'Arry
Educated Fool
Ok, this is the first thread I've ever started here, so I wanted a topic that would include everyone.
After thinking on it for a while, I figured everyone here has been to concerts, but there's already plenty of concert threads, but I don't recall any pre-concert threads.
The idea is to share your experiences as far as how you went about getting your tickets, how you got to the show, who you went with, parking lot tail gating, etc.
What with the members here spanning generations, some of the processes have changed.
I'm hoping there will be some pretty interesting stories out there.
Ok, so, to start off, I'm 56 years old, and getting tickets in my early teens meant getting a ride to where they were going on sale the next day.
Yes, that's right, boys and girls, we actually did sleep on the sidewalk in order to be able to get seats.
You have to understand, this was a different time. You didn't see your favorites any time you wanted. There was the Midnight Special & Don Kirshner's Rock Concert on TV, and that was pretty much it.
Oh, sure, there was American Bandstand & Solid Gold, but the bands on there weren't the ones you were gonna spend your hard earned grass cutting money on.
You waited months for a new album, and the only way you even knew a new album was coming was the radio. (Sometimes there would be ads for tickets or albums on the above mentioned shows, but not often)
So, you wait for months for the album. You get it, and it was magic. These were mythical, mystical people you worshipped and now you had, in your hand, their new music, just for you. (and all your friends that gathered round your stereo for that hold-your-breath-here-comes-the-first-track moment. (Cat Scratch Fever always comes to mind when I think of that. My friends & I absolutely freaked)
So, after listening to & absorbing every cut until, if you listened closely, you could literally hear the track from the other side of the record playing backwards, you'd get info (again, on the radio), of concert dates, but more importantly, ticket sale dates.
This date was the one you could not, under any circumstance, miss. You just spent nearly two years waiting for this. You don't get tickets, that's it. You missed your shot. There's no other way to see them. I remember actually crying when I didn't get Queen tickets.
Oh, sure, there were scalpers, but if you could barely scratch & save for seats at regular cost ($7.00 the first time I saw Kiss), how the hell were you gonna come up with $25? Being 14 was tough.
So, 8am, Saturday morning, the doors open and as soon as you walk in, you yell 2, or 4 or however many tickets you were getting. You just spent all night on the sidewalk with your friends, but only one of you went in. It was a fast process because there were people behind you. We were all in this together, you see.
This was happening everywhere, so you had to be there early. You could be, maybe, 15th in line and they're sold out by the time you get in the door. (Hence the tears for Queen)
Then, once the tickets were bought, you experience the only moment of instant gratification in the entire concert process. You pay for your ticket, and a few seconds later, it's in your hand.
A lot of times, this was when you found out who the opening act is going to be. Sometimes it would be awesome (Judas Priest) or awful (Piper? who the frack is Piper?)
I can't tell you the range of emotions you go through, but I remember the strongest, most overpowering one: Security.
Now, all I have to do is start saving for a tee and a program, negotiating a ride, etc.
But all that came later. Right now, there's only one thought: I'm in.
Ok, folks, I'll leave it off there and let others share their stories.
Also, if this thread has been done, you can just close this one out. Won't hurt my feelings any.
After thinking on it for a while, I figured everyone here has been to concerts, but there's already plenty of concert threads, but I don't recall any pre-concert threads.
The idea is to share your experiences as far as how you went about getting your tickets, how you got to the show, who you went with, parking lot tail gating, etc.
What with the members here spanning generations, some of the processes have changed.
I'm hoping there will be some pretty interesting stories out there.
Ok, so, to start off, I'm 56 years old, and getting tickets in my early teens meant getting a ride to where they were going on sale the next day.
Yes, that's right, boys and girls, we actually did sleep on the sidewalk in order to be able to get seats.
You have to understand, this was a different time. You didn't see your favorites any time you wanted. There was the Midnight Special & Don Kirshner's Rock Concert on TV, and that was pretty much it.
Oh, sure, there was American Bandstand & Solid Gold, but the bands on there weren't the ones you were gonna spend your hard earned grass cutting money on.
You waited months for a new album, and the only way you even knew a new album was coming was the radio. (Sometimes there would be ads for tickets or albums on the above mentioned shows, but not often)
So, you wait for months for the album. You get it, and it was magic. These were mythical, mystical people you worshipped and now you had, in your hand, their new music, just for you. (and all your friends that gathered round your stereo for that hold-your-breath-here-comes-the-first-track moment. (Cat Scratch Fever always comes to mind when I think of that. My friends & I absolutely freaked)
So, after listening to & absorbing every cut until, if you listened closely, you could literally hear the track from the other side of the record playing backwards, you'd get info (again, on the radio), of concert dates, but more importantly, ticket sale dates.
This date was the one you could not, under any circumstance, miss. You just spent nearly two years waiting for this. You don't get tickets, that's it. You missed your shot. There's no other way to see them. I remember actually crying when I didn't get Queen tickets.
Oh, sure, there were scalpers, but if you could barely scratch & save for seats at regular cost ($7.00 the first time I saw Kiss), how the hell were you gonna come up with $25? Being 14 was tough.
So, 8am, Saturday morning, the doors open and as soon as you walk in, you yell 2, or 4 or however many tickets you were getting. You just spent all night on the sidewalk with your friends, but only one of you went in. It was a fast process because there were people behind you. We were all in this together, you see.
This was happening everywhere, so you had to be there early. You could be, maybe, 15th in line and they're sold out by the time you get in the door. (Hence the tears for Queen)
Then, once the tickets were bought, you experience the only moment of instant gratification in the entire concert process. You pay for your ticket, and a few seconds later, it's in your hand.
A lot of times, this was when you found out who the opening act is going to be. Sometimes it would be awesome (Judas Priest) or awful (Piper? who the frack is Piper?)
I can't tell you the range of emotions you go through, but I remember the strongest, most overpowering one: Security.
Now, all I have to do is start saving for a tee and a program, negotiating a ride, etc.
But all that came later. Right now, there's only one thought: I'm in.
Ok, folks, I'll leave it off there and let others share their stories.
Also, if this thread has been done, you can just close this one out. Won't hurt my feelings any.