Hanging out all day in line for GA has to be the most fun I've had in a LONG TIME...

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theu2fly

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In Denver, we lined up at 6 am in the stadium parking lot, and I was so freaking pumped that I couldn't sleep. I talked to a few people while my buddy slept, but talked to a bunch of people about music and stuff, location, shows they've been to... the people you meet are some of the most awesomest people you'll ever meet.

People are so generous in the GA line, people offering food... my particular favorite moment was drinking champagne at 11 am, followed by Wild Turkey and Coke... listening to tunes, relaxing, just enjoying the weather...

It was bliss, it makes me so excited for Minneapolis, I can't wait to do it again!

Share your experiences!
 
It was like being a hobo. It's especially tough when you're alone, unfamiliar with the city and have no car for storage. I remembered thinking, "I can't believe my love for the band is so crazy" (concert made it worth it) and "Even money can't buy you an upclose experience, you gotta sweat it out".

Around me in the Salt Lake line, it seemed like each group would have a friend or 2 casually arrive and join them in line later. I ws peeved (and I think that's frowned upon here on Interference) but I let it slide, cos I'm a pacifist.

I guess come earlier so these queue sliders don't accumulate before you. Less people in front of you= less probability of queue sliders.

But yes, people in line were nice and civil. Got pizza from this nice guy who even offered for me to join their group cos I was alone and I was a GA virgin (but I wanted to be on Adam's side, so I didn't).

I don't know: what do you guys think about fans (good hearted and with good intentions as they are), who share wrong trivia information? Like "Dallas covered for Adam on that infamous ZooTV performance"?
 
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hand0lotion said:
I don't know: what do you guys think about fans (good hearted and with good intentions as they are), who share wrong trivia information? Like "Dallas covered for Adam on that infamous ZooTV performance"?
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They deserve to be beaten and ridiculed. Not necessarily in that order.

Failing that, they deserve at least a little side-eye action.

You can't correct them, because either you'll get into a stupid argument, the likes of which you thought only possible on the internet, or you'll come across like a total know-it-all and people will side-eye YOU because omg, who are you and who asked you?

:wink:
 
cobl04 said:
As for queue jumpers, people should get over it.
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As for queue jumpers, queue jumpers should fucking suck it up and go to the back of the line if they can't get there earlier.

If they try and jump in, they might luck out because they're surrounded by people too uncomfortable with confrontation to say anything, but they might end up in a bunch of people who will get in their face and yell until they leave (which happened in Seattle).

No one should 'get over' people being rude assholes.
 
Well I queue jumped at Brisbane. My cousins queued up at 3pm ish, and the earliest I could get there was 4pm cos I had to work and then catch a flight from Melbourne. There's no reception once you get to the stadium, cos everyone's on their phones and cos of all the signals etc, so if I hadn't queue jumped (and I apologised and said I was joining family) I would have been on my own.

But "get over it" is going too far, yes.
 
cobl04 said:
Well I queue jumped at Brisbane.
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OH MY GOD, GET HIM!!!!! :madwife:

There's always going to be the situations where people want to let their friends join them later in the day, and honestly, while it's one of those things you're never going to find agreement on amongst U2 fans, there's not much you can do about it, other than hope they're only letting one person join them and not a family of 20.

I was more thinking about people who just kind of randomly show up near the front of the line and act like they've totally been there the whole time. Or people who wait near the gates and then try to squeeze into the fray when the doors open.

That's what I think of when someone says "queue jumpers." Didn't mean to imply that you were a rude asshole. Personally, I think that's more of a grey area, and it's (obviously) a pretty touchy subject when it comes up online!
 
corianderstem said:
They deserve to be beaten and ridiculed. Not necessarily in that order.

Failing that, they deserve at least a little side-eye action.

You can't correct them, because either you'll get into a stupid argument, the likes of which you thought only possible on the internet, or you'll come across like a total know-it-all and people will side-eye YOU because omg, who are you and who asked you?

:wink:
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Here's the twist: Mr "have a slice of pizza & join us in the GA pit"? Was also Mr Wrong Trivia. A nice person, just a bad (or misinformed) fan. WWBD? (What Would Bono Do?) I guess humanity wins out over knowing every factoid of U2.

There's a difference between queue jumpers (who cut in completely-- rare I hope) and queue sliders who slide in to join their friends in the GA half an hour before gates open. How can you yell at these sliders when their friends (legit people who stood in line) will back them up for sure? Tricky situation.
 
