All (RED) Zone / VIP Tickets Discussion HERE Part III

[ntalwar]

Here's a larger one of Devito. The caption says he sat down (most of the time?).

 

[Nisey]

Hi Everyone - My first real post here...

Just found out that I scored Red Zone tickets for Denver and thrilled to be taking my son! (He's 8....and U2 Generation 2 in training!)

Those of you who recently RZed...Is the area/are fans kid friendly in the area...He won't get pummeled, will he?

And...Now for the ME question....
I've been following the RZ 1 vs 2 conversation....If we get Edge's side...can I swap for Adam's? love
Can this be done? Anyone swap/trade during the first leg?
Look forward to hearing from you!

Denise

 

[broker]

I think that the Red Zone is relatively kid-friendly - (certainly compared to general GA). I did Red Zone at the Rose Bowl, things got a bit "pushy" on the rail, but there was always plenty of space a few rows back if someone wanted to step back and get more space - (and my understanding is that other locations were even more laid back - I think the DVD filming encourages the pushy sorts).

i have seen a number of people wanting to trade Adam for Edge, so if you want to trade the other way around, I'll bet you will find some takers. You would just have to arrange to meet at the venue and make the trade after both parties picked up their tickets. (Thumbs up from me on your preference for Adam's side, BTW!)

 

[neutral]

Yeah I think it's pretty kid friendly. At one show a family with four kids was first in line for RZ, the kids all seemed like huge fans. I didn't notice them having any problems or getting pushed, etc.


Thumbs up from me on the preference as well.

 

[Kinsa]

Its kid friendly in that there is no pushing, etc., but if you don't get there early enough to get on the rail, he won't be able to see anything. Have fun!

 

[bonocomet]

We were on the rail in RZ at the Rose Bowl and had no pushing behind us or bad behavior so we found it awesome. We also had a nice family behind us too so it's by chance whoever your neighbors are too. We had arrived early, got our spot, and the people around us respected that even when we all left just once each for a bathroom break, so maybe the RZ is a little easier to do that with, or we got lucky to be around nice people. I'm hoping to do RZ again, but I guess we'll see where these prices go!

 

[jaou2fan]

I took my 19 and 12 year old daughter and son to the Dallas show RZ 2, i knew it was my son's best shot at being able to see from the field without standing in the back of regular GA, so when they let us in they ran ahead and got great rail spots. You gotta be in line and you gotta be quick. He wouldn't have seen a thing but screens anywhere except the rail. My 2 cents!

 

[Nisey]

I really appreciate your comments everyone--Helps me out tremendously!
I really want this to be a terrific show for him! (Ahem - Us!)
Thanks so much for the input!

Oh--and a big for those that get my preference for the bass! Ha!

 

[Nisey]

Now---Is there a better time to line up for RZ? Not as early as GA, rignt?
RZ1-2 trade? Recommendations as to where to discuss arrange trade? Here?
(Sorry to go "50 questions" on you guys...Hope I don't offend!)

 

[Birdlover]

Time to line up

Now---Is there a better time to line up for RZ? Not as early as GA, rignt?
RZ1-2 trade? Recommendations as to where to discuss arrange trade? Here?
(Sorry to go "50 questions" on you guys...Hope I don't offend!)

I remember getting in line around 3 and had no trouble getting on the rail at about the middle. If you want to be closer to the front of the stage, earlier would be better. Folks in line were trading sides as both RZ's were combined at that time and everyone had their wristbands. You can't trade until then as they check your ID and your Email.
One hint: don't stand where the green tape is on the rail as that's where the bridges stop. If they've stopped there, you can't see much of anything else and it seems they sometimes do that at random times without any band member forthcoming. Maybe they get bored?

I was about midway between the green taped areas and had a great view.

Enjoy!

Birdlover

 

[charmer_]

Forgive my ignorance: but how exactly does the bidding work? I looked on ticketmaster's website for the auction (Seattle), and you can either bid for A) Bid for both groups: the Red Zone with the backstage and the Red Zone only (ie. Group 1 and 2) or B) Just bid for the Red Zone with backstage (Group 1). But I don't see any option to bid for the Red Zone, and only Red Zone (ie. just Group 2). The last thing I want to happen is getting stuck having to pay for the backstage pass: is there any way of just bidding for Red Zone only (ie. Group 2)?

