Fan Reaction: U2 Vertigo Tour Presale*

By Devlin Smith, Contributing Editor
2005.01

Tuesday was a day that I, and many other U2 fans, had been looking forward to for ages—the day we’d get our first crack at buying tickets for the 2005 Vertigo concert tour. At about 10 to 10 Pacific Time I went to U2.com to access the sale page, hoping that somehow I’d be served a little before the official 10 a.m. on sale.

The first thing I saw on the site that morning was a news story apologizing to European fans for the problematic presale. That didn’t fill me with optimism about my own presale. I went to the sale page and refreshed, revisited and refreshed again until it was finally sales time. I chose San Diego, opening night, filled out the particulars, entered my code and hit send only to get an error message. I tried again and got another error message, followed by several more. I tried going through Ticketmaster.com itself only to get the same message. Then I went back to U2.com to find the sale page had been changed to show no tickets for sale.

After about 20 minutes of clicking, refreshing, stomping feet, tapping nails and grinding teeth, I finally got my tickets for the opening night of the Vertigo tour.

Even though it was hectic for those few minutes, my story is nothing compared to the stories of potentially thousands of fans across the world whose codes were lost, tickets given away and seats changed. Some had it easier than others, but despite the severity of the experience, most fans can agree that this special fan club presale was a complete mess.

"I got online an hour before presale to read how the East Coast fans were doing—hearing all their problems, I knew I was in for the same but hoped for the best," said Interference.com member R8drgurl. "From 10 a.m. to 11:12 a.m. I got server error messages. Then at 11:13 a.m. I finally got through and I got one ticket in section 101. I was so excited. I hit continue and no problems. Then on the last page hit purchase and got error message, ‘problem processing your request.’"

When R8drgurl went back to try for another ticket, she got a message saying that her one-time-use-only code (given only to people who had paid the $20 or $40 to become full U2.com members) had already been used and was now invalid. Interference.com member tarquinsuperb’s code was also lost in the presale system, as was nathan1977′s.

Other fans were upset with the selection of tickets, which were notably lacking the highly desirable general admission option that places fans directly in front of the stage. "Boston—logged on—no problem," said Johnovox. "Refreshed and immediately accessed the site and requested GA. Sold out at exactly 10 a.m. Despite the fact that few, if any, GA tickets were offered, ticket brokers are now selling swaths of GA tickets all over the internet."

"Finally started getting ticket selections but balked at them because they were either nosebleeds or $165 for opposite end of the arena," said Buttercup67. "Kept throwing tickets back hoping to get closer to the stage since it became clear very quickly (10:01 a.m.) that I wasn’t going to get GA."

"I was on the internet a half an hour before it began," said wolf Q. "The second that it allowed me to search for tickets I chose two GA, entered my password [and] it told that there were none available. I could not believe that GA could have possibly been sold out before the sale even began."

So many fans who took part in the presale wanted general admission tickets but ended up with seats instead, their disappointment not helped by the fact that GA seats are now readily available online. "What’s upsetting to me is the fact that at 10 a.m. on the dot no GA were available for the 24th May show in Boston—but scalpers are claiming to have them already, and in seemingly plentiful amounts," said wolfeden.

Then there were the technical errors. "I do not understand how Ticketmaster was not working properly [for] a presale event," said tommywaddle. "There was an error in processing your request and I tried refreshing my screen and I was not given the option to order any tickets."

"Ticketmaster said their system was down before of the severe traffic," said nathan1977. "Did they not know this is the biggest tour of the year?"

"Tried though the web link on the e-mail I got an via U2.com, several white screens later I finally got through to the list of shows, punched in the code and waiting and waited and waited, whilst Ticketmaster was apparently trying to contact me," said djparky. "’Joshua Tree’ and ‘Notorious’ CDs later, I got bored, clicked manual refresh and it crashed. Fearing the worst, I logged back in and, glory be, I was able to buy tickets."

Perhaps the biggest glitch of all involved seating charts for some venues changing in the midst of the presale. "After a few searches I landed two $167 tickets in section 124, row 13, which, at that time, was right next to the stage," said matt_tx00. "Then I saw the stories about ‘seating charts changing,’ etc., checked again, and now my tickets are five sections back, in the back of the arena."

matt_tx00 is now contemplating what steps to take next, having already written to Ticketmaster to demand a full refund or ticket change. The next move is to contact his credit card company, disputing the charge for the moved seats as "merchandise not received as advertised."

The Tuesday presale made many long-time fans nostalgic for the days of the Propaganda mail-away presales. "Through Propaganda I was able to get tickets for both UK legs of the ZooTV tour, Popmart and ticket for the first Slane Castle gig," said dezmaas. "When I used Propaganda I was always a bit scared that something would go wrong, like the tickets being lost, but it all went smoothly."

EPandAmerica got tickets for San Diego and San Jose by using a friend’s code. The San Diego seats are in the upper most level and the San Jose seats are at the back of the arena. "Propaganda member since 1988," EPandAmerica said. "After getting Prop tickets for everything since Lovetown, this is the furthest away from the stage that I have ever been at a U2 concert."

"I live on the East Coast but after two failed attempts, I was to a point where if I got anything I would be great, and I got nothing," said Grindstone, who tried for tickets in Philadelphia, Chicago and Los Angeles. "After calling and emailing all eight friends, all of whom did the same exact thing as me, none of us have tickets. That’s the first time in 15 years."

"I feel that many of us older Propaganda members liked the old days of snail mail," said zoodishbu. "You were still a little uncertain exactly which dates you would get but, never the less, you pretty much got what you wanted."

Not everyone had a bad experience. MrBill64 actually did score the GA tickets he’d been hoping for, as did kathode. But for many fans, this was just one more thing testing their love of U2. "All I am now is all I have ever been—a statistic," said Macphisto-UK. "Fan No. 44858 who feels conned out of $40, disgusted with the process, infuriated with the band and at this moment not really caring whether I see them or not."

"I’m not sure I want to ever see them or buy their music again if they don’t make a serious effort to correct this horrible treatment of fans who deserve better," said U24Ever4Me. "What has happened has been scandalous. What little has come out of ‘official’ response has been inadequate, to put it mildly."

Since the presale began at 10 a.m. GMT on Tuesday, there have been several articles posted on U2.com about the sale. The first were directed at European fans and included an apology from Ticketmaster. "An automatic email link had been set up on the website to help any customers with an invalid code," the letter said. "Ticketmaster has been working to resolve issues concerning access codes and will be contacting all customers affected with further instructions on how to purchase tickets."

The latest letter, addressed mainly to fans in the United States, was posted on Thursday. "We know that subscribers experienced difficulties buying their tickets and we’re pleased that those problems are now being ironed out," the letter said. Later on, the unsigned letter added: "We are very aware that some people seem to have abused the system to scalp on eBay or similar sites. We are currently looking into the possibility of identifying these people and withdrawing their tickets. Any help you can give us on this would be gratefully received."

Is this statement enough for all the fans that were put out by the presale? I, personally, was, and still am, hoping for a little more. With the tour, three Grammy nominations and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, 2005 could be one of U2′s biggest years ever; hopefully incidences like this won’t mar it completely for the band and its legions of loyal fans.