GA Experiences So Far- Good, Bad, Ugly?

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well i've heard over the past couple of days that things got very ugly in Paris as the gates didn't open at the same time apparently (a 15-20 min difference for some gates it seems!)... i was at one of the first gates to open so it was a breeze and i was just really really lucky to get a good spot (although last tour same thing happened to me in Nice and my gate was the last to open and things got pretty heated and scary with the crowd going nuts trying to push down the gate - hideous experience and ruined the whole concert for me)...

but there were fans at other gates queuing since the crack of dawn who had to watch behind closed barriers as other fans went streaming into the stadium, which caused a near riot and dangerous crushes, and they ended up a long way back in GA despite getting there so early... really really crap organisation by the stadium!! many French fans are incredibly pissed off and upset and a letter has been sent to the organisers at the Stade de France, and a copy also to the band's management i think...

also, it seems that some "Carre Or" (most expensive) seats were non-existent as well! and fans had to be re-seated elsewhere! bit of a Royal French Fuck-Up!

obviously it went really really well for those fans who were lucky enough to be at the first gates to open, but terribly for others...

just goes to show how GA can be a totally wonderful experience or a hellish experience, even at the same concert, and for reasons beyond anyone's control...
 
I was at the U gate in Paris, which apparently was a gate just for people who got their tix in the presale, and our gate opened before some others. We also had a direct route onto the floor, nearby gates had to run to our entrance. So I imagine a bit of the problem people were having had to do with presale ticketholders getting a planned head start and straight shot in.
 
theoriginal said:
I was at the U gate in Paris, which apparently was a gate just for people who got their tix in the presale, and our gate opened before some others. We also had a direct route onto the floor, nearby gates had to run to our entrance. So I imagine a bit of the problem people were having had to do with presale ticketholders getting a planned head start and straight shot in.
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no not at all!

a lot of presalers (myself included) had tix for different gates (D, J and H, and others) - my gate J was closed and we had to move to gate C which was packed (but was luckily one of the first to open), but there were many presalers stuck at the gates that didn't open, which is why they're so angry and have written the letters...
 
So whats the average time people are turning up for getting in the inner circle, are red zoners getting in to ?
 
I had the worst GA experience yesterday. The Nice security simply didn't understand the concept of organisation. And I made a stupid mistake myself.

We were queuing in front of 8 gates, and when I got there at 10am, the majority of people had lined up by the gates to the right. Doing what the masses did, I queued up to the right, although there was only a few people by the gates to the left. Fast forward 6 hours of direct, evil sunlight that nearly killed my Scandinavian body, and 50 cl water bottles for - get this - 4 euros a piece. Incredible rip-off, water should be free or 1 euro maximum. Maybe this is U2's choice, I don't know, but we were dying in the heat. Anyway, it turns out the gates open at the same time, not only that, because some security people were very uptight, the majority of the first 100 people to get into the stadium were the people queuing on the left side. Major disappointment for the people who had been there very early I should think. Then, because it got so crowded, my brother and my girlfriend had been pushed away from me. I told them that I would run in and get a good spot, (this was a stupid choice), because I would probably be 5 minutes ahead of them. I ran into the stadium, into the circle, but then they didn't show up, so I ran out again, tried to find them, without any luck. I couldn't get a connection on my cellphone and spent 10 minutes looking for them. When I finally found them, my spot in the circle was long gone but after explaining the situation to the security people they were nice enough to let my brother and girlfriend in there with me. We got a half-decent spot inside the circle but I was bummed that I didn't just wait for them, it could have been so much better.

However, when the band played Unforgettable Fire, Bono was right above me on one of the bridges, and that was the song I was looking forward to the most, along with Ultraviolet. So it wasn't so bad during the concert.
 
yep. these stories are the reason why i'm going to show up to Chicago at around 6pm without a care in the world. if i'm up close, great. if i'm all the way to the back, great. it's U2 playing.
 
Queuing for Barca 1 was brutal. Queue didn't get any longer from when we arrived at 8am, it just managed to get wider and wider with people just jumping in as they pleased. The top end of the line near the gate was well organized but the other 2/3 of the line was just left to run wild. Heat was brutal etc so brutal experience all round.

Did manage to get to the tip of the elipse though which was great although the guy behind me queued up from 4pm just??

