No spoken words
Blue Crack Supplier
There's an easy way to solve the problem:
My GA experience. The list is tainted.
- Thread starter bulltproof
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
- Status
joyfulgirl
Blue Crack Addict
- Joined
- Apr 11, 2001
- Messages
- 16,690
NSW bringing me my first laugh of the day. I'll take one flowy cape rainbow gif with my latte, please.
It's an upside down U2 fan world.
It's an upside down U2 fan world.
^This
I've met some fantastic people along the way. Including you Cathal. Your NJ story made me fully realize the type of fan you are and the true U2 spirit you exhibit. Our time in Winnipeg at the bar was also a fantastic time.
Galeongirl
Galeonbroad
There's an easy way to solve the problem:
You've really found your true meaning haven't ya?
EdgeFest
Refugee
I lined up early for 3 shows out of my 11 to get my EDGE-SPOT (there's one of those) because I am short as fuck and I have to.
I wish I was 6'5" and I didn't have to deal with all of this drama, but I'm not.
And I got exactly where I wanted to be, it was awesome.
The other 8 shows I fully respected that it was someone else's turn to be up front - 4 of them I did Red Zones, 2 'casual' GAs where I stood near the back and watched the screen as I couldn't see over the tall people in front of me, and 2 in seats (Chicago behind the stage being the best place to hear Edge say "oh for fuck sakes" before One Tree Hill, which I likely would not have heard in GA so I'll just treasure that.)
I wish I was 6'5" and I didn't have to deal with all of this drama, but I'm not.
And I got exactly where I wanted to be, it was awesome.
The other 8 shows I fully respected that it was someone else's turn to be up front - 4 of them I did Red Zones, 2 'casual' GAs where I stood near the back and watched the screen as I couldn't see over the tall people in front of me, and 2 in seats (Chicago behind the stage being the best place to hear Edge say "oh for fuck sakes" before One Tree Hill, which I likely would not have heard in GA so I'll just treasure that.)
U2Girl1978
Blue Crack Addict
how it works everywhere else in the world maybe? i.e. you arrive at the venue at your chosen time, you grab your spot at the back of the line, you stay in line, you wait for the crush when the gate opens, and then if you have survived thus far, you run
That's what I meant.
Anyways, I like lining up early. Because you get to meet new people, listen to their stories and have fun. I'm short, so I'd like to get the rail. It's hard to see if a really tall person is in front of you. I had a bad experience in 2005 where I ended up second row and I barely could see the show because of a tall guy.
ryancoke71
ONE love, blood, life
- Joined
- Nov 1, 2009
- Messages
- 14,641
There's an easy way to solve the problem:
Does this magically make everything better???
No spoken words
Blue Crack Supplier
Does this magically make everything better???
Yes.
Re: GA
I tend to roll with what we here have come to call "douchebag seats" but I did line up for GA for Barcelona 1. Got there at 6am, was, believe it or not, like #850 in line at that point....it was stifling hot, but.....one person ran the list, everyone complied, we all stayed in place all day, and, it was a blast....met some great people from Spain, The Netherlands, Argentina, etc....I'm not saying that these things do not happen in the States, I just know there was little fuss that day, with one minor exception, and that exception was quickly remedied.
Anyway, I can agree with some of the op's frustrations, even though I've never experienced them. The sense of....desperation and entitlement....coming off of some fans is palpable. That being said, posting photos of these people is plain old wrong.
Oh, and the few times I do GA here, I just rock up (yes!) around 7pm and get a spot I'm more than happy with.
To sum up:
Aw man, don't make me go all mushy and blushy when I'm trying to be all high and mighty
Thanks Mark. And right back at ya
No spoken words
Blue Crack Supplier
I met cathal. Twice.
For a combined 3.5 minutes. But it was still pleasant.
For a combined 3.5 minutes. But it was still pleasant.
Galeongirl
Galeonbroad
I think most of us have met Cathal. Nothing fancy there New South Wales.
Nothing fancy there New South Wales.
No spoken words
Blue Crack Supplier
Yeah, but not everyone has met me....that's the fancy part.
PhilsFan
Blue Crack Addict
Indeed I did. Was slightly disappointed that we got fucking Magnificent instead of The Fly, but that's a minor complaint compared to the great show I got to see. It's not every day you see a band for the first time.
And Interpol was very strong, which was a nice plus.
