Same folks up front

baldog27 said:

Douglas12373 said:

The Phish lottery hasn't changed anything, though it is a noble attempt. The same folks are still upfront at every show because they quickly figured out how to game the lottery system with fake names, multiple entries, and the same horse trading among the regulars that you see here in PJ land.

You are not wrong per se.

You know what it does change...  You do not have to show up to the venue until 5PM on show day and THIS is the point.

What you do from that point on is between you and the karmic gods. 

See you all in 2025 (in the queue, lol)

ally12 said:

Marieow said:

ally12 said:

Marieow said:

I'm relatively new to "Pearl Jam Rail Culture". I've gotten rail 5 times in the last 20 shows I have attended. Some of those tickets were 10C lottery wins, others I obsessively checked F2F.

While waiting in line, I've made incredible friends. I've helped others who are new to the process because during my first night, many people were very kind and generous to me. I have witnessed MORE incredible acts of generosity than negativity while in line and that is what keeps me going back (when I have the time and tickets, of course). Except for the stressors of getting to the line early enough, I find waiting in line to be very relaxing. That's my selling point when I try to convince my fiends. There's nothing to do all day but sit, relax, and connect with others about Pearl Jam. I've waited my whole life for that! No one I knew liked them when I was growing up. The day goes fast for me because it's probably the only chance I can actually feel okay about not being productive for most of the day. How rare is that? 

Now I hope I can convey my intention clearly here, as I'm trying to provide a fair insight into the situation.  Reading through this thread, I am not going to tell anyone that they didn't experience what they experienced, for better or worse. I have a friend that had a very bad experience, and some of the behavior lines up with some things that other friends have told me they experienced. Of course, I only know their side, but when different people (from different regions of the US) say the same thing, it's really hard not to wonder if they are true. That said, I try to give people the benefit of the doubt and talk with them. Some of the people I heard bad things about turned out to be awesome AF! And others, I've tried to break the ice but got the cold shoulder instead. What can you do? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.  We all have bad moments or get off on the wrong foot with someone.  I realize now, more often than not, it's a misunderstanding. 

Speaking of the idea of official numbering systems, I want to share what Iron Maiden does (I'm also in their fan club).  I'm curious about your thoughts. IMFC gives fans with GA tickets the opportunity to enter into their First to the Barrier contest. The week of the show, 60 people (and their plus 1) are notified that they won.  This is how they choose winners: "All the valid entries for a show go into a spreadsheet, then we de-duplicate the entries to make sure it’s only one per person. Then we have a quick visual check for anything obviously wrong (like people not putting a real name in). Finally we use a random number generator to assign each entry a number, and sort the entries based on that number. The lowest 60 numbers win." No waiting in line, just show up and get your wristband and you can enter in to as many shows as you have GA tickets for. Not everyone who qualifies for the contest enters. 

I'd love for 10C to do this, but there's one caveat.  Everyone who has rail for Iron Maiden loses their minds during the show! We all know the energy you provide to a band comes back at you. Meaning, people who win FTTB bring the energy every time. I'm not sure if PJ fans can consistently do this, TBH. Am I wrong? I do know that as it is right now, the PJ rail regulars consistently bring it! 

I think I saw you in Vancouver! This is a solid suggestion! 
 
So say for Pittsburgh, Iron Maiden notifies all the GA ticket holders of their rail contest. 60 people enter the contest and the band draws and assigns number 1-60. number 1-20 get rail and numbers 20-60 will be second row and so on? I just guess led how long their rail im sure you would k ow the exact cut off number. 

Iron Maiden runs the same contest for every concert date?

The system makes sense and some locations do this but it’s not a sanctioned contest. 

MSG I believe gave out numbered wristbands in the AM and asked everyone  to leave.

i think the fan base will bring the energy more. You can use MSG as an example, everyone was well rested and brought the energy. 

Yeah, iron maiden has the same contest for every show, except for places with official systems in place. I just saw them in Japan this year, bought tickets through the fan club last year. No first to the barrier contest there because GA tickets sold in Japan (for small shows all the way up to arena shows) assign tickets a letter and group number, kind of like Southwest Airlines. If you buy tickets early, you get a low number. Since IMFC had a presale, they automatically get the best numbers. It's awesome and efficient.

