Billy gave me front row seats!!!!
Kimberly Mendenhall
front row tickets up to us. NO LIE!!!! We touched his feet, got GREAT
photos, and got the cups he drank out of. This was the highlight of my life
susie
Justin Pollack
>From: sus...@esu.edu (Kimberly Mendenhall)
>Subject: Billy gave me front row seats!!!!
>Date: 23 Feb 1995 00:59:32 GMT
Better yet, my parent saw BJ at Nassau Collisium on Long Island (NY) last
year. They got the crappiest seats and complained to the head usher. The
seat apparently made it impossible to view anything. The problem was that
all of the "bought-out" seats which I take to be the front row on reserve were
given to people with a similar situation. Solution: They were placed on the
Islander's bench (the hockey team) near the stage. Later in the conert, BJ
gave direct mention to his insistence on giving everyone a chance to SEE him
perform.
Justin
Gary Montler
In a previous article, ru...@watson.ibm.com (Bill Rubin) says:
>>In article <3igmlk$b...@jake.esu.edu> sus...@esu.edu (Kimberly Mendenhall) writes:
>>
>>I went to his concert and had awful seats. Billy saw us and sent three
>>front row tickets up to us. NO LIE!!!! We touched his feet, got GREAT
>>photos, and got the cups he drank out of. This was the highlight of my life
>
>Ugh, this brings up a sad memory I have from a BJ concert many years ago
>(also at Nassau Coliseum, see the earlier reply). We were way in the back
>of the place, almost as far back as you could get. Well, a half hour or so
>before the concert started, one section away, even FURTHER to the center,
>we see this guy dressed up as Santa Claus (it was that time of the year),
>seemingly giving stuff away. Being Jewish, I had no interest in this and
>didn't go over. Well, I later found out that it was someone giving these
>people in the crappy seats front row tickets!!!
>
>-- Bill ru...@watson.ibm.com
>
>
I hate to sound like a broken record, but with respect to this practice
of giving away front row seats, what does this say to the guy or gal who
spent a fair amount of their hard earned money for second or third row
seats? What does it say to the guy or gal who took time off from work or
otherwise made the sacrifice of standing in line for hour upon hour in
hopes of getting front row seats only to find that they've all been
"reserved" for people who, for the most part, are so casual of a fan
that going to the concert was just something for them to do that
particular day? What do you do when you make such a sacrifice, get into
third row, find out you are sitting next to someone who is even MORE of
a fan, complete down to knowing every last lyric and even going to the
extreme of dressing like the artist, only to find that the first and
second rows are "given" to people who barely could recite the lyrics to
even greatests hits, and who, once the celebritry rush wears off
utilizies the lull of a great ballad to discuss amongst themselves what
other fans are wearing?
The official response from Maritime? According to Jane Arginteanu of
Maritime Music:
..."The only people you will find sitting in the first two rows
.... are true fans. They either cared enough to try to win
a contest or wanted to be there so much that they didn't
care where they sat."
I for one considered that a slap in the face and didn't even bother
responding.
Apparently, Ms. Arginteanu has never seen a documentary on professional
contest entrants who as a business expense invest in multi-line high
speed dialing phone systems. Apparently she has never witnessed one of
these "fans" gladly forking over tickets on the spot for a few hundred
dollars profit.
I would think for minimal cost SOME system could be set up so true fans
wanting to get into the first few rows could either pay a premium or
stand in line PROVIDED there was some way of verifying that ONLY the
person actually standing in line or actually paying the premium could
use those tickets. Premiums, of course, could be donated to local
charities ... this would cut out the scalpers, insure that efforts of
"true" fans are rewarded, and help out the less fortunate all in one
action..
What does everyone else think?
--
Bill Rubin
>>
>I hate to sound like a broken record, but with respect to this practice
>of giving away front row seats, what does this say to the guy or gal who
>spent a fair amount of their hard earned money for second or third row
>seats? What does it say to the guy or gal who took time off from work or
>otherwise made the sacrifice of standing in line for hour upon hour in
>hopes of getting front row seats only to find that they've all been
>"reserved" for people who, for the most part, are so casual of a fan
>that going to the concert was just something for them to do that
>particular day? What do you do when you make such a sacrifice, get into
>
>
>I would think for minimal cost SOME system could be set up so true fans
>wanting to get into the first few rows could either pay a premium or
>stand in line PROVIDED there was some way of verifying that ONLY the
>person actually standing in line or actually paying the premium could
>use those tickets. Premiums, of course, could be donated to local
>charities ... this would cut out the scalpers, insure that efforts of
>"true" fans are rewarded, and help out the less fortunate all in one
>action.
