Expecting Rain

However he was named, it was certainly not because of a cramped style.

I was at the secc front of line and the first one to ask for tickets as they went live there at 10.00. They had no tickets available for the front block at all. The helpful person behind the counter seemed a little shocked but despite consulting her workmates that was indeed the situation. I got 4 rows back in the stall just to the side of the front block and they look look good seats. Ticket master are supporting the touting in the way they do business with 'getmein'. I reckon the prices you quote will come down but this just stinks. Hopefully nobody will buy their expensive tickets and i will just slide across in to the empty seats row 1 centre.

hope you find one at cost somewhere

Yea he 's a real threat in these parts. no just doesn't mean no to him

That line sums up the whole sordid business.

I was working away when the tickets went on sale this week, and when I finally got online at midday, all the Glasgow tickets were gone.

However back in 2004/05 I used to go to the SECC box office in the morning of the ticket sale and never got anything further away than dead centre second row.

Your post sums up exactly how this whole situation has been skewed away from the genuine fan who will always be there when the tickets go on sale (either in person or online). Make the effort to get the best tickets? Don't even bother - the carve up has already decided that you won't get them. That's for the Ticketmaster Official Touts (sorry, 'Get Me In'). The whole thing is a joke.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned as much is the face value cost of these shows now - £81 for a decent seat is ridiculous in anyone's language. I paid £30 for Bob at the Barrowlands. That's nearly a 170% cost rise in just 10 years. Why?

I'll wait until closer to the time and decide if I want to go. I did the same last time (2013?), bought a ticket a couple of days before the show and ended up with a great seat in the stalls.

If I can't get a ticket, at least I have memories of great shows gone by, and realise now that going to a concert isn't just about buying a ticket and going to see an artist whose music has been an important part of your life.

To get a decent seat now, you need to be lucky, have very deep pockets and accept that the ticket agency has already decided the areas you can't buy a ticket for. And it looks like it will stay that way.

Great post, phantom engineer. Something really needs to be done.

Got something? I'll sign it. The problem is, not enough people dare complain.

Lack of complaints is certainly not the problem. The issue is that people complain but keep using their service (since often that's the only way to get tickets) and there's a lack of incentive to change the current system.

At the moment, there's only two groups of people who could do something about it (but probably won't):

1) fans could stop buying tickets in the secondary market

2) artists/promoters could demand a better system before booking venues that sell tickets via such websites

For a variety of reasons, that's not likely to happen. So we'll all continue waiting to see if some improvements will come out of the work of the NY AG. That's not the best solution, but that's all we got right now.


BTW, the promoters also shared some of the blame here. I had a look at the page where the VIP packages are sold and new tickets were added well after the shows had been marked as sold out. It's not uncommon for some tickets to be available again when the payment isn't completed within a few hours, but looking at how many tickets just suddenly appeared there, it seems clear that those tickets were just not available during the initial onsale and were added to VIP packages after they noticed they could sell even more of those.

I'm fine with promoters keeping some seats (hell, even a whole row) for special guests and then releasing them a few days before the show, if it turns out they don't need them. However, planning a whole second phase of ticket sales without informing fans beforehand is just not fair.

They're just milking him for whatever he's worth. Somehow I hope they're totally miscalculating...

Milking who? You're the one being milked! And any of us that buy tickets...we're all cows! Cattle!
Hats off to all your dedicated ticket-seeking activity. It's remarkable, really.

It actually comes down to the basic Law of Supply & Demand.

And as far as the gripe about promoters not releasing seats right away, or doing it in phases...
...they've been doing that for decades!
Not fair? It's a business! That's how they make their money!

Anyhow, I stopped going through all that BS about scrapping around trying to buy release-day tickets long ago...no need to get stressed about it. Instead I investigate it, and if shrouded in BS, just be patient & diligent in the weeks leading up to showtime. Great seats always pop up. It's part of their strategy. Most promoters are very clever at building a continuous sense of urgency. They have to be. They've been burned before.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not sticking up for promoters.
Just saying that's the way it is, and has been the reality for a while now.
Businesses need to take in more than they pay out in order to survive.
They aren't in business to support those with an on-the-dole mentality.

