Who Will Ultimately Pay From Our Outrage?

[Jamila]

I have tried to stay out of the ticket sales controversy all week, but now that it seems that the initial furor is subsiding, I feel I must SPEAK MY TRUTH.

With the addition of added shows yesterday and with the admission that some of us who ranted and raved about the ticket scalpers are now purchasing excellent seats at exhorbitant prices off ebay ( ), I ask my question: who will ultimately pay from our outrage?

The saddest truth is that U2's living legacy and credibility will take a direct hit from all of our outrage - the same people that we are b#tching about that we care for so much!

If we TRULY CARED FOR U2 we would have proceeded to express our anger this past week in a more rational and mature fashion instead of kicking and screaming and throwing things around the cyber living room because we didn't get what we wanted!

We didn't have to go to every two-bit newspaper writer who wanted to make a name for themself by downing U2. We didn't have to air our dirty laundry so far out into public view that everyone in the music industry could see it - RIGHT ON THE VERGE OF U2's INDUCTION INTO THE ROCK and ROLL HALL OF FAME!

(part 1)

 

[nbcrusader]

The outrage expressed on this board and others was the only way U2 could know of the ticket fiasco. There is no way to "protect" the image of the band while addressing the mistakes and fraudulent behavior of the promoter & fan club.

Who will ultimately pay? The fans.

 

[Lancemc]

 

[Jamila]

(part 2)

We are destroying the very people that we say we love and respect and, personally, I wouldn't be surprised if U2 doesn't begin turning their backs on us after this disgrace of "fan" outrage".

I wasn't pleased with the ticket sales this week - I paid good money for nosebleed seats in the presales for the 9 May concert in Chicago thinking that this would be the closest thing we would have this tour to the B-man's b-day concert, only to find myself trumped yesterday when a new concert for 10 May was added to the tour! (and I had no more money to buy another ticket)

Am I screaming? Am I demanding that this is unfair and that BONO OWES ME A TICKET TO HIS B-DAY CONCERT?

No, I am not and I won't. I LOVE U2 TOO MUCH TO FURTHER EMBARASS THEM AND THEIR LEGACY.

I have learned many things from U2 over the years - but the main lesson that I have learned from them is THE POWER OF UNCONDITIONAL LOVE - THE POWER OF LIVING IN GRACE.

So I will simply ACCEPT THE SITUATION and DEAL WITH REALITY and continue to show U2 the Love and Respect that I have been doing for nearly 24 years.

I REFUSE TO COMPLAIN - I have seen way too much of it this week from those who claim allegiance to the GREATEST Rock group of all time.

Only Time and possibly a Higher Power will ultimately sort all this negativity out.

IN THE NAME OF LOVE....

 

[starsgoblue]

I think those individuals who went running to the news within hours of the problems with the presale were premature. They didn't even give U2 or anyone else responsible time to properly respond. And those kinds of attitudes wouldn't make me personally want to do much in the way of helping if I were them either.

Yes there was problems, I am not denying that. Some people did appropriatley express thier concerns and irritations. But temper tantrums were thrown way too quickly for some IMO, which is just that--my opinion, nothing more nothing less.

 

[Jamila]

stars, did you get tix for Chicago?

 

[miss becky]

Well said, Jamila. Obviously this has been a hard week on us all, but it's time we moved on. Thank you for this thread.

 

[starsgoblue]

I'm still trying for Chicago, Jamila....I'm very determined. I know I'll find a way somehow. "Tough and resourceful" has been my motto this week.

 

[Laura M]

I still love U2 and their music. Over the last while I have began to doubt whether U2 cared as much as they said they did about their fans and this presale fiasco kind of proved to me that they did not. I will continue listening to U2 and I doubt any concert will ever beat their Elevation concert for me. That is my opinion and I know it might be completely wrong and some people do not agree with me but everyone has different opinons. I am sure people still love U2 but are just angry because they feel they have been ripped off and aren't trying to "EMBARASS THEIR LEGACY". I think what we need is for people to be able to voice their concerns in a pleasant atmosphere without every thread turning into a slanging match. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion,each to their own.