First of all, I am not sure how they sell tickets where you live, but here
in the NYC area you can't buy seats at the box office the first day they go
on sale, you HAVE to go to Ticketmaster or do it by phone. This means that
no matter HOW early you get there or invest in getting good seats, you
really have absolutely no control over whether you will get floor seats,
never mind front row (also most big concerts use a bracelet system so even
if you're first on line the odds of your being first to purchase tickets
are very slim). (It also means that for shows that sell out the first
hour, not to mention the first day, there are never any seats even sold at
the box office. So the bottom line is that people who really want great
seats for a show like this have to be incredibly lucky or be willing to
deal with the scalpers who manage to get good seats, or win a contest. I
agree with what you said about contests not being a good judge of being a
hard-core fan, however.
As for your idea about selling the really good seats at a premium, that was
done by Barbra Streisand this time around (and they were EXPENSIVE).. It
might be interesting to see other acts try this, but then people would
complain that it was elitest and that the "common folk" were being
screwed.. no?
-- Bill ru...@watson.ibm.com
Bill Rubin
>In article <3iqnu0$d...@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu>, ck...@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Gary Montler) says:
>
>What pisses me off about this is that I get my tickets like any normal fan would;
>I go to Ticket Master in advance and get my bracelet, then dutifully wait on line
>until my number is called. Problem is, unless I'm lucky enough to end up with
>one of the very first numbers called, I end up getting the shitty seats.
>
>Now think about this. Say Billy is going to be at Madison Square Garden for 5
>shows (the last few are "added" after the first couple sell out; of course, those dates were
>booked in advance). MSG holds 20,000 people, meaning there are 100,000 seats available.
>Cinsidering I have never seem more than 50 people on line at any TM site, and, judging
>by how crammed the TM phone lines are, they are not handling more than 100 people at a time.
>You would think that there would be pretty good seats being sold well into the sale, even if everyone
>bought the maximum number they were allowed.
Actually, the last time I got BJ tickets (for the Dec/Jan 1993/4 Nassau
Coliseum shows), they only sold a single show at a time. If you weren't
the first one on line at the time that a new show went on sale, you didn't
get floor/first tier tickets. After that the 2nd tier was sold, and after
about 10-15 minutes the show sold out and you had to wait for the next one
to be added. I don't know what percentage they're selling over the phone
vs in person at their outlets. Given that TM keeps all of the fees from
phone charges, I'd bet they sell more that way than at outlets.
-- Bill ru...@watson.ibm.com
Gary Montler
In a previous article, esc...@merle.acns.nwu.edu (Evan Schlesinger) says:
>Uhhh, TicketMaster no longer has a first-come, first-served policy. It's done
>via lottery. Standing in line hour upon hour? Futile.
>
Uhhh, you're wrong. Ticketmaster has no such policy. Whether or not a
show is done by lottery depends on the show and even the city. You
might want to pick up the phone and call companies like Ticketmaster
to get your facts straight before pretending like you know it all.
I agree the lottery sounds great, but I have the feeling that even with
that you'd still be able to pick up the paper and see a fair number of
premium tickets for the scalping.
BTW, I must also add that if Maritime's response is correct, then Billy
Joel should be commended for even trying anything to help his fans.
Bottom line though is that an artist's main job is to create the music
that makes his/her fans happy and enrich their lives and NOT getting
involved in mundane things like seat locations. I'd rather someone like
Billy take more time to write another "River of Dreams" instead of
worrying about fairness in seating - wouldn't you? Even so, it's nice
of him to try.
--
Gary Montler
In a previous article, ru...@watson.ibm.com (Bill Rubin) says:
>As for your idea about selling the really good seats at a premium, that was
>done by Barbra Streisand this time around (and they were EXPENSIVE).. It
>might be interesting to see other acts try this, but then people would
>complain that it was elitest and that the "common folk" were being
>screwed.. no?
>
>-- Bill ru...@watson.ibm.com
>
Yes! I heard that - but I would imagine the price could be controlled.
However, in this case the premium went to charity from what I understood
instead of to scalpers. Mind you - I also heard that they had
difficulty selling some of the premium seats because of the exhorbitant
prices. And I did not research this, but I had not heard of any
mechanism to insure that those who purchased actually attended instead
of reselling them at even a higher price (I think I remember hearing
some went for over $1,000/seat on the scalper market). Elitist?
