Dear Pearl Jam, let's re-think this whole GA thing..

Cosmo · December 2013

MayDay10 wrote:

Im in this boat. Was pleased my location would improve over time. Was hoping to someday hit the "lottery". Now with this new GA section, my location is seriously downgraded.

I would happily go for GA. Probably would do what many will do and create a new account for my wife and go for GA ticket because 500xxx 10c number now doesnt matter, then my account would go for reserved.

If I got GA I would have no problem doing the time and waiting all day. But then I would stress out about pushy list people, assholes who "cut", and incompetent staff/terrible entry system. Then once in the pit have to constantly worry about people trying to push in front of me. Im 5'5" so being in the back of GA isnt a great option. I also dont feel like "pushing back" or being an asshole myself. Before we know it, we are 4 songs in.

I would be much more down with GA if the band put out some universal organization to the entry system. Something like the "Springsteen system" would be great.

I also think that they should have 3 categories: GA, Reserved, and Reserved Floor.

I think that they should also "chop" GA into a few tiers with a limited number of people allowed in each.

...
You know what would solve your problem?
Go back to ONE Pair of fan club tickets per tour.
The same people that fill the seated configuration would no longer get every show up front. They would still get the greatest seats... for one show. And they can still go to 100 shows per tour, they'll just have to deal with the TicketMonster... and so would the rest of us.
And abolish the 'Rows 1,2,9,10-Lottery' until they can demonstrate to the community that it is truely a fair and random lottery.
...
My feeling is this... people would not travel to places like Oklahoma City and the fans closest to Oklahoma City would get the best seats... which they SHOULD. Now, if a fan member with a low number that lives in Los Angeles decides to pick Oklahoma City... then he spends his pick on Oklahoma City and forfeits the other cities. Sure, he would more the locals back, but only by 2 seats, not 20 rows.

curly · December 2013

Cosmo wrote:

Granted, I only went to 3 shows this tour and had General Admission for all 3 and it worked out great. I put in the time and effort to get up front and it paid off all 3 times.
I've been to, literally, hundreds of general admission gigs and it's pretty simple... don't be a dick.
Don't cut in line because that is a dick move. Just get in line... make friends with the people before you and the people after you and basically... that's it.
And once inside, find a spot where you can enjoy the show. Don't be a dick and shove little girls out of your way like a pussy who pushes girls around but would never try that shit on a guy.
And girls... when you walk into the venue... pay attention. If you walk up and stand behind a guy that is 6'1"' tall and don't notice he is 6'1" tall because you have your pretty little (but stupid) nose buried in your fucking iPhone the entire time, until the main act comes on... then, complain that you are staring into the back of a shirt that is worn by a guy that is fucking 6'1" tall. It's not his fault he is tall... or you are short. It is YOUR fucking fault for being a dumb-fuck that doesn't pay attention to where you are.
...
In most cases, people are cool. If a mosh pit breaks out, oh, well... what can you do? But, if a dude tries to bumrush the stage, trust me... there are plenty of guys in the mix that'll shove him back.
...
Personally... I like the the General Admission. it give everyone a chance and those who want to put in the time should get the best seat.
...
Also, if you want to travel and enjoy the sights of other cities... that's on you. Just because you are a tourist doesn't mean the locals should abide to your whims.

well said Cosmo....

TP128347 · December 2013

I loved the GA. I usually have to sit in the wheelchair section and that is never close, except for The Vic, but that was an unusual circumstance. In OKC my sister and I were about 20-30 feet from the stage on the right. People were respectful and tried to stay out of my view. I moved closer during the 1st encore and a couple people on the rail motioned for me to come all the way up front, but I declined due to it being so far to the right – 10c people are awesome! If I wanted an unobstructed view I could have had it at the back of the GA or sit in the wheelchair section and be 50 yards away.

GA all the way.

Keep on rockin' in the free world :!: :!: :!:

PJ_Soul · December 2013

Listening to the audience boot from Vancouver right now, and I'm getting chills just remembering what the pit was like during Corduroy.

That kind of thing isn't possible with seats in the way!

BS90546 · December 2013

I experienced GA for 5 shows this tour and I couldn't be happier with the process.

I would stroll into each show at about 8:15pm after site seeing/golfing/ enjoying beverages all day and would always find a spot on the floor with a great view.

Way more energy on the floor now without all the regulars sleeping in the first few rows.

Fuck the GA line and all the entitled whiners.