Galeongirl
Galeonbroad
Steved1998
Rock n' Roll Doggie
You know, these people that start the list and have their fancy notebooks and numbering systems, they’re schemers. Schemers trying to control their little worlds. I’m not a schemer. I try to show the schemers how pathetic their attempts to control things really are. Introduce a little anarchy. Upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos. I’m an agent of chaos. Get rid of the notebooks and the numbers and the line nazis.
Oh, and you know the thing about chaos? It’s fair!
Oh, and you know the thing about chaos? It’s fair!
U2Girl1978
Blue Crack Addict
I know some of these people in the video. I don't see what the problem is to be honest with you.
U2Girl1978
Blue Crack Addict
Earnie Shavers
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
Yeah, absolutely nothing in the world wrong with wanting a good spot or legitimately needing one for a better experience (e.g. if you're a shorty!), and nothing wrong with these list/number systems keeping some sort of order in a situation that would or could otherwise easily turn proper chaotic - it's only that weird desperation and entitlement. The "Hurry up! Hurry up!" to the wristband guy in the first video I posted (desperation), and the "Quick! Quick! Everyone sit down! SIT DOWN! Now spread out! SPREAD OUT!" in the second video I posted (entitlement). I don't really know what to say about those people. Well, I do - you're dickheads.
No spoken words
Blue Crack Supplier
They have all these rules and they think it's going to save them.
Steved1998
Rock n' Roll Doggie
When something doesn't go according to plan...everybody looses their minds!
trevgreg
Rock n' Roll Doggie
I'll try to keep it short, but these are really the only things I can contribute to this thread regarding GA lines...
- In my entire experience of going to concerts over the past decade, this is the only band where I have run into fans operating any list of some sort. I've been to many other gigs for other famous rock bands, and I never really run into anyone camping overnight or even coming before noon for GA. Maybe U2 is on a level of its own due to their popularity or something, but these are the only shows where I run into that sort of thing.
- Perhaps the line is a way for people to keep their place in line and not have people camp overnight, that type of deal. But I think we'd be kidding ourselves if we didn't admit that the people starting it were mostly doing it to get "their" spot on the floor. Outer rail, inner rail center, whatever. Which is fine really. Who doesn't want to pick their spot when they go to these things? You can debate it all you want with the pros and cons, but that's the main reason here (and why a lot of people get upset over it, why fans talk about it in the first place, etc.).
- My own GA experience this summer at GA shows. Got to Soldier Field the night before the Chicago show and signed up at #193 or something like that. Had a nice talk with the fans running the line, with one of them even asking me if I'd help run it during the night so some could rest. Security kicked us out though, and they told me to be a check-in at 4:30 am the next day. Fair enough. Get there at that time and most people show up by then. Security comes by and says their not doing our line, and if we wanted to keep it, we'd have to go off their property and come back to that one spot they had set up at 6 am. We do just that, and everything else that happened is pretty well-documented on the site.
Anyways, I get down to #157 or whatever it is when people don't show up. I'm one of the people let into the concourse early due to the sun. We're all let in later on that afternoon, and I end up with a front rail spot just to the left of Edge. I'm happy about it, and so is my camera, because that was a great spot for pictures of the band members too! Great show, got One Tree Hill, saw them from 10 feet away. I'm a happy camper.
- I go to another show this summer (not going to name it here, just because I don't want to single out the line runner, if anyone knows them personally). I sign up the Thursday night before, and get #67. The morning of the show, there's not many of us, but I'm dwindled down to #49. This was probably the smoothest of the two, and not many people came in the morning due to the rain and such. Only one person decided to line up at the gate the time the stadium said, and I hear a person or two go off on him about trying to budge when he's not around. No one seems to think that he thought he was lining up at the time the stadium said on their website or if he never heard of a U2 GA line, but alas.
Moving on, the time comes to go in, and we all crowd towards the front. I'm not keeping track of where I am, and it seems like I'm not alone, as I see a #84 or whatever in front of me too, and I'm in the first 30 or so people. Fair enough, I'm not going to make a big deal out of it. One girl in front of me notices my number and tries to say "I think the 40's are back there", pointing back to further in the line. I say that the line's mixed up by this point, but I'm not going to make a big deal out of it. If someone wants to go ahead of me, fine. I'm still pretty much guaranteed whatever spot I want, I think.