Perhaps. But that's why I don't think giving a FEW premium seats to
people with really lousy seats is a bad idea. What's bad is when the
whole darn front couple of rows are RESERVED locking out those who are
willing to pay extra or wait in line or whatever.
--
Gary Montler
In a previous article, jke...@intac.com (Joel Keller) says:
>What I've always hated is how the people in the first few rows are always
>what my friends and I refer to as "Z100 Bimbos"; in other words, they are people
Although I must say in one case they all happened to be very young blond
women ... which was kinda bitter-"sweet" if you know what I mean
(although my date didn't think so).
<GRIN>
>Not to mention the speed-dialing freaks other scalpers pay to man the phones. So,
Heck - I saw once on some TV Show like 60 Minutes where the
speed-dialers are actually professionals with banks of phones with
special high-speed dialers. Just ask any DJ and they will tell you how
many "regulars" they get for contests.
>If I'm going to pay hundreds of dollars to ensure myself a good seat, however,
>I'd sure as hell like my money to go to a good cause rather than some scalper's
>greedy fingers.
I agree 100%. Mind you scalpers *do* take some risk especially for
things like outdoor concerts - or let's say after investing in a large
block of premium seats an artist gets really bad press (rare). But like
you said - why not have legitimate charities prosper as a result
instead? Besides - when you buy a ticket from a scalper and the show
gets cancelled and not rescheduled, you're dreamin' if you think you're
getting anything back except for the face value of the ticket. How does
that song go "Money for Nothin'"???
--
Leonard J Lipkin
the first five rows got those tickets b/c of knowing the right person (at
a radio station, on the road crew, or the performer himself) I once was
first when BJ tix went on sale here in Philly, and didn't even get floor
seats!
Len
----------------------------
| Len Lipkin |
| LIP...@Dolphin.UPenn.Edu |
|____________________________|
Homyk Kristen Leigh
> You're all forgetting--the only people I've ever met that had seats in
> the first five rows got those tickets b/c of knowing the right person (at
> a radio station, on the road crew, or the performer himself) I once was
> first when BJ tix went on sale here in Philly, and didn't even get floor
> seats!
> Len
I have fourth row center seats for Billy/Elton on April 2 in
Dallas. I drug my butt out of bed waaaaaaay too early in the morning,
and happened to win TicketBastards normally crappy lottery system (I
don't like it any better just because I won it - I don't think fans
should have to depend on luck to get tickets). Point being, I knew no
one, the force was just with me. May it be with you the next time
tickets go on sale, dear.
-KRIS
Evan Schlesinger
Gary Montler <ck...@cleveland.Freenet.Edu> wrote:
>
>In a previous article, esc...@merle.acns.nwu.edu (Evan Schlesinger) says:
>
>>Uhhh, TicketMaster no longer has a first-come, first-served policy. It's done
>>via lottery. Standing in line hour upon hour? Futile.
>>
>Uhhh, you're wrong. Ticketmaster has no such policy. Whether or not a
>show is done by lottery depends on the show and even the city. You
>might want to pick up the phone and call companies like Ticketmaster
>to get your facts straight before pretending like you know it all.
By show, you're correct. Not by city though, at least not according to
Ticketmaster.
>
>I agree the lottery sounds great, but I have the feeling that even with
>that you'd still be able to pick up the paper and see a fair number of
>premium tickets for the scalping.
I don't doubt it. I've never paid a scalper, and I never will. They stay in
business because not everyone has such a nice principle to stand by.
> I'd rather someone like
>Billy take more time to write another "River of Dreams" instead of
>worrying about fairness in seating - wouldn't you? Even so, it's nice
>of him to try.
Egads, that's a tough one. Another "River of Dreams" might be too much for me
to handle. Bleccch.
EVAN
No taglines necessary.
Peter C Chien Jr
suppose he was following along the parable of this rich dude who owned a
vineyard went out to hire hands. He picked one person out during the
morning, one during the afternoon, and one during the evening. But he
paid everyone the same wages. I guess the one who started in the morning
and worked all day may have been a little peeved that he didn't get a
bigger pay that the one who started in the late afternoon. But hey, be
happy with what you have. Only the people who are in the worst rut
should be helped out. I suppose you're probably mad that the homeless
can get food from a soup kitchen, seeing that they didn't "earn their
bread" like you do. Of course, I am a hypocrite I am, and true,
sometimes there is this feeling of unfairness, but if you think about it
long and hard enough, really, as long as it doesn't harm your own
livelihood, who cares? Worry about yourself, don't worry about others.