 

[sortofhomecoming]

Jamila - thank you for your thoughts. I have been a fan since 1983. I had the opportunity to see them in concert in 1985. The ticket fiasco has not changed since that time. I had nosebleed seats for that show - but I still had the opportunity to see them. A memory I will never forget and not that many people had that chance. I was lucky.

I have learned that when I want to see a concert - which is for only a very few performers, I realize that I have a limited chance to see them due to the ticket situation.

So what happened this week and this weekend, should not have been a surprise to many people. They tried their best for their fans and Tuesday failed. I still Love them and always will. I am just tired of the constant complaining and blaming.

I am glad to see someone who is just as tired of the complaining as I am. And you are right - it is horrible for this mess to occur so close to their induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. We are lucky to even have a tour.

 

[Jamila]

stars, let me know - there is talk going around about a Bono b-day gathering in Chi-town and I know that you would be a wonderful addition to the efforts.

or email me at ultravioletlove_14@yahoo.com

THE GOAL IS SOUL....

 

[whackjester]

Jamila - thank you for your thoughts. I have been a fan since 1983. I had the opportunity to see them in concert in 1985. The ticket fiasco has not changed since that time. I had nosebleed seats for that show - but I still had the opportunity to see them. A memory I will never forget and not that many people had that chance. I was lucky.

I'm sorry, but I wouldn't consider myself lucky to see a concert. All of the effort to see a concert rides on the individual that goes to see the show. People who win the lotto might be lucky. Because you paid your hard earned money to buy a ticket to see a show doesn't make you lucky; it makes you part of the free enterprise system.

 

[HelloAngel]

The only thing that really got my goat this week was the sheer number of fans who became so outraged before they knew the whole story and started questioning their fandom and threatened to not love U2 anymore. Granted, I didn't join the fanclub because I didn't feel it was worth it, but even if I had, I would not have painted U2 in black because of the troubles. I generally try to get as many facts together as possible about a situation such as the presale dramas before I start screaming and pointing fingers and protesting.

I dunno. I probably didn't have a point there, but it was my .02.

 

[Dima]

The outrage expressed on this board and others was the only way U2 could know of the ticket fiasco. There is no way to "protect" the image of the band while addressing the mistakes and fraudulent behavior of the promoter & fan club.

Who will ultimately pay? The fans.

sorry i don't agree: as facts become clearer the only thing that we can say is that U2's vertigo Tour has been the target of a massive action by professional scalpers...no other tour has ever been hit in a similar manner by scaplers.
Just look at the incredible number of tickets being sold on ebay: have you ever seen such a massive number of tickets? i'll answer for you: NO...no one could be prepared for a similar thing and i can't remember any band forced to proceed against scalpers to protect their fans before U2 (and this not because U2 are different or because they care of their fans but just because this is a situation never happened before: this is an "original of the species")

If ticketmaster wasn't able to keep the situation under control in such an evident way probably NO ONE could have done better: simply no one could imagine things like "2 million hits in few minutes" or has ever faced a similar situation... we can say that Ticketmaster is a f-word b@stard corporation...but we can't deny that if it became the leader of the tickets' market is because it's been able to offer a better service than its competitors': it's a f-word b@stard corporation that normally knows how to handle big events so if somethging has gone wrong (and , i repeat, in such an evident way) then there must have been something much bigger than usual to handle

 

[U2girl]

The only thing that really got my goat this week was the sheer number of fans who became so outraged before they knew the whole story and started questioning their fandom and threatened to not love U2 anymore. Granted, I didn't join the fanclub because I didn't feel it was worth it, but even if I had, I would not have painted U2 in black because of the troubles. I generally try to get as many facts together as possible about a situation such as the presale dramas before I start screaming and pointing fingers and protesting.

I dunno. I probably didn't have a point there, but it was my .02.

Agreed.

 

[plot180]

If we TRULY CARED FOR U2 we would have proceeded to express our anger this past week in a more rational and mature fashion instead of kicking and screaming and throwing things around the cyber living room because we didn't get what we wanted!