We're let in, and we're stopped a little before the gate entrance onto the field. I'm a little closer to the front, and then this man and woman start pushing their way through the line saying "We're #11 and #12". Some fans yell at them mildly, saying the numbering system doesn't matter at this point. They ignore it and move towards the front where they want anyway. We're all let in though a few minutes later, and some of us turn on a dead sprint towards the stage. None of the security tells us to slow down, surprisingly enough, but I'm not going to walk out of the principal for it. GA isn't a democracy, ya know?
Anyways, I make my way to the front of the rail, and I'm dead center in front of the stage. The first one! A nice Russian guy makes his way to me in front of a huge crowd, and I push him towards the rail so we can save our spots together. The line runner is third on the rail, and saves his spot on the right. I extend my hand to him as if to say, "We made it!" He doesn't acknowledge it though, whether he's tired or mad because I was #49 and he was #1, I don't know. He then spends the next half hour politely, but not angrily I'll stress, complaining about how security let people run and how they didn't let the order go through as they were numbered. He eventually said, "I'm not mad at the people, I'm mad at the execution."
He eventually calmed down though, and let his wife take his spot on the rail itself. During her husband's talk, she'd tell me "we're not made at you", as if I did something wrong (I didn't). But she was actually really nice and even offered to take my picture at the rail for me (which I let her), and we enjoyed the show together. Bono even seranaded her with the "you don't know how beautiful you are" part of GOYB during the second chorus, and we got a huge kick out of that. Didn't talk to the husband much during the show though, haha.
But yeah, there's a few thoughts to add to the conversation. Like anyone else, I wonder why there has to be a list in the first place, when other bands don't have this type of thing going on. But I doubt much is going to be done about it in the future, so the most I can do is wing it when I get to the venue. And as you can see, it might not matter much in the end anyway.
- In my entire experience of going to concerts over the past decade, this is the only band where I have run into fans operating any list of some sort. I've been to many other gigs for other famous rock bands, and I never really run into anyone camping overnight or even coming before noon for GA. Maybe U2 is on a level of its own due to their popularity or something, but these are the only shows where I run into that sort of thing.
- Perhaps the line is a way for people to keep their place in line and not have people camp overnight, that type of deal. But I think we'd be kidding ourselves if we didn't admit that the people starting it were mostly doing it to get "their" spot on the floor. Outer rail, inner rail center, whatever. Which is fine really. Who doesn't want to pick their spot when they go to these things? You can debate it all you want with the pros and cons, but that's the main reason here (and why a lot of people get upset over it, why fans talk about it in the first place, etc.).
- My own GA experience this summer at GA shows. Got to Soldier Field the night before the Chicago show and signed up at #193 or something like that. Had a nice talk with the fans running the line, with one of them even asking me if I'd help run it during the night so some could rest. Security kicked us out though, and they told me to be a check-in at 4:30 am the next day. Fair enough. Get there at that time and most people show up by then. Security comes by and says their not doing our line, and if we wanted to keep it, we'd have to go off their property and come back to that one spot they had set up at 6 am. We do just that, and everything else that happened is pretty well-documented on the site.
Anyways, I get down to #157 or whatever it is when people don't show up. I'm one of the people let into the concourse early due to the sun. We're all let in later on that afternoon, and I end up with a front rail spot just to the left of Edge. I'm happy about it, and so is my camera, because that was a great spot for pictures of the band members too! Great show, got One Tree Hill, saw them from 10 feet away. I'm a happy camper.
- I go to another show this summer (not going to name it here, just because I don't want to single out the line runner, if anyone knows them personally). I sign up the Thursday night before, and get #67. The morning of the show, there's not many of us, but I'm dwindled down to #49. This was probably the smoothest of the two, and not many people came in the morning due to the rain and such. Only one person decided to line up at the gate the time the stadium said, and I hear a person or two go off on him about trying to budge when he's not around. No one seems to think that he thought he was lining up at the time the stadium said on their website or if he never heard of a U2 GA line, but alas.
Moving on, the time comes to go in, and we all crowd towards the front. I'm not keeping track of where I am, and it seems like I'm not alone, as I see a #84 or whatever in front of me too, and I'm in the first 30 or so people. Fair enough, I'm not going to make a big deal out of it. One girl in front of me notices my number and tries to say "I think the 40's are back there", pointing back to further in the line. I say that the line's mixed up by this point, but I'm not going to make a big deal out of it. If someone wants to go ahead of me, fine. I'm still pretty much guaranteed whatever spot I want, I think.
