Is General Admission REALLY that great?

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u2wedge

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I was just wondering if some people could talk about their experiences with the General Admission experience from Elevation and whether they were elated or disappointed about the experience.

I can obviously see the benefit of GA tix giving an up front experience to see the band, but what about floor experiences from the middle of the floor? I'm totally excited about my GA tix for this tour as I remember looking on the floor with envy from my uppers last time around, so it doesn't matter to me either way, but is the GA experience really that it's all cracked up to be?

Thanks for your experiences in advance!
 
YES.

The energy in the pit is amazing, and to be that close to the band and see their expressions on their faces as they play is awesome, too.

After my first GA experience in Chicago I told myself I'd never want seats to a U2 show again. I had seats the next night, but for the rest of that tour and for 5 shows on this one I have GA's. It's the only way to go. :up:

I wanted to add that as anitram said, it's the best value in terms of money, plus you get to hang out all day with other diehards which is cool, too. :)
 
Fo shizzle.

I think the only downside to GAs is that unless you're willing to camp out for a long time, you'll probably have no idea where you'll be relative to the band. I'd rather be behind the stage -- Bono still waved to me when I was there for Elevation!

Oh, and if you happen to be upfront or at the end of the ramp, you could have your hand molested by Bono. Not that I've ever had such luck!
 
I wouldn't mind having GA just once, but I wouldn't actively seek out a GA ticket. I'm at the point where I like a little space and place to sit as opposed to standing for the whole evening.
 
sometimes it is better to have a seat. you dont have to worry about wasting a whole day in line, you can go out and have a nice dinner beforehand, and just get ready for the show properly. and you dont have to stress all day about if you are going to get the exact spot you want, you know where you will be seated.

though the ga experience is quite magnificent...
 
GA is Heaven on Earth.

Being close to the band is a COMPLETELY different experience than being miles away. No comparison possible.

Plus, the fact that by waiting in line you get to know the people around you brings the experience to a whole other level. The crowd is just amazing, everyone is in a big trance together. The emotional level down there is beyond anything that you can experience in seats.

The only drawback for me is that you can't enjoy the visual effects as much as in the stands, and for this show it seems like we might be missing a lot. I'll try to get seats to one of the shows I'm going just for that.

But, yeah, GA IS as great as everyone says. Maybe even better.
 
oceane said:
The only drawback for me is that you can't enjoy the visual effects as much as in the stands, and for this show it seems like we might be missing a lot. I'll try to get seats to one of the shows I'm going just for that.
[/B]

Actually, what I did last tour is go to the tip of the heart (just outside it) for a couple of shows and that allowed me the GA experience, a great view of the stage, front row for all the acoustic action, and a way to see the visual effects from a bit of a distance.

If there's an egg, you can always try doing that for a show or two. I may do that myself.
 
GA is definitely worth it if you make the effort. In 2001, I made the effort for Vancouver (tip of the heart), Portland (inside the heart) and L.A. (inside the heart). I arrived no earlier than 3 PM for all the shows and was able to get in or close. Yes, that is...5 hours of waiting, but not too bad to have Dallas Schoo give me an adam pick, Bono and Edge duking it out to "Until The End of the World" 3 feet in front of me, seeing Woody Harrelson in the heart in Portland, being able to see Edge's guitar rack set up close...

I will say that it was an effort and there was a lot of stress getting into the heart. People running down the hall, pushing, running down the stairwell onto the floor (one girl in Portland had high heels and nearly fell down the stairs...why would you wear high heels to a concert?), security yelling at you to stop running...

For Vertigo, I have GA tickets for 2 shows but am not going to stress about getting there early. I'll get there about 4 PM and make the best of it but won't do the all day thing. I'm just happy to be in the building. Just hoping I don't get any tall people in front of me though. I've done it 3 times for Elevation and I have those memories to last me for a long time. So, if I don't get close this time, no big.
 
I had GA for Vegas Elevation and it was the best concert experience I've had in my life...... GA absolutely made the show for me. Also, it might not be true that you have to stand in line all day. In Vegas (which was on the 3rd leg by which time it was much harder to get GA's because word was out that GA was the only way to go), I didn't find a ticket until maybe a half-hour prior to the start of the show and I still ended up being about 7 rows of people from the tip of the heart.
 
pub crawler said:
I had GA for Vegas Elevation and it was the best concert experience I've had in my life...... GA absolutely made the show for me. Also, it might not be true that you have to stand in line all day. In Vegas (which was on the 3rd leg by which time it was much harder to get GA's because word was out that GA was the only way to go), I didn't find a ticket until maybe a half-hour prior to the start of the show and I still ended up being about 7 rows of people from the tip of the heart.

I wasn't expecting to have any reason to read threads like this, but to my complete shock I somehow got a pair of Toronto GA's to come up on Ticketmaster yesterday (I wasn't even trying for them), and so now I have suddenly become VERY interested in learning what I can!

I am definitely excited at the prospect of it now that I have the oppourtunity - pubcrawler (and others), do you think that you'd be able to get that close at most shows showing up so late? Since it's a weekend show, I suppose more people might be inclined to show up early, and I don't really want to spend all day in line - I just want to get a decent spot on the floor and enjoy the night. I guess I'm wondering in general how early you need to be there to get a good spot.

It's a long time until the show, but I'm going to be thinking about it an awful lot!
 
Originally posted by Marmoset I guess I'm wondering in general how early you need to be there to get a good spot.[/B]

I've done GA in Toronto last tour.

What do you consider to be a "good spot"?

If you want to be front row, I'm near certain you will have to sleep outside.
 
anitram said:


I've done GA in Toronto last tour.

What do you consider to be a "good spot"?

If you want to be front row, I'm near certain you will have to sleep outside.