Pray tell, how would you have done it in a more rational, mature fashion that would have ensured getting the band's attention? If there hadn't been such a fuss, do you really think that the action against scalpers would have been taken? Do you really think that U2 would have been working on ways to make up for the crap that went down, as is rumored to be happening? Or are you happy to just condem the way others went about resolving the problem without offering a way to do it?

 

[plot180]

The only thing that really got my goat this week was the sheer number of fans who became so outraged before they knew the whole story and started questioning their fandom and threatened to not love U2 anymore. Granted, I didn't join the fanclub because I didn't feel it was worth it, but even if I had, I would not have painted U2 in black because of the troubles. I generally try to get as many facts together as possible about a situation such as the presale dramas before I start screaming and pointing fingers and protesting.

I dunno. I probably didn't have a point there, but it was my .02.

Honestly, were it any other situation, I think most U2 fans would agree with you. However, the two faces that U2 decided to present for the sales were those of U2.com/FanFuck and Ticketbastard. At this point I don't trust either of those organizations at all. Not one bit. If it had been U2's face representing the tickets, then while there would have been a bit of a fuss, I'm sure it wouldn't have been anywhere near as big as it was. With the two companies they chose, though, people in general have been screwed many times by both organizations. If you know a party you're dealing with isn't likely to be honest with you, you're more likely to make a fuss when the organization appears to screw you because you know that, in all likelihood, they did screw you. If you're dealing with an organization that you trust, such as U2 the band, then you're more likely to be patient and calm about resolving problems as you know it's most likely just a mistake rather than a screw-over. U2 chose who they wanted to represent this tour and the pre-sale. They have to take both the good and the bad that goes along with that.

 

[Westport]

We should all just rent planes and have them write in the sky above Dublin, London, New York and Los Angeles:

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE IS KING!!

 

[burlesquebaby]

westport- you're funny. at least some people still have a sense of humor about the whole thing.

 

[sallycinnamon78]

We should all just rent planes and have them write in the sky above Dublin, London, New York and Los Angeles:

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE IS KING!!

Lol, Westport!!

Well. I can understand people being angry and upset at the way the earlier presales went - I say the earlier ones because, as I only participated in the presale of Jan 25th, I can't comment on the others. It was infuriating to keep getting booted out of the Ticketmaster site (if you were lucky enough to get in at all), and as for codes being "invalid" ... what a ridiculous fiasco. Many people were emotional and irritated, and were just moaning as a way of letting off steam - I was fairly guilty of that myself, so I'm not going to condemn anyone else for being human.

It has gone too far though, hasn't it, really? Yes, we were upset at the presale farce, but I don't understand how this changes anyone's perception of the band's music. All this bitching has been getting boring for a long time, in my opinion.

To me, this passion for taking legal action against U2 is ridiculous. Yeah, we all know that U2.com was vague, to say the least, and some of the information they provided WAS open to misinterpretation... but they've covered their arses in the small print of the membership Terms and Conditions, as anyone with a hint of common sense knows. Therefore, if a collective lawsuit was filed against the band, it would be laughed out of court as far as I can see. If this is not the case, then I would appreciate it if someone with extensive legal knowledge could explain why I'm wrong.

Another thing I DON'T understand is all this "Fuck you, Bono" stuff, and slating of U2. Last time I checked, they were a band, not a ticket agency. Quite how people can say "It's all U2's fault" is beyond me. From the way some people are going on, you'd think that Bono was leader of the Lesbian Mafia. rolleyes: Apparently, they're taking over the world - it's all a big conspiracy, and U2 are obviously involved with "the frenzied lesbian controlled government agents"! This is a rather scary thought: http://lesbianstudies.com/oldsite/bloodsuckin1.htm)

Give it a rest. If you feel that Bono, Larry, Adam and Edge have prersonally slapped you in the face by deliberately pissing their fans about as much as possible, I would recommend a trip to http://www.prairieghosts.com/barton.html.

That's my three and a half pence worth, anyway.

 

[cardosino]

(part 2)

We are destroying the very people that we say we love and respect and, personally, I wouldn't be surprised if U2 doesn't begin turning their backs on us after this disgrace of "fan" outrage".