 

[kevinfor]

Seattle/Vancouver: Red Zone -vs- VIP experience

Really trying to decide between going with the Red Zone or VIP package..
(or I'm thinking of doing experiences... see below)

My VIP experience at the last show in Vancouver.

I arrived about 5pm at the gates... only about 30 people in front of me.. I initially thought I was in the wrong line as everyone else was Red Zone & I was on a VIP package with a 100 level reserved seat.. (the ticket said gate A, but party ticket said enter the VIP Gate B)

The gates opened late, I was one of the unlucky people that got pulled out to have my bag searched, after I got in ... I was escorted to a private club area at BC Place with tables, Bar area, where you could look at on the stage, 2 tickets for Beer/Wine and unlimited buffet roast beef, salad, chicken wigs, etc. we also got to stay at this location during the Black Eyed Peas pre-show, and there was enough room to get up & dance private restrooms etc.. you got a laminate, bag + a raffle for 2 people in VIP for a backstage tour... + a parking pass is a big plus.. that I don't think Red zone offers

my vote here would be for VIP.. -vs- what I saw of the Red zone
food wise (from what I saw in vancouver) wasn't that great

Concert experience.
we had Reserve seats in 117 first level directly above the Red zone... so that means we got to see the overhead video screens.. but obviously couldn't get on the floor.. the bar in the red zone didn't appear to be all that great..

can you do Both Red Zone & VIP experience?

I'm thinking of buying both a reserve package & Red zone for Seattle, the VIP party is a separate ticket from the seat..(give the seat one to a friend). start with the Red zone backstage tour on will call ticket pickup.. then heading up to the 200 level with the VIP party ticket.. then back down to the floor... (I'm not sure security wise, you can get from floor to higher levels etc)

I see the Seattle Red zone ticket just opened min bids are at $695 (including tour) and $195... I'm sure this will go way up.. before it closes on 11/17 Anyways would really like your feedback on Red Zone... Food, tour etc... from USA Shows.. did Red zone get all the goodies that VIP did?

(I really wish U2 VIP/Red zone organizers would look at how Bon Jovi did their VIP packages -see ticketmaster) I'm not a big fan of them.. but they have REAL Exclusive merchandise, personally autographed items and five levels of VIP from like $200 to $2000 highest with a 5min band meet & greet etc)

let me know your Red zone experience.. as I don't see too much detail on other threads.. I'm also interested in what the (crew, family, VIP laminates passes look like for the show) you can barely see Danny Devito's in the photo

Cheers
Kevin

 

[bonocomet]

Forgive my ignorance: but how exactly does the bidding work? I looked on ticketmaster's website for the auction (Seattle), and you can either bid for A) Bid for both groups: the Red Zone with the backstage and the Red Zone only (ie. Group 1 and 2) or B) Just bid for the Red Zone with backstage (Group 1). But I don't see any option to bid for the Red Zone, and only Red Zone (ie. just Group 2). The last thing I want to happen is getting stuck having to pay for the backstage pass: is there any way of just bidding for Red Zone only (ie. Group 2)?

You can't bid on only Group 2, but it doesn't matter. The price of Group 1 will be significantly higher, and your bid will automatically only count for the lower priced group (as long as you bid below the Group 1 price). You can't get stuck paying anything higher than what you bid, and you will always see what price both groups are going for, and just keep your bid below group 1 so it will only be good for the lower priced Group 2.

 

[charmer_]

You can't bid on only Group 2, but it doesn't matter. The price of Group 1 will be significantly higher, and your bid will automatically only count for the lower priced group. You can't get stuck paying anything higher than what you bid, and you will always see what price both groups are going for, and just keep your bid below group 1 so it will only be good for the lower priced Group 2.

Thanks for the info BonoComet, appreciate it! Another question for you: if I bid for both groups, what happens then? Do I put one bid for Group 1 and a separate bid for Group 2? How does it work exactly?