Don't queue for silly amounts of time. Midday should be plenty for a great GA spot
 
that's absolutely nuts...security can make things so simple, or so f***ed up!!! I wonder how far in advance security knows which gates will be used? Screwed up security like this is what leads to injuries, fighting and the like...Hopefully it'll get better :|

Have there been people camping out at every show so far? It almost seems useless to do that, since apparently god knows if they'll even open the gate you're queueing at!!!
 
By the way, my GA experiences were largely fine. Barcelona 1 was a tad disorganized but at the end of the day it worked itself out. Milan I got there a few hours before the show and still wound up in a great position. Paris 2 I got there late and was stuck in the back but by then I was so fucking tired that I didn't care.
 
mikal said:
please include some hot dog too! :wave:



heck yeah. i'll actually be at Lambeau Field watching the Pack destroy the Bears the next night!
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I wonder if my arm is still lively enough to hit you from the douche bag seats.

The Steelers come to town the following Sunday, and I'll be there watching the 6-time Champs destroy Cutler's soul.

And, Cor, you should wear your Pack gear.
 
If only I actually had some Packers gear.

Guess I know what I should ask for from my folks for my birthday. They're in a land lousy with green and gold crap.
 
My friend and I got to the GA line for Barcelona 1 at 2pm. There were easily 2,000 people (possibly way more) in line in front of us. Though there was just one line so at least you knew you were in the right place.

Anyway, by the time we got onto the pitch the "inner circle" was pretty well completely filled and the "outer rim" was about three or four people deep. So had we wanted to be at the outside tip of the catwalk we only would have had a couple of people in front of us. Seeing as how the gates opened at 6pm, that's not bad for only a four-hour wait for the opening show of the tour.

We decided to see the show from directly in front of the mixing desk/VIP area (with our backs against the railing). That afforded a perfect view of the stage and we didn't have another soul come near us for probably a good 30 minutes.

So I would say that for a "random" show, and especially ones in the US, if you get there by 4pm you should have a shot at a great location.
 
James U2 said:
My friend and I got to the GA line for Barcelona 1 at 2pm. There were easily 2,000 people (possibly way more) in line in front of us. Though there was just one line so at least you knew you were in the right place.

Anyway, by the time we got onto the pitch the "inner circle" was pretty well completely filled and the "outer rim" was about three or four people deep. So had we wanted to be at the outside tip of the catwalk we only would have had a couple of people in front of us. Seeing as how the gates opened at 6pm, that's not bad for only a four-hour wait for the opening show of the tour.

We decided to see the show from directly in front of the mixing desk/VIP area (with our backs against the railing). That afforded a perfect view of the stage and we didn't have another soul come near us for probably a good 30 minutes.

So I would say that for a "random" show, and especially ones in the US, if you get there by 4pm you should have a shot at a great location.
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I think I was #853 at Barcelona 1, and that was at 6:15am.
 
That's insane. Although it was pretty exciting (and surprising) to hear that several thousand people got into the inner circle area.

I've never done GA for any stadium shows of any band, so I don't know, but I'm guessing that the number of US hardcore, die-hard fans willing to camp out in line is a lot less than those in Europe.

Maybe I'm just insane and/or hilariously naive.
 
I've done the whole GA thing but I've always found right in front of the mixing desk is the best place to be. Less hassle too.
 
I still can't decide where to head for, I'm planning on lining up around 8-9 am, I have no idea where that will put me... I'm tall so I don't mind being back a bit since I can see over most people, I'm going with my sister though who is short so I have to kind of think of her as well, hmm...
 
Yes, you should always think about the short people who may be with you.

.... said the short person.

My cohort and I are still pondering our plan for the second Chicago show, but if we go late afternoon or so and get a great spot on or near the outer rail, YAY. If not, eh, we'll go back by the mixing desk and that will be pretty awesome, too.
 
I think between queuing from 9am and 12 o'clock in Europe should secure a place alongside the outer barrier at least if not in the front pit.
 
In Portland for the Vertigo show, I made my one and only attempt to get in line super early, but I lasted 20 minutes in the sleet and rain before saying "Eff this" and going back to the hotel.
 
I lined up early for Elevation and the two Vertigo shows I saw... Spending all day in the GA line is an experience... This time around I'm only doing it once, if they had a day in between the shows to recover I might consider it but to have to line up for two back to back shows is just nuts - I'm too old for that shit...
 
I did that 6:15am crap knowing that I had another 10 days to go in Europe. And, it was, as you say, an experience. I met some great people in the line with us, etc. But, yeah, at my age, I just like having seats. Douche Bag seats, preferably.
 
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