Could someone who knows (was there) explain the Boston DVD sit-down "incident"?

[CTU2fan]

Could someone who knows (was there) explain the Boston DVD sit-down "incident"?

Something I've always wondered about...every time I read an account of this it sounds as if the fans doing the sitting were justified, yet everyone seems to condemn them & support the band. Have I missed something in the story? Or is it just people not wanting to criticize their favorite band (not that that's ever a problem here hehe).

And yes, I'm asking seriously, not trying to start trouble...

 

[Yahweh]

I heard it was because they wanted to put better looking people at the front and that the band was getting tired of seeing the same faces at show after show. I cant comment on it more then that however I do find it rediculus that people would sit down in protest, after all they were still in the GA area and not that far back....spoiled brats really....I can see both points of view though.

 

[chickadee]

I'm sure there was a detailed explantion of this in PLEBA sometime back but I've no idea where it might be now... Sure it was written by someone who was there, though.

 

[Chizip]

it's not that they wanted better looking people for the DVD, its because the band wanted to see fresh faces up front because these people had been to 10, 15, 20+ shows

some people think the band was justified letting other people have the front row for a show, other people think it should have been first come first serve as usual

i am convinced this incident is what led to the lottery though and thats enough to make me mad

 

[~BrightestStar~]

My understanding from a few accounts I read was that it was not simply the fact that these people were moved back from front row (altho I'm sure some were upset just by this) but with that matter through which it was done.

I don't know all the details, and I wasn't there, but from what I know both povs are understandable.
And I do think this probably contributed to this tours lottery system, not that it made much of a difference, from what I hear.

 

[Canadiens1131]

it's not that they wanted better looking people for the DVD, its because the band wanted to see fresh faces up front because these people had been to 10, 15, 20+ shows

some people think the band was justified letting other people have the front row for a show, other people think it should have been first come first serve as usual

i am convinced this incident is what led to the lottery though and thats enough to make me mad

Meh, the lottery is a double edged sword, sometimes deliciously sugary, sometimes bitter and disgusting.

I made it 4 rows back from the ellipse by showing up for 5PM for one show on the tour, so I was very happy about that.

 

[U2girl]

It's not a real experince if they don't get to see the white of the band's eyes.

 

[BoMac]

Meh, the lottery is a double edged sword, sometimes deliciously sugary, sometimes bitter and disgusting.

I made it 4 rows back from the ellipse by showing up for 5PM for one show on the tour, so I was very happy about that.

For both Montreal shows I ended up in the front row because I was lucky enough to be with friends who had winning tickets.

However, I heard stories of people walking into the ellipse at 7:30 p.m. because they got wristbands off scalpers—which I found totally reprehensible.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

However, I heard stories of people walking into the ellipse at 7:30 p.m. because they got wristbands off scalpers—which I found totally reprehensible.

scalpers actually inside the arena... that's a new one on me.

was money ever exchanged between two GA ticket holders for an ellipse bracelet? i'm sure it happened. but i doubt actuall scalpers were involved in this... as it would have had to have happened inside the arena.

what happened much more often was "cutting" of bracelets, one person with a bracelet bringing the cut bracelet out to other friends who didn't have any, applying a well placed piece of tape and walking back into the ellipse. never saw it done personaly but i heard about it... i imagine it worked at places where the security wasn't as sharp as in other places. who knows.

the lottery/scanner system had it's benefits, but it was flawed from the start... if they had just detailed exactly what would take place in advance of tickets going on sale, and then stuck to that program, it would have solved many problems. some people still wouldn't have liked it, but they would have known it, which would have squashed a lot of bitching after the fact, me thinks.

 

[BoMac]

scalpers actually inside the arena... that's a new one on me.

was money ever exchanged between two GA ticket holders for an ellipse bracelet? i'm sure it happened. but i doubt actuall scalpers were involved in this... as it would have had to have happened inside the arena.

I knew someone personally that had GA tickets and waited in line with me. He wasn't sure if he would keep the GA or trade with someone for seats (he had in the ellipse and the heart multiple times and wanted a different view). He left the lineup and that's the last I heard of him until I saw him walk into the ellipse a few minutes before Arcade Fire began their set.

I called him a few days later and asked him how he got in at such a late hour after having left the lineup. He said at the very last moment he decided to keep his GA and bought a wristband off a scalper who was selling them outside. He told me this scalper had more than one wristband.

