Terrible experience at Irvine concert

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Where should I start this story?  If you saw a white kid with a black Piece of Mind shirt and an Asian kid with an Emperor shirt in front of the theater on Saturday, then you know who this is.  We got to the theater at 9AM and I believe we were the first people there with tickets in-hand, but there's a lot more to this story.

Our adventure to see Maiden on the AMOLAD tour started when they announced it.  I was on Ticketmaster at 10AM the day the tickets went on sale, hitting F5 like a banshee, come to find out the Pit is already sold out.  I won't settle for anything less, so I spend the next few weeks resorting to eBay.  Miss out on a few auctions that exceeded $250/ticket, then finally scored a pair of advertised Pit tickets for $225/ticket.  Tickets arrive a week or so later, and they are lawn tickets.  I notify the seller and get my money back, unfortunately, by this time, there are no more Pit tickets on eBay.  So I resort to a broker, I find a pair, and purchase them, $381/ticket.  The tickets showed up on Wednesday of last week.  My friend and I left our houses at 2AM Saturday morning, after not sleeping due to our excitement.  We got to the Verizon theater at about 9AM to start waiting.  There was a small group of people there that were waiting for the box office to open and release more tickets.  And so we waited.  We met two really cool guys from Arizona that had lawn tickets and BSed with them until the gates opened.

At around 6PM my heart started to pound as I knew the time for me to be front and center was coming.  We had spared no penny nor any minute to ensure we were at the front of the line, and finally, we were there.  They pulled away the gates and I went up to get frisked, then went to get my ticket scanned.  The ticket machine said 'Stop.'  Immediately I was crushed as I watched numerous people run ahead of me and knew my prime spot on the rail might not be there.  The Guest Services Manager came over and said he had to take the tickets to the box office, I knew we weren't going to get a spot on the rail by this point.  Guest Services Manager comes back a few minutes later and informs us that we have fraudulent tickets and that we won't be seeing the show that night.  I asked him for a statement saying that the tickets are fake so we can get our money back.

Then my friend got in our car and drove 7 hours back home, arriving at 2AM, 24 hours after we had left.

Needless to say, we are currently crushed.  We have seen Iron Maiden on their last three tours, and have never had that prime spot front and center on the rail.  We did everything we could to make it happen this time, and we ended up not even getting to see the show.  For everyone we met in line, the three people from Turkey, the four girls from Ecuador, the two guys from Oregon, the two guys from Arizona, we hope you enjoyed the show for us.  See you at the next one.
 
Re: Experienced firsthand why Maiden doesn't like playing the US

That's a horrible experience.  One question boggles my mind:  What does the title of your thread have to do with what transpired?
 
Re: Experienced firsthand why Maiden doesn't like playing the US

I've always heard Iron Maiden say they dislike playing in the US because the true fans can't get the good seats, unlike international shows where everything is General Admission, those who pay the most money in the US get the best spots.  In this case, the money was worth it for us, and we still didn't even get to see the show.
 
Re: Experienced firsthand why Maiden doesn't like playing the US

Let's play "count the mistakes", shall we?

1. You insist on the pit, even when it's sold out. The root of your problem is that you're unwilling to settle for anything realistic. The smart move would have been to buy the best seats available at the moment.

2. You bought you tickets from a "broker". If he was selling them above the printed price, that's scalping and it's illegal. So you were trusting a law-breaker to be honest with you. Ever heard about honor among theives, and the lack thereof?

3. In your second post, you seem to be saying that the other people who did get into the pit aren't true fans. How would you know this?

Bottom line: your own actions led to your disappointing experience. Learn from your mistakes, and don't try to connect your stupidity with Iron Maiden or any of their fans.
 
I edited the title to eliminate the ambiguity.  Yes I insist on the pit because it is the best place to see the show in my opinion, and I did whatever it took so that I could enjoy the show as best as possible.

I didn't want to buy from a broker, but in my opinion, I didn't have a choice.  I wanted pit tickets, and it's not my fault ticket brokers buy all of the best seats and sell them at hugely inflated prices - one of the reasons Maiden doesn't like to play the US.

I did not mean to insult other people in the pit by any means.  Everyone I saw in line were obviously true fans with as much admiration for the band as myself.

I just wanted to see the show from the front.  I thought I had done everything possible to make that happen.  So why kick a man when he is down?
 
At the Palace In Auburn Hills show I was at (near Detroit), all the seats were $49.50. Granted, the non-floor seats were assigned, but they were all the same price, regardless of location.

I elected for seats because the floor was standing only, and I was going with my dad. He's almost 50 and I didn't want to force him to stand for five hours, especially since he just came from work...
 
Roll of the dice
Take a spin of the wheel
Out of your hands now
So how do you feel
but you're not gonna win
You'd better go back again

Do you feel lucky
Or do you feel scared
Take what luck brings
And the Devil may care
But you're down on your luck
And what will the next day bring

I hope this makes you feel better. Sorry to hear about that. Live and learn. And remember to be old and wise, you must first be young and stupid. And to the respected old timers: Cut him some slack, he is obviously a big fan. He just needs a little more guidance.

Tell me what you can hear
And then tell me what you see
Everybody has a different way
To view the world

I would like you to know
When you see the simple things
To appreciate this life
It's not to late to learn
 
What a bummer.
Sorry to hear what happend to you.  It really sucks. Althought I am sure you will get a chance to see them again I know it doesnt take away the bad experience you went through.  Be very carefull where you get your tickets next time. 

& yes I know how frustrating it is not to be able to get good tickets even when you have tried your best in obtaining them only to come to find out you get terrace tickets.
I still have never gotten orchestra much less pit tickets.  Non the less I settle for what I do get.

Good luck next time.
 
that sucks.  I feel for you.  Having seen the show in Camden, it was great and should have been seen by all.  Maybe they will come back to your area next year.

These supposedly legit "brokers" suck.  Before the camden show I was checking out these "brokers" just to see what tix were going for and they had LAWN seats going for $125+.  Only problem was, it was an indoor show with no lawn, so WTF!  Friggin legit scalpers suck.  How can they charge so much but if you or I did the same outside the venue we'd be arrested.

In any event, sorry to hear about your loss.

KM
 
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