We're let in, and we're stopped a little before the gate entrance onto the field. I'm a little closer to the front, and then this man and woman start pushing their way through the line saying "We're #11 and #12". Some fans yell at them mildly, saying the numbering system doesn't matter at this point. They ignore it and move towards the front where they want anyway. We're all let in though a few minutes later, and some of us turn on a dead sprint towards the stage. None of the security tells us to slow down, surprisingly enough, but I'm not going to walk out of the principal for it. GA isn't a democracy, ya know?
Anyways, I make my way to the front of the rail, and I'm dead center in front of the stage. The first one! A nice Russian guy makes his way to me in front of a huge crowd, and I push him towards the rail so we can save our spots together. The line runner is third on the rail, and saves his spot on the right. I extend my hand to him as if to say, "We made it!" He doesn't acknowledge it though, whether he's tired or mad because I was #49 and he was #1, I don't know. He then spends the next half hour politely, but not angrily I'll stress, complaining about how security let people run and how they didn't let the order go through as they were numbered. He eventually said, "I'm not mad at the people, I'm mad at the execution."
He eventually calmed down though, and let his wife take his spot on the rail itself. During her husband's talk, she'd tell me "we're not made at you", as if I did something wrong (I didn't). But she was actually really nice and even offered to take my picture at the rail for me (which I let her), and we enjoyed the show together. Bono even seranaded her with the "you don't know how beautiful you are" part of GOYB during the second chorus, and we got a huge kick out of that. Didn't talk to the husband much during the show though, haha.
But yeah, there's a few thoughts to add to the conversation. Like anyone else, I wonder why there has to be a list in the first place, when other bands don't have this type of thing going on. But I doubt much is going to be done about it in the future, so the most I can do is wing it when I get to the venue. And as you can see, it might not matter much in the end anyway.
Steved1998
Rock n' Roll Doggie
There's a list because some U2 fans are self important and HAVE TO BE UP FRONT at every single show, even if they've already been to 20 shows on the tour.. God forbid someone who is only going to one show on the tour gets THEIR spot on the rail.
DRay9911
Rock n' Roll Doggie FOB
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2009
- Messages
- 8,308
i meeted you!
i think if we try, we can turn this thread around into a positive one
Steved1998
Rock n' Roll Doggie
i meeted you!
i think if we try, we can turn this thread around into a positive one
commence with the posting of mammeries
Earnie Shavers
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
Wait, you're saying someone was getting grief for only following the formal instructions, and not the informal ones? If a bunch of obsessives who turn up way, way, way, way, way, way, way, way, way, way earlier than necessary, deciding to run their own self serving system, get trumped by some guy only following the acknowledged formal system, well, tough shit.
The rest of your post, I have no idea why any of that should be a part of, you know, going to see a band.
u2rulesmyworld
Refugee
u2rulesmyworld
Refugee
bono_212
Blue Crack Distributor
Please, God, Springsteen system. Thanks.
bulltproof
The Fly
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2011
- Messages
- 100
My thoughts are simple (cause I'm a simple man).
The list CAN work.
The purpose of it is to allow fans to que at a venue that doesn't allow camping.
The list doesn't work when:
Yes, I was outer rail. We switched spots with the shorter ladies behind us so they could see it too. Then they were on the rail. They were very happy to say the least.
Seeing the band isn't just about the band and the music. It's about sharing this experience.
Those are my complaints.
Oh, and DON"T FUCKING YELL AT U2 STAFF!
Dave certainly didn't need Lou yelling at him regardless of what you think.
The list CAN work.
The purpose of it is to allow fans to que at a venue that doesn't allow camping.
The list doesn't work when:
- people "plus one"
- fans disobey venue rules
- fans disobey local laws
- the "day of" fans get their numbers, then leave the line for 6 hours to go be a tourist. Call me wrong, but the "day of" is no time to take in a casino, shower, trip across town, or whatever you think you're entitled to simply because you have a number and a "guaranteed spot".
Yes, I was outer rail. We switched spots with the shorter ladies behind us so they could see it too. Then they were on the rail. They were very happy to say the least.
Seeing the band isn't just about the band and the music. It's about sharing this experience.
Those are my complaints.
Oh, and DON"T FUCKING YELL AT U2 STAFF!
Dave certainly didn't need Lou yelling at him regardless of what you think.
- Status
Similar threads