 

[Blue Room]

The deal with Boston was that before the doors opened Fleet Center security/U2 crew came out and went down the GA line and took about 50 people from the middle and end of the GA line and brought them in early. The people that camped out all night who were in front went in and found the front and outside rails of the heart already lined with the people that got brought in early. Supposedly it was because the band wanted some fresh, energetic faces in front of them for the DVD shoot.

SOME of the people that camped out became pissed and staged the infamous sit down protest in the heart. These same people had been to numerous shows previously and had been up front many times previously as well.

My opinion is this and always has been on it. It was BS what U2 or whoever was responsible did. Should have been first come, first serve like all the rest of the shows. That being said, there is/was no guarantee of even being in the heart regardless. While I can understand being upset about if it happened to me. Big picture you were STILL in the heart, the band was at its greatest distance 15 to 20 feet away.

So getting pissed, understandable. Sit down protest even though you were STILL in the heart, over the top and a little ridiculous. I also agree that this incident as well as a few other GA line up disasters in N. America on Elevation all contributed to the Vertigo lottery system being implemented.

My favorite is on the Boston DVD at the beginning of Desire. Larry looks over at the protesters and just shakes his head in disapproval.

 

[U2Man]

I bet Larry would have been just as pissed if he was to see his rock gods, had been camping all night, maybe even for days, and then this happened to him.

 

[Blue Room]

I bet Larry would have been just as pissed if he was to see his rock gods, had been camping all night, maybe even for days, and then this happened to him.

See though that is the point. They were close enough to the band still that they could see what they were doing (we are talking about 10 to 15 feet!). The fans being upset, understandable. Sit down protest in the middle of U2's video shoot when you were still that close, over the top. Remember, these people went to numerous shows and had been up front several times prior to this. Its kind of like spoiled kids who were used to getting a whole candy bar. They got 3/4's of a bar instead and threw a tantrum.

 

[Chizip]

i agree with blue room, shocking, i know

remember this wasnt a regular show, it was being recorded on DVD, so if you had front row there might be a shot of you in a U2 DVD forever. if i had waited in line all night and day to guarantee myself a front row rail spot and then all of a sudden u2 decided to pull people from the back of the line to take that spot, i would have been pretty upset.

but i doubt i would have been upset enough to stage a sitdown protest, as that is a bit silly seeing you are still in the heart and within feet of the band. and there are also reports of people seeing Bono sometime after the show and crying in his arms about what had happened. Now that is even more ridiculous, you saw a great show from the heart, you are lucky enough to talk to Bono, and yet you are crying to him because of the incident.

if seeing a U2 show from the second row instead of the first is your biggest problem, then you probably have a pretty good life.

 

[U2Man]

Yeah, but fandom is irrational.

 

[Chizip]

Yeah, but fandom is irrational.

no, fandom is normal

fanaticism is irrational

 

[U2Man]

no, fandom is normal

fanaticism is irrational

OK. I meant the same

 

[CTU2fan]

OK thanks guys, that's about what I'd gathered actually happened...but I'd always heard it spun in such a way as to say the fans doing the sitting were 100% in the wrong. I agree the whole "protest" was a bit over the top, but if it were me camping out to be on the rail I'd have been pissed too.

Not to mention how devastated I'd be to find out my favorite band didn't think I was pretty enough to be front-row on their DVD...ah the horror!

 

[Kildare]

Is it possible to see people sitting down on the DVD? Never noticed it but I wasn't watching the crowd too much and I guess they tried not to show it.

 

[Blue Room]

Is it possible to see people sitting down on the DVD? Never noticed it but I wasn't watching the crowd too much and I guess they tried not to show it.

If you look closely you can see it on some of the wide shots from the front. Lower portion of the heart on Adam's side is where most of them are at.

 

[JCOSTER]

I could understand them wanting to see new faces in the front, so then why did Bono pick the same person on the tour to dance with like 5 times?

oops, Bono saw me twice at MSG! Had the same seats for both shows.

 

[J_NP]

2 things :

1- Never had noticed this before , never never .

And one comment , WTF ???? People sittin on a u2 show , and in a recording show ?

