GA lineups - Presale shows vs regular shows

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bonosloveslave

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I tried to do a search but short of going back and reading every thread pertaining to every show, I figured this would be easier to just post -

What were your experiences during the first leg when you were at a show that had a presale through the fan club? Were there 2 lines from the very beginning when people started to line up, or were they split late in the day by the venue? I'm also curious to know what happens now with the third leg shows. I have presale GA tix for the Chicago Sept 20th show, and it seems like it would be better to have 2 lines from the very beginning, even if the lines are side-by-side but end up at different entrances closer to show time.

Also, for the later first leg shows, were they strict to only have fan tickets in the second line, or could it be anyone with a membership? In the later shows did they have 2 lines at non-presale shows? I know there was a lot of drama in the first few shows but never saw how things progressed...

Thanks :)
 
The one I was at had a single line that split when it got closer to the time to go in. I think it's b/c the fans run the GA line while the venue is in charge of making a fan club line and deciding who qualifies (based on their ticket or some proof of membership I suppose). If the fans running the GA line had to decide who went where, I think hell would break loose. There's enough problems w/ people trying to cheat and cut already with just a simple, first-come-first-serve wrist numbering system. Plus, geographically (at least at the UC) it only works to have a single line b/c of the grass space alloted for GA lines. The other side of the street where the fan club line eventually formed was just a sidewalk and property that belonged to someone else (a school I think).
 
Here, Beth, in these photos you can see how the side for lining up has a nice patch of grass w/ trees, while the other side of the street has an iron fence right against the sidewalk:

photo2.jpg


photo4.jpg


Plus, the GA line gets so long, it wraps around the outer perrimeter of the parking lot. A fan club line on the other side of the street would have nowhere else to go once it reached the end of the block (which isn't far).
 
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Most of the venues will have the line split up right away in the morning. Chicago was a bit different because security took a completely hands off approach, basically saying do whatever you want.

So it really varies from venue to venue how they handle it.
 
Yeah, it really depends on the venue. Some decide to take care of the GA line, some are not involved at all, so in these cases the line will be split when the U2 staff arrives, usually late afternoon. I think that for most venues either a FAN ticket or your U2.com profile worked.

Here are my experiences with GA from the first leg:

Vancouver 1: I showed up at around 6:30 pm, and when I asked security about two lines, they seem to have no idea what I was talking about. At this point there was only one line, although there might have been two when the doors opened.

NYC: I was there at 9am. No one from MSG had any idea what to do with the GA line, so there was only one (ridicously small) line all day long. When it was time for the doors to open someone working for U2 came and splitted the line in two. I'm pretty sure the U2.com line got to go in first too.

Philly 2: showed up at 6pm, right when the doors opened. There was two lines and I think they had been split from the beginning (although someone who was there in the morning would know better than me). Both lines went in at the same time, but it seemed to me like the U2.com line was going in way faster (plus it was MUCH smaller)

Boston 3: I arrived at 6:30am. Venue staff was very involved and organized and distributed wristbands at around 9am. They had two lines right away, and even different colors for wristbands ( I think). When we came back at 5pm we were in separate lines as well. Both lines went in at the same time and same pace.
 
Thanks for the pics Lies - they actually let people pitch tents? :ohmy:

Well I'm gonna be annoyed if I don't get VIP treatment for my FAN ticket :angry:

:angel:
 
Sorry if I'm really dense and this has been made clear already a thousand times but...
Should my ticket say something unique on it that identifies it as a ticket from the presale? I probably won't arrive really early, so I think it would be to my advantage to get into the fan club line, but I want to make sure I've got the right "credentials". I don't see anything on my ticket that would identify it as coming through the propaganda - sorry, "fanclub" - presale.

So....?
 
I went to Toronto 3 and there was a U2.com line from the get go. I got in line around 5:30pm and could have gotten front rail very easily had I not got into the BS. I didn't go to Toronto 4, but got there very early in the afternoon to check out Bono's arrival and there was already a U2.com line formed then as well.
 
Spiral_Staircase said:
weird. mine says neither "adult" nor any combination of the letters f-a-n

What show?

Edited to say: I just looked through my myriad of tickets many of which are Fan Club, and the ones from MSG do say N-Type, so that can be included among the Fan Club type identifier.
 
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bonosloveslave said:
Anyone else have any comments?

Toronto has a presale, right? Wondering how that works out, if they do a second line or not...

The first two shows had a presale, the last two did not.

In all instances, the line was split later on in the day. Some days it was early on (like 10-11 AM), other days it was as late as 3 PM.

They gave the fan club members the option of choosing which line to go into. On the first two nights, they just checked that you had fan tickets (said MFAN on them), and on the last two nights, they wanted either your U2.com card thing or your profile. The last show, they asked me to provide I.D. with the printed profile, I guess to match up names.

There were three turnstiles you enter through. The important thing to note is which line has two turnstiles and which has only one. In Toronto, the general line had 2 turnstiles and as a result moved more than twice as fast as the fan line. So in effect, the only people who were helped by the fanline were the ones who arrived late and could go to the line with only 200 people rather than the one with 2000+ people. For the ones up front, it was better to stay in the general line.
 
Spiral_Staircase said:
minneapolis. they're ticketfast tickets (the ones they e-mail to you)

Do they say anything? Like even N-Type (like my MSG's).

I looked at my Vegas Fan Club Ticketfast and the designation is there, (L-Fan) for Vegas.
 
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Spiral_Staircase said:
minneapolis. they're ticketfast tickets (the ones they e-mail to you)

I got a ticketfast ticket for the Minneapolis show and I don't see anything that looks like it would indicate it's a fan club ticket, either.

I'm bringing my U2.com membership card along just in case I get challenged.

Why does this have to be so complicated? :|
 
ramblin rose said:


Do they say anything? Like even N-Type (like my MSG's).

I looked at my Vegas Fan Club Ticketfast and the designation is there, (L-Fan) for Vegas.

I see MA0923, EMA0923, and J17MAR5.

oh, and there's a FC 1.75

That's about it. Oh well, it sounds like printing out the profile from u2.com has worked for other people. maybe I'll give that a try.
 
Bono's shades said:


I got a ticketfast ticket for the Minneapolis show and I don't see anything that looks like it would indicate it's a fan club ticket, either.

I'm bringing my U2.com membership card along just in case I get challenged.

Why does this have to be so complicated? :|

membership card?? Am I supposed to have one of those?
 
Spiral_Staircase said:


membership card?? Am I supposed to have one of those?

I never got mine either.

Just go to U2.com, and print your profile after logging in.
 
I actually got proofed harder for my U2.com profile than I have at some bars. Bring your picture ID also.
 
Just a side note...for the 5/10 show in Chicago, we had our U2.com profiles with us and went into the fanclub line. As we approached the gates, they weren't checking any of the fanclub's IDs. I thought that was strange. Anyone could have jumped in that line.
 
can someone clear me up on something..
people who use the camping chairs and stuff. when they get closer in the line when its time to go in.. where do they put that stuff.. obviously you can't take it in with u??

what do u do?
 
James U2 said:
so if i am U2.com member, and have two fanclub tickets, but my friend is not a member, he can still stand in the U2 line with me, right?

Yes, they have a 1+ policy.... that is you plus one other person.
 
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