Well I'm not sleeping outside, so I guess I won't be getting front row!

That's actually fine with me, I don't need to be anywhere near that close, but the other post I quoted was talking about being 7 deep at the tip of the heart - even to be 20 deep, how hard would that be and how early would you need to be there? The truth is I'll probably be satisfied with just about anything, but I'd rather not be all the way at the back.
 
7-20 deep at the tip of the heart (on the outside) would have been no problem at all had you showed up in the afternoon sometime.
 
Yes it is wonderful...

On the Elevation Tour, I was at the Atlanta show (third show of the tour I believe) and was on the 2nd row from the top of the arena..seats were horrible.

Then, I was lucky enough to get GA for Tampa (next to last show in the states) and I was in the heart...actually got to stand facing the stage on the right near the walk...If I wanted to, I could have reached up and grabbed Bono walking by....by the end of the show both Paul McGuinness and Elvis Costello were standing behind me..definitely worth waiting in line all day and worrying whether I would get in the heart or not.
 
The experience is unbelieveable. I was in the heart on Larry's birthday, two or three people deep depending on crowd movement, somewhere between Bono and Edge. Words don't even describe it- the energy of the band right there in front of you, the emotion of the crowd, jumping up and down with all those people during Streets, being one of the people carrying the energy of the show to the rest of the crowd...Everyone should experience it once. It's amazing.

I ended up that close completely by accident and I hope to get there on purpose once or twice this time around!
 
I was 2 people deep in the heart, a little left of Bono at center stage during the Elevation tour in Pittsburgh. Like everyone else said, the energy was AMAZING and it was truly a magnificent concert experience! And as anitram said, truly the best bang for your buck!
 
for any show, i would much rather be standing on the floor than in a seat. i'm pretty energetic at shows so i like the freedom of movement and the added energy of the surrounding crowd.

i've seen u2 three times before with seats of varying quality, and they always put on an amazing show regardless of where your seats are. i've never had floor tickets, so i can't personally speak about the u2 GA experience . . . BUT that's going to change by next wednesday! san diego baby, YEAH!! :hyper:
 
Not for me. I have a back hernia and the sole idea of standing for a few hours, waiting outside the arena in the cold for more hours, only to fight tooth and nail to have a decent spot is too much trouble.

GA is the reason as to why we have 165 dollar tickets on this tour. And why the other have to fight for the few good tickets there are left, other than nosebleeds.
 
I would always take GA ahead of seating, although i've always been lucky with the weather.

Much better atmosphere. And you feel that the band is actually playing to you a lot more.
 
My wife and I had GA for the Elevation show in Baltimore. I saw the show fine while my shorter wife couldn't see very well if at all. A lot of the women around us were in the same boat. We were just outside the heart on the right side.
 
i wasnt too crazy about the GA's i had last tour, i was in the back though being I was out tailgating all day and got in late....at times I felt like a couldnt see much. I'm 5'9"

thats a big part of the whole experience for me (partying outside in the parking lot all day)

i prefer a seat in the lower level (standing).
 
Marmoset said:

Well I'm not sleeping outside, so I guess I won't be getting front row!

That's actually fine with me, I don't need to be anywhere near that close, but the other post I quoted was talking about being 7 deep at the tip of the heart - even to be 20 deep, how hard would that be and how early would you need to be there? The truth is I'll probably be satisfied with just about anything, but I'd rather not be all the way at the back.

To put it into terms that all Toronto residents can relate to. For Elevation the main stage was at one goal line, the tip of the heart extended to the near blue line. The crowd outside the heart was deep enough to fill to the far blue line. The soundboard was in the other offensive zone, basically by itself, sometimes (like the NYC shows, there was a VIP section roped off back there too).
So to answer your question, if you dont mind being a neutral zone away from the tip of the heart, get there at 8:30 to see the show start at 8:45.
You really only needed to line up to get inside the heart last time around. BUT, it definitely does seem like there is many more people aware of the benefits of getting there early this time around.
 
Elevation was the first U2 concert where I was anywhere close ... in the heart with just on person in front of me. The experience was unbelievable and unforgettable, definatley worth getting in line at 10:00 am. Managed to walk out with the setlist off Bono's monitor to boot ... nice little souveneir.
 
GretzkyU2Yanks said:


To put it into terms that all Toronto residents can relate to.

Are you trying to say something about Canadians here? Turning to the hockey analogy to explain something? I find that extremely, extremely stereotypical - but also quite correct! :D

You analogy is actually very helpful - I think from what people are saying, I'm probably going to have to go a little earlier than I had planned. I don't need to be front row, but I want a decent spot too! And all of you talking about being in the heart are making me jealous. We'll see - maybe I'lll have to give it a go.
 
My friend and I went to NYC for the Brooklyn Bridge concert (Jammed MTV). We were front row center (by Miroslava)...It was awesome. To see Bono's eyes, smile, mannerisms, knowing he saw me...Looked into my eyes. PRICELESS. I was 20th row floor at Zoo TV and thought that was awesome...WRONG. No concert will ever measure up to the NYC experience...hence my purchase of vastly overpriced Ebay GA tickets. MUST HAVE CLOSENESS!!! Once you are up close and personal, there is never going back (for me atleast!).
I will BE camping out...
 
I had GA tickets at the Pittsburgh Elevation show... and will be there for the Vertigo show as well. Personally, GA is where I'd rather be... so much so that if I hadn't got my GAs in the presale, I'd rather spend $175 on eBay for a GA ticket than $175 to Ticketmaster for a good seat.

Really, it's all in what you want... if you want a place to put your coat, a floor to set you Guinness on, and don't want to have to worry about people knocking into you, then GA's not for you. If it's all about getting lost in the music and you could care less about all that other stuff, I believe it's the ultimate way to go.
 
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