^ok, just saw y'allz posts. I recall something like every other group of 3-4 legit queuers letting 1 latecomer friend into their group. That adds up. I'll just stick with my original line: Less people in front of you= less probability of queue sliders.
 
corianderstem said:
OH MY GOD, GET HIM!!!!! :madwife:

There's always going to be the situations where people want to let their friends join them later in the day, and honestly, while it's one of those things you're never going to find agreement on amongst U2 fans, there's not much you can do about it, other than hope they're only letting one person join them and not a family of 20.

I was more thinking about people who just kind of randomly show up near the front of the line and act like they've totally been there the whole time. Or people who wait near the gates and then try to squeeze into the fray when the doors open.

That's what I think of when someone says "queue jumpers." Didn't mean to imply that you were a rude asshole. Personally, I think that's more of a grey area, and it's (obviously) a pretty touchy subject when it comes up online!
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Oh yeah. Fuck those fuckers.
 
hand0lotion said:
I guess humanity wins out over knowing every factoid of U2.
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Humanity in a sea of hot, sweaty, cranky U2 fans wins every time. :wink:

hand0lotion said:
How can you yell at these sliders when their friends (legit people who stood in line) will back them up for sure? Tricky situation.
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In my head I'd like to think that I'd just say "You know, that's not cool" but then let it go, because I said my piece and what else am I going to do?

But in reality, I'd probably just be really passive aggressive about it and side-eye them the rest of the night.
 
I loved yelling and shaming the jumpers out of line...

"You are not a unique snowflake, go back to where you belong!"
 
Oh, and anyone who cuts in front of me...:madwife:

I was lucky to get a rail spot in Winnipeg, but 3 or 4 people later and I wouldn't have. I had friends that got into line just a bit later than us (15 minutes), and they went to their spot, about 10 people behind us. Just my :twocents:.
 
I thought waiting around for hours and hours would be miserable and would feel like forever, but it was fun and time passed surprisingly quickly! (This was in Winnipeg.) I was also alone and with no car and the very very nice people behind me took me in and even took care of my chair so I wouldn't have to throw it away, and then brought it to my hotel the next day!

The people in front of me were not very friendly, though. There were a couple of women and a girl about my age who did not want to talk. I said, "Hi, I'm Rachel," and the girl coldly said, "Hi," and promptly ignored me. That was first thing in the morning and was not a good start to my GA experience, but I think that particular person was just tagging along with someone else and didn't really want to be there. So that was an isolated incident of unfriendliness, even if it did fill me with trepidation at first.

I kept thinking that all the cliches and stereotypes about rock and roll concert crowds Do Not Apply here in the GA line. And I heard more than one security guard say how impressed they were at our good behavior and organizational skills; they even adopted the fan numbering system as official policy and wouldn't let people in line who didn't have a number (they didn't even give us wristbands!). One security guard, as I was fast-walking towards the inner circle, actually said "Good job" for not running!

But, yeah, it was so much fun! If you haven't done the GA line experience, do it at least once. It's like a bizarre camping trip in a parking lot with U2 fans. I was really interested by the preparations and goings-on in the stadium all day, and U2 even came in and rehearsed in the afternoon!
 
corianderstem said:
OH MY GOD, GET HIM!!!!! :madwife:

There's always going to be the situations where people want to let their friends join them later in the day, and honestly, while it's one of those things you're never going to find agreement on amongst U2 fans, there's not much you can do about it, other than hope they're only letting one person join them and not a family of 20.

I was more thinking about people who just kind of randomly show up near the front of the line and act like they've totally been there the whole time. Or people who wait near the gates and then try to squeeze into the fray when the doors open.

That's what I think of when someone says "queue jumpers." Didn't mean to imply that you were a rude asshole. Personally, I think that's more of a grey area, and it's (obviously) a pretty touchy subject when it comes up online!
Click to expand...

:applaud: :up:

I remember a Vertigo show in Chicago where people just tried to "go in front" as if they were there all day. They were fighting with other fans about how they were really there all day. As if the other 1000 people around them didn't notice. :rolleyes:

I'm for saving a spot for a friend or two - especially true for a child or elderly/disabled person. And, given our economy, I know those who have jobs might have to work and can't stay outside all day. I am sympathetic. But I draw a line at what Cori wrote above. Sneaks suck and they deserve the screams and pushing they will ultimately get.