There's a lot of worrying to be done about one person alone -- why not
let it be you?
-Peter
Gary Montler (ck...@cleveland.Freenet.Edu) wrote:
Gary Montler
Sorry to hear that - what a bummer! It kinda makes you wonder about a
previous suggestion to use a lottery system for tickets. Here YOU are
living proof that even WITHOUT a lottery system, you had no chance of
getting good seats. Can you imagine the smokescreen a lottery puts up?
With the lottery system you would still get lousy seats and could only
assume that you were unlucky, because you'd have no proof that the best
seats were withheld for people who "know" people. If the system is
blatant in setting aside good seats when it is obvious - just THINK of
what goes on when a lottery is used!
Gary
--
Gary Montler
>should be helped out. I suppose you're probably mad that the homeless
>can get food from a soup kitchen, seeing that they didn't "earn their
>bread" like you do. Of course, I am a hypocrite I am, and true,
Basic needs like bread and luxuries like attending rock concerts are two
different things, pal. And if you read my posts, you'd know I'm not
opposed to SOME people being "magically upgraded" -- but the idea of
preventing all the good seats from being available the average Joe on
the street is just not right. BTW have *you* ever worked in a soup
kitchen? I really suggest you do. Most of the people there are just
down on their luck and would gladly "earn their bread" in the sense you
allude if only given the opportunity.
--
Mr N J Parkhouse
Has anyone else heard Richard Marx's version of Miami 2019 on "Paid
Vacation"? If so, what do people think of it?
Apologies if this is an old story, but I personally think his cover is great!
Cheers,
Nick.
It's all about faith and a deeper devotion.......
Joe Hollenbeck
row.. and in the VERY center of the stage! Some guy who said he worked
for Elton John gave us complimentery tickets to the VERY front row...
Needless to say I was the happiest guy on the earth that night... along
with my two other friends. I should have played the lottery that night. :)
Peter C Chien Jr
stations in which a trivia question about the artist needs to be
answered. Presumably only diehard fans would know such answers. I don't
have a problem with seats given away to people who have seats behind a
column, but people who don't really care about BJ's
music probably wouldn't mind sitting nosebleed.
-Peter
Joel Keller (jke...@intac.com) wrote:
: In article <3iqnu0$d...@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu>, ck...@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Gary Montler) says:
: >
: >
: >I would think for minimal cost SOME system could be set up so true fans
: >wanting to get into the first few rows could either pay a premium or
: >stand in line PROVIDED there was some way of verifying that ONLY the
: >person actually standing in line or actually paying the premium could
: >use those tickets. Premiums, of course, could be donated to local
: >charities ... this would cut out the scalpers, insure that efforts of
: >"true" fans are rewarded, and help out the less fortunate all in one
: >action..
: >
: >What does everyone else think?
: >
: >--
: >
: What I've always hated is how the people in the first few rows are always
: what my friends and I refer to as "Z100 Bimbos"; in other words, they are people
: who won a contest from a Top-40 radio station (like Z100 used to be here in NY)
: and get to sit in the front row even though the only song they know by Billy is
: "We Didn't Start the Fire". In the meantime, true fans like myself and my friends
: are banging our heads on the arena's ceiling, usually in seats that are behind
: the stage.
: What pisses me off about this is that I get my tickets like any normal fan would;
: I go to Ticket Master in advance and get my bracelet, then dutifully wait on line
: until my number is called. Problem is, unless I'm lucky enough to end up with
: one of the very first numbers called, I end up getting the shitty seats.
: Now think about this. Say Billy is going to be at Madison Square Garden for 5
: shows (the last few are "added" after the first couple sell out; of course, those dates were
: booked in advance). MSG holds 20,000 people, meaning there are 100,000 seats available.
: Cinsidering I have never seem more than 50 people on line at any TM site, and, judging
: by how crammed the TM phone lines are, they are not handling more than 100 people at a time.
: You would think that there would be pretty good seats being sold well into the sale, even if everyone
: bought the maximum number they were allowed.
: But, no. First the promoter takes a large block of the best seats for radio promotions, other
: contests, and VIP's. Then the scalpers pay ringers to stand on multiple lines, scarfing up even more tickets.
: Not to mention the speed-dialing freaks other scalpers pay to man the phones. So,
: now when Joe Fan walks up to the window 10 minutes after the sale has begun,
: all he can find are nosebleed seats behind the stage.
: That stinks.
: It really gets me steamed to know that people who think of "My Life" as
: "that song form Bosom Buddies" always get better seats than I do at a
: Billy concert. But, there's nothing I can do about it aside from shelling
: out hundreds of dollars to a scalper.