 

[bonocomet]

No problem

This made me wonder, does anyone know what the closest the two groups have ever been in price in any single RZ auction so far?

 

[bonocomet]

Thanks for the info BonoComet, appreciate it! Another question for you: if I bid for both groups, what happens then? Do I put one bid for Group 1 and a separate bid for Group 2? How does it work exactly?

Hmm... I'm not sure that that is possible. That's where there have been problems for people in the past auctions. because they wanted Group 1, and were bidding high for it, but if they just missed out and didn't win Group 1, they then won Group 2 automatically by default, and as a result paid significantly higher for the Group 2 ticket than everyone else did. A really unfair way to do these auctions, I think. I'm sorry I don't know if anyone who had this happen ever got any kind of response or changes in the auction policy, and I'm not even sure that they still work that way. Hopefully someone else can respond to this question as well.

 

[bonocomet]

Also, I suppose you could put 2 separate bids (maybe from different accounts or computers?) on the same auction and bid high in one, and lower in the other, therefor bidding on both groups, but again there's no guarantee that your high bid will win Group 1 and you may still only win Group 2 with that bid.

Hopefully someone who may have actually tried this can help

 

[hibricc]

Also, I suppose you could put 2 separate bids (maybe from different accounts or computers?) on the same auction and bid high in one, and lower in the other, therefor bidding on both groups, but again there's no guarantee that your high bid will win Group 1 and you may still only win Group 2 with that bid.

Hopefully someone who may have actually tried this can help

You would need separate accounts, since Ticketmaster views this as a single auction with two different "Ticket Groups". From the Ticketmaster Auctions/How To page (which should be required reading if you're going to bid):

2. How many times may I bid in an auction?
You may rebid as many times as you like from the same Ticketmaster Account while the auction is open. If you rebid, it is considered your new bid and your previous bid will no longer be valid. Please note that if you have more than one bid pending in the same auction through the use of more than one account and credit card, then it is possible that you may win more than one set of tickets in that auction (i.e. one set for each competing bid). Refer to the Ticketmaster Auction Terms for additional details. ​

So, using separate accounts:

• Group1 - bid as high as you need to in order to win the BACKSTAGE TOUR ticket group, with no worries about missing out and getting stuck with an overpriced "ticket only", since you are bidding on "BACKSTAGE ONLY".

• Group2 - Bid low on this one, since you only want to have a winning bid for the TICKET ONLY ticket group. As I've noted before, bid only the required minimum, then watch the last half hour of the auction and only increase your bid if you no longer have a winning bid; this will prevent you from paying more than you have to.

The reason earlier bidders got screwed and paid thousands for tickets-only is because they mistakenly bid very high for Group2, not realizing they would automatically win tickets-only if their bid wasn't high enough to win Group1. (Some early auctions may have also lacked the "Group1 Only" option, IIRC.)

Free advice provided at no charge, with no guarantee it's right.

 

[beershack]

Really trying to decide between going with the Red Zone or VIP package..
(or I'm thinking of doing experiences... see below)


my vote here would be for VIP.. -vs- what I saw of the Red zone
food wise (from what I saw in vancouver) wasn't that great

Why would anyone possibly choose VIP? An extra $250 or so for a parking pass, crappy gift, 2 beers and a buffet?

If you want to sit in a good seat; buy a top price ticket and save the extra $250 for dinner at Ruth's Chris, beers at the show, and some good merchandise that you select, yourself.

 

[bonocomet]

You would need separate accounts, since Ticketmaster views this as a single auction with two different "Ticket Groups". From the Ticketmaster Auctions/How To page (which should be required reading if you're going to bid):

2. How many times may I bid in an auction?
You may rebid as many times as you like from the same Ticketmaster Account while the auction is open. If you rebid, it is considered your new bid and your previous bid will no longer be valid. Please note that if you have more than one bid pending in the same auction through the use of more than one account and credit card, then it is possible that you may win more than one set of tickets in that auction (i.e. one set for each competing bid). Refer to the Ticketmaster Auction Terms for additional details. ​

So, using separate accounts:

• Group1 - bid as high as you need to in order to win the BACKSTAGE TOUR ticket group, with no worries about missing out and getting stuck with an overpriced "ticket only", since you are bidding on "BACKSTAGE ONLY".

