Fellow unlucky ones.

Bradydog

I am thoroughly enjoying the new album; it continues to amaze me. With each listen, I discover a new favorite song almost daily. Since 1992, it has been an addiction I gladly indulge in. My gateway song was "Release" when I was 18 years old. Having lost my father at the age of 3, I did not truly process this loss until my late teens. They say timing is everything, and hearing "Release" at that moment truly changed my life. The lyrics, "I am myself like you somehow," resonated deeply with me, as if someone finally articulated the emotions I couldn't express. It paved the way for my healing journey.

In my early 20s, albums like "Vs," "Vitalogy," and "No Code" were released. I worked as a caretaker in a remote cabin for a camp, without access to TV or the internet in my area. However, I had a reliable stereo and a 5-disc CD changer (remember those?). I would play Ten, Vs, No Code, Vitalogy, and Merkin Ball on shuffle repeatedly and at full volume, without any neighbors to object! This was around my first live show in 1996 at Randall's Island. I can vividly recall the rain, John Popper's performance, crowd surfing during "Black," and miraculously finding my lost friends during the second set. So many great memories are made at PJ shows.

Living just an hour and a half from NYC, I've attended nearly every Pearl Jam tour in the NYC area at least once since then. Typically, I could only afford to attend one show per tour, occasionally two. I believe I joined the Ten Club (10C) around '98 or perhaps 2000; those years are somewhat of a blur. Discovering that I could procure tickets through the 10C was a momentous occasion. I cherished the process and the assurance of seeing Pearl Jam live! I often brought along a friend, usually someone who had not experienced their live show before. Fast forward to the present, I am now married with two kids and a home to care for. Going to see a Pearl Jam concert or any concert for that matter isn’t as easy, requires some planning and allocating limited funds. Most of my time is devoted to family and family events. This year is the second time I wasn’t able to secure tickets from 10C. The first time I was able to get tickets through general sale, this time however, impossible. The new Ticketmaster system of dynamic pricing has made it impossible. There are a couple of tickets left at MSG listing for over $1700 a ticket. I can’t justify to my family spending that kind of money for a concert. The part that bothers me the most is how random people are selected for receiving tickets. I see people posting on social media how they got every show they asked for, or people who are relatively new members getting tickets, while decades-old members are shut out. I only wanted to go to one show. Granted, it was for one of the MSG shows, but those are the only ones I could go to. I know this may come off as whiny or even entitled, and I get that. However, objectively speaking, the process for securing 10C tickets combined with the Ticketmaster pricing system that inflates prices based on demand has made it difficult for people like me with limited disposable income to splurge on going to a concert. I haven’t lost all hope yet. I check the Fan2Fan exchange frequently, and I'm hoping that as September gets closer, more and more tickets will become available, but all I have is hope. I am absolutely in love with the new Dark Matter album; it has an energy that I know is going to carry over into the live shows, particularly in venues like MSG. I hope all those who were able to get tickets have a memorable experience, and I’ll keep hanging on, hanging on to hope!

kmcmanus

So you, who have seen 20 years of NYC shows, believe that new members who may have never seen them at all should have to be permanently behind you to get tickets forever? Yeah that’s entitled, sorry. If having any chance at tickets was entirely seniority based why would any new member ever join the 10C again? I hope you are able to come across some affordable tix, best of luck to ya, but the idea you deserved them more than someone “random” who’s been blessed with fewer opportunities than you have in the past is, honestly, a bunch of crap. Sorry.

tusevun

What a whiny post. Good lord. 

Merkin Baller

Bradydog said:

 I've attended nearly every Pearl Jam tour in the NYC area at least once since then. Typically, I could only afford to attend one show per tour, occasionally two. I believe I joined the Ten Club (10C) around '98 or perhaps 2000; those years are somewhat of a blur. Discovering that I could procure tickets through the 10C was a momentous occasion. I cherished the process and the assurance of seeing Pearl Jam live! I often brought along a friend, usually someone who had not experienced their live show before. Fast forward to the present, I am now married with two kids and a home to care for. Going to see a Pearl Jam concert or any concert for that matter isn’t as easy, requires some planning and allocating limited funds. Most of my time is devoted to family and family events. This year is the second time I wasn’t able to secure tickets from 10C.

You've *only* been shut out of 10c tickets for NYC twice in 24 or 26 years. 

That's literally the opposite of unlucky. 

Bradydog

kmcmanus said:

So you, who have seen 20 years of NYC shows, believe that new members who may have never seen them at all should have to be permanently behind you to get tickets forever? Yeah that’s entitled, sorry. If having any chance at tickets was entirely seniority based why would any new member ever join the 10C again? I hope you are able to come across some affordable tix, best of luck to ya, but the idea you deserved them more than someone “random” who’s been blessed with fewer opportunities than you have in the past is, honestly, a bunch of crap. Sorry.

Fair point, and I acknowledged the whiny nature of my post. I guess my frustration is more about the costs and process. For example, why does one member get selected to receive tickets for multiple shows, here are people who will seen 5 or more shows leading up to MSG and they still get selected to MSG, where there are many like me who MSG is the only option or chance to see them. Being denied a chance to see them at all. This tour isn’t like years past, where the may play MSG and New Jersey or Albany. I acknowledge I have been lucky over the years, but it seemed like the process was more fair in years past. 

hairgrowth2001

I’m with you that they should have kept priority of choosing your shows. I feel like they got rid of it because it seemed like they didn’t follow it last year.

P-Town-P-Jam-Fan

Maybe check out a show in another town.  One of my favorite things to do is plan a mini vacation around a Pearl Jam show.  I've been to multiple great cities in this country that I have no affiliation with or would have never otherwise gone without a Pearl Jam date.  Perfect example for me is Greenville, SC.  PJ played VS in its entirety during that show - it was amazing.  Plus the city of Greenville was so fun.  Find a show in a city you have never been to and indulge. 

PJINFLA

Unfortunately the rules to getting tickets thru the 10c lottery change every tour and it is even worse now with Ticketmaster handling the lottery itself. There are many ways to optimize your chances of getting PJ tickets but these do not work for everyone because of finances, location, time involved (f2f) etc. The way that you went about entering the lottery has probably the lowest possible odds, entering for MSG only.

Many are able to travel to various shows plus with the introduction of f2f people can enter the lottery for every show if they wanted to because they know they can sell the tickets they can't use.  Some have multiple people in their family or friends who have memberships in order to increase their lottery odds.
Others have the time and ability to stalk Ticketmaster for hours on end watching for f2f drops for the shows they want.
There are those to whom money is no object and they have no problem paying the price for the PJ Premium ticket prices. Lastly like what happened yesterday people can be lucky enough to be checking their email at the right time and have the opportunity to buy tickets (that should have been in the lottery) fall into their laps.
Good luck with you search! I would be checking my email every day at 1pm prior to the 2nd leg of the tour hoping for another ticket drop like what happened yesterday or be hitting up friends who you generously helped out with tickets in the past.

Bradydog

There has to be a way to make it more equitable. That’s all I’m saying. It’s like those pay to win games. People with deep pockets always win. I’m just a working class guy trying to raise a family and every couple of years, I get to see my favorite band for one night.