: No amount of freebies that Billy gives out is going to help. For every Billy fan
: who gets to move to the front row and have Billy sweat on them, there are 100
: fans who are cursing the ticket system and its rampant corruption.
: If I'm going to pay hundreds of dollars to ensure myself a good seat, however,
: I'd sure as hell like my money to go to a good cause rather than some scalper's
: greedy fingers.
: -------------------------
: Joel Keller
: either at: jke...@intac.com (where this message comes from)
: or at: kel...@dbisna.com (with the old farts at work)
Peter C Chien Jr
asked what does everyone else think, you'd rather not prefer people who
quote
your post and just say "me too." Basic need or luxury, the effect is the
same
-- the feeling of unfairness in which the happiness of one is diminished
because of the fortune of another. I am truly sorry you feel that way
about things like concerts that should be enjoyed because you're there
for BJ and not because you have to gripe so much about some lesser or
non-fan getting better seats than you do. I don't know, but I enjoy a
concert just because I'm there. I don't mind that the "untrue" fans are
sitting next to me if I were in the front row, because who knows, maybe
such a moment will make them become bigger fans.
-Peter
Gary Montler (ck...@cleveland.Freenet.Edu) wrote:
: Basic needs like bread and luxuries like attending rock concerts are two
Shannon M. Vare
front row seats at a Billy Joel concert. However, I do want to say that
I wasn't there because I had won some contest or because I had known the
right people, and I am certainly not one of those "Z100 bimbos" to quote
another article. I happened to spend my hard earned money, and endless
hours sleeping out in the rain, to get crappy 700 level tickets. The
people at the end of the line qot the better seats, which didn't quite
seem fair to me. Upon arriving at the concert pretty early for the show,
a member of the stage crew approached my boyfriend and I, exchanging our
shit seats for front row seats. As to whether I could be considered a
big enough fan to get these seats, I don't think that matters. A certain
friend of mine was jealous because she felt she was a bigger fan than I
and deserved them more. Well I don't have every lyric of every song
memorized and ready for recitation on command, but I am a fan
nonetheless. When it comes down to who gets the seats I feel that you
take the chance stepping into the ticket line. You know the risks, and
granted not every person can get the best seats in the house. I think
that the present system still sucks, but if you're patient you might just
get lucky like I happened to. No matter if there are premium tickets or
not, there will always be those who are unsatisfied, and it's inevitable
that there will always be those who have to sit in the back row.
Shannon Vare <smvare...@bloomu.edu>> > >
Jonathan S Cohn
Eight years ago Billy came to South Florida on his tour for The Bridge.
I had decent seats -- upper deck, but close to the stage -- and was
waiting to meet some people out front.
Right next to me, a few girls were discussing how a friend of theirs hadn't
shown
up. It was getting late, and they decided to get rid of the ticket. I
leaned over and asked them where the ticket was; the woman said "row 6."
I said "How much?" She said "25 bucks" I gave her $30 and told her to
keep the change. I told my friends I'd see them after the show.
It was amazing. I worked my way up to the front row, and slapped a high
five with the man. And when he was doing You May Be Right, he was right
in front of me. I don't remember how I got his attention, but when he
got to the first chorus, he pointed the microphone at me and I sang the
chorus line. (My friends told me I was grossly off-key; I couldn't hear
a damn thing anyway.)
It was a totally awesome experience, and the best BJ show I've ever
seen. (12 now)
JSC in Boston
Evan Schlesinger
Jim Westin <west...@delphi.com> wrote:
>Evan Schlesinger <esc...@merle.acns.nwu.edu> writes:
>
>>seats, as opposed to the scalpers who bought the really good ones, or the
>>idiots who pay scalpers for them and keep them in business.
>
>This idiot will be sitting 4th row center in Indy. Smok'em if ya got'em!
And how much did you pay for your ticket?
EVAN
No taglines necessary.
JRColvin
only chance a normal guy has to get a good seat. After ten years of
faithfully standing in line and/or calling and receiving lousy tickets, a
year ago I broke down for the first time and bought tickets from a
broker--10th row seats in Louisville for $80 each--well worth it. Picked
up my 17th row seats for F2F in Indy March 31 yesterday and they cost a
bit more....but they should be worth it as well...I hope!
Jim Westin
>up my 17th row seats for F2F in Indy March 31 yesterday and they cost a
>bit more....but they should be worth it as well...I hope!
Later,
Jim