GA Best Practices

Jvollman · February 2018

LiteTheMatch said:

mcdon248 said:

Wrigley night #2 will be the first time my friend and I have had GA tickets for a Pearl Jam show. We are absolutely ecstatic!
I am looking for input from grizzled PJ GA vets on GA best practices/etiquette.

A couple questions that come to mind:
- What time do you normally arrive/line up for decent GA position? Does this matter if you anticipate grabbing a beer/hitting the washroom?
- Are washroom breaks unfathomable if you'd like to maintain a good position in the crowd? I.e. Do you plant yourself nearest the stage as soon as the doors open and do not move?
- In the past I've heard the GA situation at Wrigley and Fenway was borderline claustrophobic unless you were standing towards the back/side. I would imagine this is always the case?
- Are PJ fans in GA pretty good with the safety first/watch out for your neighbour mindset, or should I expect a lot of loose cannons in the crowd like any other concert?

Apologies if the answers to these are intuitive, just looking for some feedback on what to expect!

The closer you are to the stage, the more territorial people become. Night 1 of Wrigley was fine where I was... But Night 2 I saw people getting shit for leaving & coming back with beer or whatever... And I was right near the guy who was kicked out by Eddie Vedder. Lots of tension Night 2. But you can always move away from the people looking for confrontation.

What was that guy doing?? I was sick & missed that show but have seen it several times on video during Lukin. Eddie was pissed.

Mike D88 · February 2018

One nice thing about when they play the south is you can show up a few hours before the show and still get 3-4 people back on Mike's side...

Zod · February 2018

Mike D88 said:

One nice thing about when they play the south is you can show up a few hours before the show and still get 3-4 people back on Mike's side...

I don't think that has anything to do with the south. It has more to do with the fact those were arena shows. The pits in the arenas were way smaller. I had the same experience as you at Vancouver '13. Showed up 10 minutes before doors and was 4-5 people back centre stage. It was awesome.

The size and capacity of the Stadium pits is way bigger. It's a different beast from the arena shows. Way more people in them, thus more people lining up, and trying to get a good spot.

keeponrisin · February 2018

3days said:

How bad is the view from the sides (aka roomier) areas of the pit at Wrigley? Are you able to see the stage at all, or are you stuck watching the screens?

Also, is there only one entry/exit in and out?

There is much more room on the far sides at Wrigley, and you can see decently (although the outfield of Wrigley is pretty immense). I actually moved there night one last year as the middle was packed, and I was stuck near a middle exit. I had a baracade to my left where I placed my hand, but a lot of people didn't realize it, and continuously tried to push through even though I had told them it wasn't the way out (ridicuously annoying and ruined Release opener). The actual exit was about five feet in front of me. On the sides, another couple initially near me had also moved, and the guy was able to dance as wildly as he pleased with plenty of room (he had a great time). I do not discourage the middle, but it will be very saturaded with people, and be cognisant of where you place yourself (looking back I would have placed myself at the back of the barracade, but my wife didn't agree initially). If I recal correctly, there were one to two middle exits in the center, and no worries exiting in left field whatsoever. I would imagine it was the same for right field. Last time I believe it required three wristbands which also took some time. Those who waited in line for long periods of time seemed to score their wristbands earlier. My guess is that we got in line about three hours prior to the show.

jmug23 · February 2018

LiteTheMatch said:

mcdon248 said:

Wrigley night #2 will be the first time my friend and I have had GA tickets for a Pearl Jam show. We are absolutely ecstatic!
I am looking for input from grizzled PJ GA vets on GA best practices/etiquette.

A couple questions that come to mind:
- What time do you normally arrive/line up for decent GA position? Does this matter if you anticipate grabbing a beer/hitting the washroom?
- Are washroom breaks unfathomable if you'd like to maintain a good position in the crowd? I.e. Do you plant yourself nearest the stage as soon as the doors open and do not move?
- In the past I've heard the GA situation at Wrigley and Fenway was borderline claustrophobic unless you were standing towards the back/side. I would imagine this is always the case?
- Are PJ fans in GA pretty good with the safety first/watch out for your neighbour mindset, or should I expect a lot of loose cannons in the crowd like any other concert?

Apologies if the answers to these are intuitive, just looking for some feedback on what to expect!

The closer you are to the stage, the more territorial people become. Night 1 of Wrigley was fine where I was... But Night 2 I saw people getting shit for leaving & coming back with beer or whatever... And I was right near the guy who was kicked out by Eddie Vedder. Lots of tension Night 2. But you can always move away from the people looking for confrontation.

I didn't even notice someone getting kicked out by Ed night 2. I do remember Ed stopping the show in LA in 2013 to kick a girl and a guy out who were causing issues. It definitely made everything after pretty awkward especially because he kept referencing it and appeared to put him in a bad mood.

bb4packers · February 2018

The whole band stopped in the middle of Lukin and he admonished the guy for sticking a finger in a woman's face - kicked him out and then jumped right back in midsong

jmug23 · February 2018

bb4packers said:

The whole band stopped in the middle of Lukin and he admonished the guy for sticking a finger in a woman's face - kicked him out and then jumped right back in midsong

Oh yeah. I do remember that now. I’m glad certain bands don’t have a problem calling people out for inappropriate behavior.

SomethingCreative · February 2018

It wasn’t just GA night 2... something was just different with that crowd... some dude screamed in my wife’s face when she said something while he barreling up between our seats cause he was too lazy to walk to the damn isle 5 ft away

e360727 · February 2018

I was lucky enough to be GA for both '16 Wrigley shows. As many folks have stated, if you were lined up by 4pm or so, you ended up about 15 rows back. I'm not a small guy by any means, but I didn't dream about leaving my spot starting about 30 minutes before the band showed up. People weren't happy with bathroom breaks, or getting beers, even pre-show. Granted, once the shows started, the folks around me were SENSATIONAL and we all had a GREAT time, but as soon as folks realized how tight GA was going to be, it became very territorial. Prepare accordingly.

buck502000 · February 2018

I watched a fellow smoke a joint continuously for roughly 3 hours right in front of me. I wasn’t mad, I was impressed. Wrigley night 2 2016

DEGBTI · February 2018

I had one row back at Ohana fest, two years in a row. We got there sever hours early before Ed. No effin way you could leave and come back without a problem. We were so packed for so many hours in weird positions, it was crazy. Never been so packed in my life. Could barley breath half the time. Was it worth it? fuck ya!

bbiggs · February 2018

^ Thats how it was at Pilgrimage Fest. Got there early and watched all the acts leading up to Ed from the same spot. As it got close to Ed’s time, you could just feel the push forward from everyone behind. It got real tight, real quick. Leaving to use the bathroom or get beer was extremely tough. It could be done but it came with some looks and resistance. I will say that all the people around us were awesome. We all got to know each other and looked out for one another when someone had to leave and come back. We had a great time. That said, I think I’ll stroll in right before show time and hang near the back for Wrigley. A little breathing room and being able to come and go without a hassle will suit me well.

jmug23 · February 2018

DEGBTI said:

I had one row back at Ohana fest, two years in a row. We got there sever hours early before Ed. No effin way you could leave and come back without a problem. We were so packed for so many hours in weird positions, it was crazy. Never been so packed in my life. Could barley breath half the time. Was it worth it? fuck ya!

I feel bad for you if you had to sit there all day considering some of the performers were terrible:)

Eddieshometown · February 2018

Just don't be this guy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQw3cuQz_Fk

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