2- This may sound harsh , unfair , the whole package of these words , and it certainly won't make me popular here but , why again I don't see it happening outside of the US ? more and more that line of that Racounteurs guy makes sense , what is obvious , US audiences compared to the rest of the world are ....

For God's Sake U a get a u2 show in your town , u get a filming on ur town , and u sit down ?? ? That's fuckin disgusting

Jesus , Some real fans spend almost 10 years without a single show in the country , and they have to pass through hell to get a seat in a stadium , and still they don't complain ........ And these persons with this pathetic attitude .......

And people still ask for more US shot video shows ........

 

[DreamOutLoud13]

I could understand them wanting to see new faces in the front, so then why did Bono pick the same person on the tour to dance with like 5 times?

I imagine, if Bono picks one girl, and she doesn't totally freak out or try to grope him, he'll be more likely to pick her again, because he knows she's a good pick, and "safe".

 

[Blue Room]

For God's Sake U a get a u2 show in your town , u get a filming on ur town , and u sit down ?? ? That's fuckin disgusting

They were doing a sit down protest. It happened at ONE show. Its not indicative of all N. American crowds. It was about 15 people at a single show and most here if you read through the thread thought they acted ridiculous.

Lets not turn this into the N. American crowd stinks, the rest of the world is better thread, again.

 

[JCOSTER]

I imagine, if Bono picks one girl, and she doesn't totally freak out or try to grope him, he'll be more likely to pick her again, because he knows she's a good pick, and "safe".

Well thats what I figured after seeing what some of the girls have done or tried to do to him....Now I wonder why doesn't he change his routine a pick a girl from the back in the first row like ME! I'd be nice....really I would.

 

[J_NP]

Ok , comparing wasn't the best idea , but still there IS somethin with US audiences

Just read my last point what I added , I just can't watch this quiet and be quiet . After all I saw and personally had to deal with the Vertigo shows . It's hediond for me the idea some people sit down in a show , one of the worst ways u can fuck a rock band , while other people would give everything just be outside the venue

And Still those people want to "be cool" with their "holy revolution protest " , just coz a girl won't to be able to tell her girlfriends she listened Bono's own voice , or somethin like that

 

[Utoo]

no, fandom is normal

fanaticism is irrational

I remember a girl at a Vertigo show last fall who didn't have tickets, but was hoping to get a GA ticket drop. She had friends with tickets who were in the very front of the GA line, and she was camping out in the Ticketmaster line hoping for the drop. At some point, she changed and got all dolled up like half of the front-line floozies do an hour or two before the show. Then she came crying to the front of the line that the Ticketmaster people were the meanest people in the world---that all they were releasing were seated tickets, not GA's. This chick was bawling, rivers pouring from her eyes, that she had traveled for this show (undoubtedly her billionth) and that these mean, mean people--who were gladly dropping seated tickets---were being so cruel by not dropping a GA ticket on the day of the show.

Some people think that they have a right to get what they want from U2 and from a U2 show.

 

[blueeyedgirl]

If you look closely you can see it on some of the wide shots from the front. Lower portion of the heart on Adam's side is where most of them are at.

Aaah, Adam fans.....

 

[caragriff]

Bono actually addresses the “Boston DVD incident” in the new U2 by U2 book:

“The heart was fantastic. The only problem was some of our most ardent fans were following from gig to gig. So whatever city we’d turn up in, there’d be the same people in front of us, which was a little disorientating. And when we tried to make sure that locals got into the heart, there was a mutiny. They all sat down in Boston, in the middle of the heart, because they knew we were filming the show. They thought they weren’t telegenic enough and that’s why we were trying to keep them out. It was just we wanted to play in front of a fresh audience. So there’s still trouble over that."

 

[Reggie Thee Dog]

Ok , comparing wasn't the best idea , but still there IS somethin with US audiences

Please drop the anti-American sentiment...I'm tired of it.

American U2 fans are no different than European/South American fans. We just get the benefit of living in a big, wealthy country. We have the means to see multiple shows and U2 enjoys the fruits of playing here. I'm sorry if where you live U2 has only visited twice or three times. We as Americans do not have control over that, nor do we petition U2 not to play there and instead play the U.S.

You are an great fan, no doubt. You love the music and the band. You live in a country where U2 media is hard to come by and I'm sorry about that, but that is not because Americans don't want you to have it.

Sorry for the but it's always the same thing.