necessary for me anymore. I'll stick to smaller bands doing more chill shows at bars and clubs. That's definitely more my vibe these days.

Definitely understand and get that aspect of it.

I would also agree that if you only plan to go to 1-2 shows every few years, then you probably don’t need the fan club.

At this point, the Fan Club basically just exists for GA tickets, or reserved seats if you have a great number.  Otherwise, you can find good seats for most shows with some time and effort or resale sites and without a membership . 

on2legs

Hold On said:

You sound a bit like someone blaming the airlines because you were late and missed your flight. 

 I flew in from Hawaii a few days ago, so I don’t know the SDSU area and had never been to the campus before.  I got to SDSU at 5:30, drove around to scout out parking and decided to park in a surface lot instead of a garage for easy exit afterwards, ate a meal at a nice little Thai restaurant on campus, got to the venue about 7:10, waited about 10 minutes outside to buy some merch, and walked into the venue at 7:30 just in time to see Ed play solo in advance of the opening act.  

Then after the show it took all of 10 to 15 minutes before I was off campus and on the open road, since I wasn’t parked in a garage.   THAT’S how to do a concert, especially when you’re paying a lot of money.  You enjoy the entire experience.  

Oh, and I’m old too (mid-50s), so it’s not about being old. 

ddeschler

meistereder said:

 two Stone IPAs I drank at the show 

Sweet that they had Stone IPAs.  Draft, cans, 16 oz?  How much $ were they?  I gotta get ready for the Cali sticker shock this weekend.