  They play the same arenas as pearl jam. Definitely more than 20 can get on the rail. And the filling in patterns are similar a lot of People opt into forgoing the rail on the sides for great middle spots in front of the singer.  

And Hi! Yes I was in Vancouver... I had GA N2. Didn't camp out though, got there at 10 am show day and was 1 person behind the rail Stone's side. Small queue though, bad weather.

Ahh ok, a lot of people have been sharing their experiences of what other bands do and it sounds great. All up to the band if they want to change it. 

I remember you, I was the short girl on stone’s side N2 I think you were behind me. Hope to see you at other shows. If I see you I will say hi!

aisleseats said:

baldog27 said:

Douglas12373 said:

The Phish lottery hasn't changed anything, though it is a noble attempt. The same folks are still upfront at every show because they quickly figured out how to game the lottery system with fake names, multiple entries, and the same horse trading among the regulars that you see here in PJ land.

You are not wrong per se.

You know what it does change...  You do not have to show up to the venue until 5PM on show day and THIS is the point.

What you do from that point on is between you and the karmic gods. 

See you all in 2025 (in the queue, lol)

Seems like it would still go the way it does with PJ though. When PJ and/or the venue make a statement saying no camping out or lining up before 8a, the diehards just camp out and line up elsewhere. Then when the ppl who actually followed the rules show up at 8a, they're told there was already a line and that they're behind all those people. I'd imagine the Phish diehards do the same.

Go Animal said:

Side note: there sure is a whole bunch of trash left behind after every single GA line.

Sometimes it's just a little, sometimes it's a LOT. And untold plastic bottles mixed in with trash. More coffee cups & to-go boxes than you can shake a stick at.

On top of abandoned air mattresses, coolers, foldable chairs, and other ephemeral items.

Wonder how the band would feel if they saw it first hand at around 6pm every day of show?? 🤔 

Marieow said:

ally12 said:

Marieow said:

ally12 said:

Marieow said:

I'm relatively new to "Pearl Jam Rail Culture". I've gotten rail 5 times in the last 20 shows I have attended. Some of those tickets were 10C lottery wins, others I obsessively checked F2F.

While waiting in line, I've made incredible friends. I've helped others who are new to the process because during my first night, many people were very kind and generous to me. I have witnessed MORE incredible acts of generosity than negativity while in line and that is what keeps me going back (when I have the time and tickets, of course). Except for the stressors of getting to the line early enough, I find waiting in line to be very relaxing. That's my selling point when I try to convince my fiends. There's nothing to do all day but sit, relax, and connect with others about Pearl Jam. I've waited my whole life for that! No one I knew liked them when I was growing up. The day goes fast for me because it's probably the only chance I can actually feel okay about not being productive for most of the day. How rare is that? 

Now I hope I can convey my intention clearly here, as I'm trying to provide a fair insight into the situation.  Reading through this thread, I am not going to tell anyone that they didn't experience what they experienced, for better or worse. I have a friend that had a very bad experience, and some of the behavior lines up with some things that other friends have told me they experienced. Of course, I only know their side, but when different people (from different regions of the US) say the same thing, it's really hard not to wonder if they are true. That said, I try to give people the benefit of the doubt and talk with them. Some of the people I heard bad things about turned out to be awesome AF! And others, I've tried to break the ice but got the cold shoulder instead. What can you do? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.  We all have bad moments or get off on the wrong foot with someone.  I realize now, more often than not, it's a misunderstanding. 

Speaking of the idea of official numbering systems, I want to share what Iron Maiden does (I'm also in their fan club).  I'm curious about your thoughts. IMFC gives fans with GA tickets the opportunity to enter into their First to the Barrier contest. The week of the show, 60 people (and their plus 1) are notified that they won.  This is how they choose winners: "All the valid entries for a show go into a spreadsheet, then we de-duplicate the entries to make sure it’s only one per person. Then we have a quick visual check for anything obviously wrong (like people not putting a real name in). Finally we use a random number generator to assign each entry a number, and sort the entries based on that number. The lowest 60 numbers win." No waiting in line, just show up and get your wristband and you can enter in to as many shows as you have GA tickets for. Not everyone who qualifies for the contest enters. 