Cosmo · December 2013

The Pearl Jam floor was Roper Room compared to some General Admission floors... anyone who has been the a Rage gig can attest to that.
People, for the most part are cool and stay in the spot they came in on. Sure, there are always snakes in the pit, but there are snakes in every pit (the worst ones I've ever seen are those little girls at a Weezer show that have little experience in a pit situation... and probably a social situation and think they can squeeze their 38 inch waist into the 4 inches between me and the person in front of me. Go back to Physics class, Missy). But, Pearl Jam crowds are tame. Don't believe me? Go see Green Day or The Red Hot Chili Peppers in a General Admission pit... or worse... Pennywise ot Dropkick Murphys.

shortstack · December 2013

Cosmo wrote:

But, Pearl Jam crowds are tame. Don't believe me? Go see Green Day or The Red Hot Chili Peppers in a General Admission pit... or worse... Pennywise ot Dropkick Murphys.

but i thought tame was bad?

High Fidelity 2000 · December 2013

I agree and disagree. To the OP, you do know that if someone around you is a pain in the ass, it works both ways... YOU can also move BACK to get a better spot right? It sucks to have to do, but it's an option versus 3 hours of an asshole elbowing their way into your space and acting like a jerk.

To people who say, get reserved instead: I put in for one show, put reserved as my first choice and GA as second. Well guess what, it was a small demand for GA at that show because I ended up with GA tickets. Sure I guess I could have gone through all the trouble of trying to trade for reserved, etc... wouldn't be able to do so with another member until day of show when they found out where their reserved seats were etc... not to mention the constant "I need a ticket, no wait never mind I don't" that people give you (thought I had sold my extra GA ticket 3 times before I finally did an hour before the show)...

Anyway I prefer reserved seats, I like a little space, I like getting to be up close and not fight my way for it or line up at 8 am for it, etc... The immature "get the rail" people I've read about on here are just another reason to end this stupid crap for a bunch of fans who aren't going to see a boy band. The same people apparently are up front, which is what people got tired of. I don't get it. The GA pits are so small that it really wasn't that bad, the band seemed to like it, I thought the crowd in GA wasn't even THAT crazy or into it for the show I went to, don't know if it was like that for all of them.... but yeah I like reserved even though GA was so-so.

Zod · December 2013

Cosmo wrote:

But, Pearl Jam crowds are tame. Don't believe me? Go see Green Day or The Red Hot Chili Peppers in a General Admission pit... or worse... Pennywise ot Dropkick Murphys.

To be fair that might be by design. Bands like RHCP or Green Day tend to make the whole floor GA. In my experience the smaller the GA section the less crazy it is. A festival PJ pit is more crazy than an RHCP/Green Day entire floor pit. The more people that have access to GA tickets the more crazy the pit is. I have to assume PJ didn't make the floor GA to keep the pits respectable? Why else would they do it?

PJ_Soul · December 2013

High Fidelity 2000 wrote:

I agree and disagree. To the OP, you do know that if someone around you is a pain in the ass, it works both ways... YOU can also move BACK to get a better spot right? It sucks to have to do, but it's an option versus 3 hours of an asshole elbowing their way into your space and acting like a jerk.

To people who say, get reserved instead: I put in for one show, put reserved as my first choice and GA as second. Well guess what, it was a small demand for GA at that show because I ended up with GA tickets. Sure I guess I could have gone through all the trouble of trying to trade for reserved, etc... wouldn't be able to do so with another member until day of show when they found out where their reserved seats were etc... not to mention the constant "I need a ticket, no wait never mind I don't" that people give you (thought I had sold my extra GA ticket 3 times before I finally did an hour before the show)...

Anyway I prefer reserved seats, I like a little space, I like getting to be up close and not fight my way for it or line up at 8 am for it, etc... The immature "get the rail" people I've read about on here are just another reason to end this stupid crap for a bunch of fans who aren't going to see a boy band. The same people apparently are up front, which is what people got tired of. I don't get it. The GA pits are so small that it really wasn't that bad, the band seemed to like it, I thought the crowd in GA wasn't even THAT crazy or into it for the show I went to, don't know if it was like that for all of them.... but yeah I like reserved even though GA was so-so.

I have a feeling 10C will keep 10C GA but work out an entry system. Which is perfect. No reason a handful of jerks acting like idiots should ruin it for all the people who love GA.
Shows are simply higher energy with GA. I don't care who tries to deny it. I know it's true - I think those folks are in denial.

dimitrispearljam · December 2013

PJ_Soul wrote:

Shows are simply higher energy with GA. I don't care who tries to deny it. I know it's true - I think those folks are in denial.

jwillmo · December 2013

Alfonz wrote:

I seriously wonder if some people never go to any other shows. It's like GA at a PJ show is some radical concept that doesn't happen at any other concert.