I wasn't pleased with the ticket sales this week - I paid good money for nosebleed seats in the presales for the 9 May concert in Chicago thinking that this would be the closest thing we would have this tour to the B-man's b-day concert, only to find myself trumped yesterday when a new concert for 10 May was added to the tour! (and I had no more money to buy another ticket)

Am I screaming? Am I demanding that this is unfair and that BONO OWES ME A TICKET TO HIS B-DAY CONCERT?

No, I am not and I won't. I LOVE U2 TOO MUCH TO FURTHER EMBARASS THEM AND THEIR LEGACY.

I have learned many things from U2 over the years - but the main lesson that I have learned from them is THE POWER OF UNCONDITIONAL LOVE - THE POWER OF LIVING IN GRACE.

So I will simply ACCEPT THE SITUATION and DEAL WITH REALITY and continue to show U2 the Love and Respect that I have been doing for nearly 24 years.

I REFUSE TO COMPLAIN - I have seen way too much of it this week from those who claim allegiance to the GREATEST Rock group of all time.

Only Time and possibly a Higher Power will ultimately sort all this negativity out.

IN THE NAME OF LOVE....

I persevered with the ticket purchasing this time around only because I'd promised my daughter to take her to see her first U2 show, but it has gotten to the point where it's just a scam, more so now than ever. I'm not blaming U2 100%, but if their plan is to determine whether or not to do a stadium tour in the fall based upon ticket demand this time around, you can bet a stadium tour is what we'll get.

In that case, I'll pass, in fact at the prices currently being charged and the amount of trouble required to get tickets, I'd pass anyway.

Those of us who were members of the pre-propaganda fan club will know just how great getting those front-row seats was.

Neither U2.com or TM is well equipped or caring enough to implement a fair and equitable system, the money is there to do it if they wanted, they just don't care enough to.

The people running TM outlets have buckets of tickets printed out before they "go on sale", but we don't get them.

Who will pay for the outrage ? No one will.

The fans will continue to gobble up tickets and cheaply produced merchandise at the shows. Personally, I don't need any more U2 memorabilia to gather dust, or another T-shirt which costs less than one dollar to make which will sell for more than $20 at the shows.

Want to send U2 a message ? Don't buy tickets, don't buy merchandise, don't buy their product.

AS for me, these will be my last U2 shows, I'll still buy the DVD and the recorded products, but it's just too much hassle, too expensive and too disillusioning to maintain the same levels of fanaticism as years gone by .

It's been a nice run, but I have better things to do with my time and money at this point in my life. I spent more on tickets over the last 2 days than I gave in Tsunami relief donations, and that's just sad. I'm off to make a matching donation right now, I figure some good has to come of this.

Next time on the 3rd leg, I'll see how much tickets are, determine which show(s) I'd have gone to, and give the money to someone who actually needs it, not TM, not ClearChannel, not U2.

 

[sallycinnamon78]

The only thing that really got my goat this week was the sheer number of fans who became so outraged before they knew the whole story and started questioning their fandom and threatened to not love U2 anymore. Granted, I didn't join the fanclub because I didn't feel it was worth it, but even if I had, I would not have painted U2 in black because of the troubles. I generally try to get as many facts together as possible about a situation such as the presale dramas before I start screaming and pointing fingers and protesting.

I dunno. I probably didn't have a point there, but it was my .02.

Exactly.

 

[plot180]

Yes, we were upset at the presale farce, but I don't understand how this changes anyone's perception of the band's music.

U2 has always made amazing music, no mistake. However, what really drove it home for me was the idea that it was four really decent guys making the music. The music could have been brilliant but if I knew it was assholes making the music, I wouldn't have been able to give it any respect because I wouldn't have been able to trust the music. With U2, though, all evidence suggested that the people making the wonderful cds were dencent men. Their deciding to farm out the ticketing duties to such crappy organizations as FanFuck and Ticketbastard made me question just how decent they were. Granted, I never thought they were angels on earth or anything like that, but I did think they were good folks. This made me take pause and genuinely question that. I had to wonder if they did this out of greed or apathy or being too far removed from it all. It's possible it was just a big mistake that dragged in a lot of parties involved, but that's not the only option. Once the foundation that my appreciation of U2's music was built on was rocked like that, it changed my perception of the band. If anything goes wrong in the future, I'm gonna question why it happened rather than taking the band pretty much at their word. They gave me a reason to distrust them. U2 is about the only thing in popular culture that was willing to put all my trust in and this screwed that. I'll probably get over this ticket shit if everything smooths over but I'm never going to be able to take anything they say or do at face value again. That's what pisses me off.

