okay, here's my experience. i met bono twice on the elevation tour. well, i guess i only 'met' him once. that consistutded talked and such. the other time i was standing there when he was signing auotgraphs through a fence. so anyways, back to my story. someone posed the question above, that if back of the arena is the best place to meet them, then how do you stand in line for GA's? well, my answer would be, YES, outback of the arena is the best place to meet them, and YES, that does mean that you are forfeiting you GA's. However, when planned properly, they can both be accomplished.
I had tixs to both Calgary shows. The 2nd night i had GA's, the first night i had a seat. So, i waited before the first show out back of the arena. I waited for 5 hors for them to arrive, but meeting bono and shaking his hand, and him telling me that i was 'cool', was all worth it! Then the next day i was free to stand in line, and after 8.5 hrs, i made it into the heart. It was awesome that it worked out for me like that. So thats what i would recommend. Hang out to meet them when you don't have GA's. If you only have tixs to one single show and they are GA"s - then you have to make a choice. Go with your gut feeling. I wope up that morning and i KNEW i was going to meet Bono that day. its hard to explain it, but i was assured of when i woke up in bed that morning. Another option would be to have a friend in line hold your spot, while you camped out to meet the band.