Someone who's been to one of Bruce's shows...

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saltwaterkiss26

War Child
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Aug 19, 2004
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... I'm in serious need of advice. My situation:

I have two tickets to see Bruce at the Orpheum. Unfortunately, my dad bought them for me and a friend. (I'm sixteen; I don't have a credit card.) We didn't think there'd be any problem in him coming with me and my friend and explaining that he bought them for us. (I have a driver's license; I can prove that my last name's the same as his and that I live at the same address.)

Bad news is, we called the Orpheum and apparently that's still a no-no. They can't change the tickets to my name. The anti-scalping rules seem to be a total gridlock. So you can, I hope, see my problem. Both my friend and I are (were) incredibly excited. My dad's not really a big Bruce fan.

So what I want to know is, how exactly are they doing it? Is there any way to thwart the system? Or should we just try to brazen it out, attempt to make the box-office people see logic? I have no idea what trying to get in is like. (I've never been to a concert like this!) How loose are those wristbands?

Help is greatly appreciated. I really don't want to tell my friend that she can't go... :sigh:
 
I'm sorry, I don't quite understand the dilemma. Can't your dad pick up the tickets and give them to you? I also didn't know there were wristbands for Bruce's show. The show I saw had all reserved seats and I didn't see any wristbands.
 
There were wristbands at the LA shows. They appeared to be pretty strict about it, too. I wouldn't try to trick anyone. If I were you, I'd go down there with Dad and Friend, explain in person to the box offfice just what's going on. Be prepared for the worst, though; it was your mistake in misunderstanding the rules.

Good luck!

jg, there are wristbands for the smaller venue shows.
 
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Oh, right...now I remember this Will Call business. That was only for about the first 5 rows at the show I saw, and I was 2nd row behind that.

Seems like the box office people should understand the situation. That would be awful if they gave you a hard time.
 
Eesh. I didn't have trouble like that when I saw him at Fenway Park... There's got to be a way for this to work, people buy tickets for others as gifts quite often. I think what's already been said is best -- Dad needs to go to the box office with you that night.

Good luck....
 
wolfeden said:
There's got to be a way for this to work, people buy tickets for others as gifts quite often.

But this tour has very specific rules for the will call tickets. The purchaser and the guest are the only ones who can use the tickets. This is why the Ebay tickets that were scalped for the LA shows involve you sitting pretty much next to the scalper.
 
I'm sorry, I know they are trying to keep the tickets out of the hands of scalpers, but this is just a really stupid and very irritating set of rules. I'd much rather allow scalpers get some of the tickets than screw over honest fans who don't have a credit card.

I've so often seen the most inane rules and regulations made to keep out the "bad" guys. And these rules just make it so much harder for the honest people out there. I think it's fine to make it harder for scalpers to get tickets, but those rules shouldn't make it so incredibly tough for actual fans to see the show. Certainly someone could have come up with a happy medium.
 
indra said:
I'd much rather allow scalpers get some of the tickets than screw over honest fans who don't have a credit card.


yes, but a fan without a credit card wouldn't be able to purchase tickets via ticketmaster in the first place, with or without these rules. they'd still need to use someone's credit card.
 
IWasBored said:



yes, but a fan without a credit card wouldn't be able to purchase tickets via ticketmaster in the first place, with or without these rules. they'd still need to use someone's credit card.

Which in this case they did, they got one of the girls dad's to buy the tickets for them...pretty typical behaviour for teenagers. But if the only people allowed in to the show are the cardholder and one other person, that means one of the girls can't go. This isn't a case of a scalper getting tickets to sell, this is a very normal occurance -- a parent buying a pair of concert tickets for his kid and her friend. I mean really, how many 16 year olds have credit cards?
 
Don't try to take off the wristbands, big mistake. I've only done this sort of procedure once before for the Rolling Stones, I did see people on the street trying to exchange/sell wristbands. I assume it would be obvious if it was tampered with.

I think all you can do is have your father with you and try to speak to some sort of supervisor there, honestly I don't think there's much chance but you can try.
 
indra said:


Which in this case they did, they got one of the girls dad's to buy the tickets for them...pretty typical behaviour for teenagers. But if the only people allowed in to the show are the cardholder and one other person, that means one of the girls can't go. This isn't a case of a scalper getting tickets to sell, this is a very normal occurance -- a parent buying a pair of concert tickets for his kid and her friend. I mean really, how many 16 year olds have credit cards?

alright. i have no idea where i was going with what i said yesterday :scratch:
 
It might not be that much help because of this rule with the wristbands, but I remember back in the day when I was younger and didn't have a credit card. My father would put them on his card, and in the case of them being will call tickets, I had phoned Ticketmaster and they said to bring a copy of the reciept which had his info on it, then copy your fathers drivers liscense with a note under it saying that he releases the tickets to you, and then you would just show your ID. That's how it worked for me. However that is just in a normal situation with tickets, but with the whole wristband thing, I don't know. Maybe call again, and see if that could be an option?

Wish I had a better answer.
 
I'm guessing unfortunately you're likely stuck going with your dad.
You can certainly try at the box office, but my guess is they won't be able to change the rule for you, not that they won't be sympathetic, but doing so could jeopardize their job even though your reasoning may be legit and your Dad is obviously not scalping the tix, they likely have to abide by the rules as posted.

As for swapping the wristband, I know some people did succeed at this for the Stones Orpheum show, but you have to do a damn good job of swapping the wristband without damaging it, its very difficult.

Best of luck, see you at the show.
 
So, I'm guessing you and your friend got in.
While Mrs Springsteen and I were waiting in line to pick up our tickets, we saw 2 very happy looking teenage girls returning from the ticket window with tix and handing a credit card back to a gentleman I presume to be Dad, around 5:40PM or so.
We figure that it must've been you...how'd you enjoy the show?
 
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