 

[starsgoblue]

Re: Re: Who Will Ultimately Pay From Our Outrage?

Pray tell, how would you have done it in a more rational, mature fashion that would have ensured getting the band's attention? If there hadn't been such a fuss, do you really think that the action against scalpers would have been taken? Do you really think that U2 would have been working on ways to make up for the crap that went down, as is rumored to be happening?

I think it's safe to say it's common knowledge that Universal and PM have always been on the prowl for things like that. For example, their careful monitoring of board to ensure U2's lyrics and such aren't even posted.

If they are all over that, then I would think the whole action against scalpers would have happened without our "help".

 

[sallycinnamon78]

I do understand that many of us are feeling upset at what happened, plot180, and I don't mean to disrespect your (or anyone else's) emotional involvement with the band and their music.

Still, I can't help feeling that much of the yapping about being "betrayed by U2" is largely melodrama on the part of overidealistic fans. Like you, I loved the band not just for the music, but also because they seemed to be decent, kind people with integrity. I still feel that way.

I don't know if this is a correct analysis or not, but bear with me: I find that U2, unlike many other groups, have deliberately made a great effort to keep fans happy over the years... I think that this inspires a feeling of personal involvement with the band. We appear to have forgotten that U2 has become a huge organisation, in business terms, with a large number of people working for them. Like it or not, the band are much more distant from us than they were many years ago - I think that this is somewhat inevitable. They are now one of the biggest bands on the planet and have been for a fair while. This is bound to put barriers between U2 and ourselves. It's what happens when a band gets ridficulously popular - there's no way on earth they can please all of us, all of the time.

The presale sucked shit from a dead cow's arse (please pardon the beauty of that charming image), as we've all said a million times. Ticketbastard buggered up and U2.com were fairly useless. I think U2's only real fault here lies in their decision to allow sales to be managed through Ticketbastard and their official website - both of which seem to be fairly lousy.

I do agree with the people who say that U2.com itself tarnishes the image of the band, by being slow to announce official news, and ballsing up membership fees, etc. In my opinion, the band ought to get the site managed by a more capable organisation.

The point of this manuscript is that we expect too much of U2. Many people have suggested that they are deliberately "screwing fans over". I disagree. I say they're human, and they make mistakes - using Ticketbastard was one of them (a fairly large one I admit). It sucks, but as far as I can see, the reality is that we expect U2 to bend over backwards to give us what we want at all times - which is unrealistic and unfair.

 

[BAW]

great post sallycinnamon

 

[cardosino]

The point of this manuscript is that we expect too much of U2. Many people have suggested that they are deliberately "screwing fans over". I disagree. I say they're human, and they make mistakes - using Ticketbastard was one of them (a fairly large one I admit). It sucks, but as far as I can see, the reality is that we expect U2 to bend over backwards to give us what we want at all times - which is unrealistic and unfair. [/B]

Is it really too much to expect that with the financial resources at their disposal they can be as well organized as the likes of REM, Pearl Jam, and Dave Matthews organizations ?

 

[Popmartijn]

great post sallycinnamon

Yeah, she's my hero.
A voice of reason!

 

[diamond]

I like
Jamilas
sortofhomecoming's
U2Girl's
HelloSweetAngel's
and Ms Sallycinammons's
posts.
all rational and well thought out

db9

 

[sallycinnamon78]

I like
Jamilas
sortofhomecoming's
U2Girl's
and
HelloSweetAngel's

posts.
all rational and well thought out

db9

Well diamond, I'm most offended that you didn't like my posts. as well. Bah humbug.

Just kidding.


Added later: oops! There goes my being rational!