I'd love for 10C to do this, but there's one caveat.  Everyone who has rail for Iron Maiden loses their minds during the show! We all know the energy you provide to a band comes back at you. Meaning, people who win FTTB bring the energy every time. I'm not sure if PJ fans can consistently do this, TBH. Am I wrong? I do know that as it is right now, the PJ rail regulars consistently bring it! 

I think I saw you in Vancouver! This is a solid suggestion! 
 
So say for Pittsburgh, Iron Maiden notifies all the GA ticket holders of their rail contest. 60 people enter the contest and the band draws and assigns number 1-60. number 1-20 get rail and numbers 20-60 will be second row and so on? I just guess led how long their rail im sure you would k ow the exact cut off number. 

Iron Maiden runs the same contest for every concert date?

The system makes sense and some locations do this but it’s not a sanctioned contest. 

MSG I believe gave out numbered wristbands in the AM and asked everyone  to leave.

i think the fan base will bring the energy more. You can use MSG as an example, everyone was well rested and brought the energy. 

Yeah, iron maiden has the same contest for every show, except for places with official systems in place. I just saw them in Japan this year, bought tickets through the fan club last year. No first to the barrier contest there because GA tickets sold in Japan (for small shows all the way up to arena shows) assign tickets a letter and group number, kind of like Southwest Airlines. If you buy tickets early, you get a low number. Since IMFC had a presale, they automatically get the best numbers. It's awesome and efficient.

  They play the same arenas as pearl jam. Definitely more than 20 can get on the rail. And the filling in patterns are similar a lot of People opt into forgoing the rail on the sides for great middle spots in front of the singer.  

And Hi! Yes I was in Vancouver... I had GA N2. Didn't camp out though, got there at 10 am show day and was 1 person behind the rail Stone's side. Small queue though, bad weather.

Ahh ok, a lot of people have been sharing their experiences of what other bands do and it sounds great. All up to the band if they want to change it. 

I remember you, I was the short girl on stone’s side N2 I think you were behind me. Hope to see you at other shows. If I see you I will say hi!

I'll be in Florida for GA, and I got seats so far for ATL and Nashville!  Hope to see you!

lastexitlondon said:

Go Animal said:

Side note: there sure is a whole bunch of trash left behind after every single GA line.

Sometimes it's just a little, sometimes it's a LOT. And untold plastic bottles mixed in with trash. More coffee cups & to-go boxes than you can shake a stick at.

On top of abandoned air mattresses, coolers, foldable chairs, and other ephemeral items.

Wonder how the band would feel if they saw it first hand at around 6pm every day of show?? 🤔 

The queues I've been in have been tidy. People make a point of collecting debris and put it in the bin. I've not seen mess. But that's my view at Europe shows

Douglas12373 said:

TBH I think the roll in at lights and shove your way to the front is far worse than any things the regular rail riders do. I'd be aggro about that too if I spend 24 hours waiting for my spot

BF25394 said:

Douglas12373 said:

TBH I think the roll in at lights and shove your way to the front is far worse than any things the regular rail riders do. I'd be aggro about that too if I spend 24 hours waiting for my spot

Advice to all who are physically able (and recognizing that some of us are bigger than others): stand your ground. These people are counting on not meeting resistance. Usually it's enough to just hold your ground. Sometimes, you have to bare some fangs and get a little physical. If you see a smaller person getting pushed around near you, step up on their behalf. In my experience, these people give up when they get pushed back with intent.

Go Animal said:

BF25394 said:

Douglas12373 said:

TBH I think the roll in at lights and shove your way to the front is far worse than any things the regular rail riders do. I'd be aggro about that too if I spend 24 hours waiting for my spot

Advice to all who are physically able (and recognizing that some of us are bigger than others): stand your ground. These people are counting on not meeting resistance. Usually it's enough to just hold your ground. Sometimes, you have to bare some fangs and get a little physical. If you see a smaller person getting pushed around near you, step up on their behalf. In my experience, these people give up when they get pushed back with intent.

My favorite bit is when they squeeze through, calling for their "friend" lol. Happened at Ohana with spectacular results😂

STAAAACYYYYY!🤣

Me and 2 other guys started calling for "Stacy" to come meet them, but to no avail. They mysteriously gave up on "Stacy" without a HINT of urgency. They just stood next to us for the remainder of the set.

I guess they weren't that close with "Stacy" 😉