The release-day stress is intended! They know you'll pick up the less-than-ideal tix thinking they're the best available.
(for proof just read this thread or the rumors thread)

They hold the best seats back on purpose! To lure in last-minute concert goers! Duh...
They pull in the ones not willing to take the risk of missing out right away, and then still have great stuff to offer near showtime when demand is high.

Go read the book, Who Moved My Cheese. Very basic.
Trying to buy tix on release day and expecting success is so 80's.

But I do respect your efforts. I get it that waiting and risking is not for everyone.

I can't argue with your logic, however if you're thinking of traveling to a gig and maybe staying overnight the longer you leave it travel deals will be gone and hotels get full up and more expensive. When i went to Southampton last time around I had to pay £85 for a Premier In room because I left it late. I have booked a Premier Inn for the Bournemouth show and it only cost £47 (and I could have got one for £31 but it didn't allow for changes or cancellations). Travel to is also cheaper the earlier you book, especially if you're flying!

That's how it is in the US Nobody notices bc the marketers just gradually, sometimes obviously push the boundaries of price. Until here we are now. They just act like it's normal. Everyone's distracted... After all, it's a Nobel price tag we're cracking now. I would just go with the flow... There ll be an outcome somehow. .Paris for me I hope at least much of that money goes to an army of security around the gardens of that place .

Labour's Tom Watson was trying to get something done about the secondary market scalpers but he was pretty much ignored or lambasted for not concentrating on bigger issues. It would be a pretty easy issue to solve if anyone had the will but I wouldn't hold your breath with the Tories in power.
My move to Nottingham is still up in the air so I decided against buying any now and keep an eye out closer to the time if I'm there.

If you stay at a Premier Inn and complain you couldn't sleep, you can get your money back.

"Excuse me, Mr Premier Inn manager, I couldn't sleep as there was a terrible din coming from the BIC, sounded like a Bob Dylan karaoke night - I demand a full refund"

That's classed as 'an act of Bob' in the small print, sadly.

I once went to a van morrison gig and fell asleep!

Should I have asked for my money back?

That happened to me to at a different gig. But I think I fell asleep even before it started, so I can't blame the artist.

Last year, I almost fell asleep during one of Bob's shows in Italy. The sound of Autumn Leaves in the warm room and comfy chair was just too much for me

Hello friends!
A question: I ordered two tickets on Ticketmaster for Liverpool (8th May) last saturday.
How long it takes to ship it in Italy? Thanks in advance

I bought a couple of tickets for Glasgow from a friend - as it's his name on the tickets, do we know if Dylan concerts operate the anti-tout/photo ID policy that a lot of places seem to have adopted recently? I'm assuming not, but unsure as I've always bought the tickets to see him myself in the past

That wasn't an issue in recent tours. Also, if I'm not mistaken, the UK is still one of the few places in Europe where people aren't required to carry ID cards, so you can just contact the venue and ask what their policy is.

Not quite so clear cut as that. I've had to show photo ID for Kate Bush and David Gilmour shows in recent years. And the last time I was at the Armadillo (venue for Bob in Glasgow) I had to take the credit card I'd used to buy the tickets. But that was because they weren't issuing tickets in advance for the show. I'd have thought if you've got a physical ticket in your hand, and it doesn't say that you need photo ID, you should be ok.

What I was trying to say wasn't that there are never any ID checks in the UK, but rather that you're more likely to get a useful answer from the venue since there's no law already requiring you to have an ID card with you. In other countries, if you try to get that info from the venue/organization, you'll often get a silly answer like "please note that you're legally required to carry your ID at all times around here anyway".

Ah.

Sorry for double posting, but does anyone have a spare ticket for London Wembley Arena Tuesday 9 May please?