• Group2 - Bid low on this one, since you only want to have a winning bid for the TICKET ONLY ticket group. As I've noted before, bid only the required minimum, then watch the last half hour of the auction and only increase your bid if you no longer have a winning bid; this will prevent you from paying more than you have to.

The reason earlier bidders got screwed and paid thousands for tickets-only is because they mistakenly bid very high for Group2, not realizing they would automatically win tickets-only if their bid wasn't high enough to win Group1. (Some early auctions may have also lacked the "Group1 Only" option, IIRC.)

Free advice provided at no charge, with no guarantee it's right.

RIGHT! Of course! I'd forgotten that on the other bid you could bid in just group 1, so yes no chance of overpaying for group 2! Thanks for clarifying that!!!

 

[neutral]

I see the Seattle Red zone ticket just opened min bids are at $695 (including tour) and $195... I'm sure this will go way up.. before it closes on 11/17 Anyways would really like your feedback on Red Zone... Food, tour etc... from USA Shows.. did Red zone get all the goodies that VIP did?

Cheers
Kevin

If you're asking about regular RZ (vs the backstage thing), no goodies to speak of really. There's a small merch table in the zones with limited selection, a small buffet (never went near it but at my shows people's plates had meatballs, chicken wings, chips) , and access to RZ-only porta potties. No parking passes, laminates, or gift bags. The backstage tour winners have reported just getting a tour of the soundboard area, offices, food tent, etc. Haven't heard of anyone getting any kind of goodies with it really.

 

[4U2Play]

Pasadena Red Zone


Merch Table

T-Shirts $40

Food Table

Menu:

Bud Light $9.00
Hot Dog $5.00
Cheeseburger $6.50
Chicken Sandwich $7.00

 

[ramblin rose]

RIGHT! Of course! I'd forgotten that on the other bid you could bid in just group 1, so yes no chance of overpaying for group 2! Thanks for clarifying that!!!

Yeah, just be careful when you need to raise the bid to continue to choose Group 1 from the drop down, since it apparently always defaults to "all"

 

[kramwest1]

Pasadena Red Zone


Bud Light $9.00

OMG! I'm glad I drink before I go into the show!

 

[Kinsa]

Pasadena Red Zone


Merch Table

T-Shirts $40

Food Table

Menu:

Bud Light $9.00
Hot Dog $5.00
Cheeseburger $6.50
Chicken Sandwich $7.00

Ahh yes, the fantastically lavish merch and food/beverage tables at the Rose Bowl.

The part I couldn't believe was that it was about 4,000 degrees (ok, I might be exaggerating a bit), and the only beverage they had for sale was the $9 beer! No water! WTF? I thought the guy was joking when he said there was no water. So I had to hoof it back up to the main level for water, and I took orders for 4 other people in the RZ that were near us - they all wanted water, but no one wanted to lose their place. So much for "exclusive" food and beverage. What a joke.

Other than that, the RZ was great.

 

[bonocomet]

Someone came into the RZ there at one point and was selling water bottles, I remember we bought them while standing right there at our spots on the rail. So there were some roaming vendors doing that at least.

OH and I finally got my Rose Bowl RZ follow up email today!!

 

[broker]

I finally received my follow-up e-mail today also - I should have mentioned the water thing, I had forgotten about that - the roaming water sellers apparently avoided us. I threw out my water bottle before entering because I was paranoid about being held up at the gate by "bag/bottle searchers" -(and instead ended up being held up by a malfunctioning ticket scanner - arrgghh!)
I had to resort to the pricey beer.

 

[bonocomet]

The Rose Bowl Red Zone photo!

 

[ramblin rose]

Wow, that is absolutely stunning. Thanks for posting!!

Glad you finally got it.

 

[trojanchick99]

Wow. That is incredible.