All of that said, my lining up early days are now over. I'm happy I got into the heart. I never made it into the Vertigo oval (except for the Croke Park show which was huge). This old body can not longer tolerate sitting outside all day, then standing for hours during the opening acts and several more hours for U2. I'll gladly have my special seat or enjoy the Red Zone. :)
 
I've done GA 4-5x, but have lined up only once. Barcelona 1 for the 360 Tour, so, like, I saw the band at least 35x since 1987 before finally spending a day in a GA line.

It was brutally hot and it was a looooooong day, but I met great people from many countries, and while I'll never line up for GA again (I'm too old not just for waiting in line, but for watching a show while being a bit packed in), I'll always treasure my memories from that day (and evening). Quite the experience.

As for line jumpers, I mean, yeah, do I even need to comment?
 
If people share wrong trivia I'll personally come over and SMACK their face. :angry:


No seriously, I correct people. But that's because I'm a know it all and hate misinformed people. Shucks if you don't like it, don't talk bullshit where I can hear you. :shrug:
 
Chrisedge said:
I loved yelling and shaming the jumpers out of line...

"You are not a unique snowflake, go back to where you belong!"
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:lol: Where were you when I needed you?

There was a lady in the Seattle queue who's #78 and ended up queuing in front of me (#52) despite my polite admonishment telling her she should be way behind me. The guys around me didn't do a thing, probably they don't like to shun lady queue-jumpers. I felt like pulling her hair and throwing her glasses on the ground. On the fancam I saw she ended up on the front rail, almost center, with a huge freaking sign that says "May I have this dance?" Well, obviously Bono didn't pull her up for a dance, so HAHA, THAT'S WHAT YOU GET, BYOTCH! :tongue:

Oh wait, is this thread about generosity of the fans in the GA line?
 
vjacqb said:
:lol: Where were you when I needed you?

There was a lady in the Seattle queue who's #78 and ended up queuing in front of me (#52) despite my polite admonishment telling her she should be way behind me. The guys around me didn't do a thing, probably they don't like to shun lady queue-jumpers. I felt like pulling her hair and throwing her glasses on the ground. On the fancam I saw she ended up on the front rail, almost center, with a huge freaking sign that says "May I have this dance?" Well, obviously Bono didn't pull her up for a dance, so HAHA, THAT'S WHAT YOU GET, BYOTCH! :tongue:

Oh wait, is this thread about generosity of the fans in the GA line?
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That isn't so bad...I was talking about guys with fake numbers written on their hands (If you are gonna try cutting, maybe cut to 300 or something, the folks with less than 100 usually know everyone) or the guy with 298 trying to get in the top 100...
 
Someone let me eat their son's birthday cake and gave me a Budweiser during the Rose Bowl line up. Fantastic.

The highlight for me would be during Sheffield. I left the line to grab a burger from a stall, and there was a woman asking the server what was going on at the stadium. The burger man told her he didn't know what was happening. I told them both it was U2, and they just looked at me funny.

Then I got the ultimate reply; "who are they? are they a pop band or something?". I just paid for my food and backed away quietly
 
Too funny, Wayne Travis.

Well I had the greatest GA line experience ever. I was #12 in Edmonton #45 in Seattle and it was so much fun. Met people from all over the globe, it was like camping with a bunch of U2 fans. It was the whole atmosphere, I didn't expect it at all so it was such a treat just to feel a part of it all.
It's all about helping each other out, making new friends and having a few pints..we have to do that in Montreal!
 
The first time I ever lined up was the first Seattle show back in 2005, when I decided around noon the day of the show that what the heck, I'll go get in line.

I had a few people I had met the night before who were at the front, and we chatted, grabbed a drink at the bar across the street and had some fun, so that was nice, but the people around me in the line weren't very friendly and not interested in chatting, which was a huge bummer.

But inside, I ended up near my friends from the front (they were on outer rail, I ended up two heads back from them), and there were nice people around, including this awesome Canadian guy who let me stand in front of him for the encore.
 
corianderstem said:
I had a few people I had met the night before who were at the front, and we chatted, grabbed a drink at the bar across the street and had some fun, so that was nice, but the people around me in the line weren't very friendly and not interested in chatting, which was a huge bummer.
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:angry: they should be caned and banned from the GA line forever!


:wink:
 
My first forays into GA I was solo and was amazed at how incredibly nice U2 fans are. My very first GA was Vertigo and I was adopted by a pair of girls so when one of them scanned in, I got to go with them. Vegas and the Rose Bowl I met more nice people. But I must say, finally being able to line up with people I know was even more fun. Seattle was a blast. I can't wait for the Anaheim GA.
 
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