People complaining about how it is "unsafe" ... I would suggest it is perfectly safe based on how many people were injured (i.e. none, I think) during the tour.

From my seats I could see that the GA area had plentiful room if you thought it was too tightly packed up front. It was maybe 2/3 full, if that. I don't understand why people *must* be up front. It is actually better to be back a bit, the sound in an arena will be much better, plus you get to take in a bit more of the light/stage show. And you're still really close.

If you don't like it, then why put in for GA and then complain about it? I was shut out of GA and made do with reserved. These were still awesome seats to enjoy the show from. Go and sit in those and leave the GA to people who aren't going to whinge about it.

This is almost verbatim what I was going to say (fellow Austinite, fancy that). It's like most people on here only go to giant arena concerts for bands they wanna be front row for. You people do realize that 99.9% of the concerts that go on on any given night across the world are a bunch of people standing on GA floor. And it doesn't involve lists, or queuing the morning of the show, or elbowing the shit out of people (well, for the most part at least). I went for GA first for Dallas, got reserved, and stared down and thought about how awesome it would have been to be at the very BACK of the GA. If you want to be the person who gets there at 5 am to get on the railing, fine. But if there's something that makes this experience difficult, that's the way the world works when you set your expectations that high. Getting rid of the entire GA system because of these things is throwing the baby out with the bathwater. The only point I can understand is if you have a great member number and are physically incapable of standing for an entire three hour show. The complainers are complaining pretty loudly, but it really seems like the GA thing was a success from the band's perspective.

Get_Right · December 2013

Cant please everybody.
I thought the way they did it this year was a good compromise.
The only people that complain about GA are those that would have seats in the first 10-15 rows.
I have to agree that there was more energy up front with GA.

PJCubs · December 2013

Get_Right wrote:

Cant please everybody.
I thought the way they did it this year was a good compromise.
The only people that complain about GA are those that would have seats in the first 10-15 rows.
I have to agree that there was more energy up front with GA.

Agree with this statement 100%!

Cosmo · December 2013

Zod wrote:

Cosmo wrote:

But, Pearl Jam crowds are tame. Don't believe me? Go see Green Day or The Red Hot Chili Peppers in a General Admission pit... or worse... Pennywise ot Dropkick Murphys.

To be fair that might be by design. Bands like RHCP or Green Day tend to make the whole floor GA. In my experience the smaller the GA section the less crazy it is. A festival PJ pit is more crazy than an RHCP/Green Day entire floor pit. The more people that have access to GA tickets the more crazy the pit is. I have to assume PJ didn't make the floor GA to keep the pits respectable? Why else would they do it?

...
I totally agree. By having the General Admission floor reduced and only open to Fan Club members helped to maintain a fairly tame environment.
With the vast majority of G.A. ticket holders being Fan Club member should make it easier than an entire floor open to anyone. Which is why there should not be a need for lists and that kind of nonsense because if you are screwing over people... you are screwing over fellow fan club members.
If people just did the right thing and either waited in line or went to the parties... there wouldn't be a problem. and most of the fans are cool. it is just the same assholes that pull asshole shit because they somehow think they are special and deserver more than the rest of us average fans.

Cosmo · December 2013

Again... these G.A. gigs were my only shot at getting to the front... so I took my shots.
I don't HAVE to be up front... but, if given the opportunity... I'll have a go at it because in the normal seniority situation, I don't get a shot.

shortstack · December 2013

shortstack wrote:

everyone is going to be "for" whatever benefits them personally

locked.

PJ_Soul · December 2013

shortstack wrote:

shortstack wrote:

everyone is going to be "for" whatever benefits them personally

locked.

I am "for" whatever makes the shows as good as they can possibly be in terms of energy.... And yes, that does benefit me personally! Even if I'm not even at the show!

locked · December 2013

Cosmo wrote:

Again... these G.A. gigs were my only shot at getting to the front... so I took my shots.
I don't HAVE to be up front... but, if given the opportunity... I'll have a go at it because in the normal seniority situation, I don't get a shot.

Are you forgetting the lottery for rows 1-2?

PJ_Soul · December 2013

locked wrote:

Cosmo wrote:

Again... these G.A. gigs were my only shot at getting to the front... so I took my shots.
I don't HAVE to be up front... but, if given the opportunity... I'll have a go at it because in the normal seniority situation, I don't get a shot.

Are you forgetting the lottery for rows 1-2?

That is almost meaningless when compared to GA. A very small number of people get it, and most people never win that lottery at all.

Dear Pearl Jam, let's re-think this whole GA thing..

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