My GA experience. The list is tainted.

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Jesus fucking christ. (Some of) you people are fucking insane. :|


:lol:




I really have a BIG problem with you posting pictures of people here. :down:

agree.


Do you have any idea how long he lined up for those shows? Were you at all of them?? I know him personally, and he can run like a bat out of hell. He didn't start this line drama bullshit.

agree.



by hook or by crook, i agree with the original post. you think band management aren't noticing this? they'll be cracking down big time next tour.



....and because of bs like this on the internet we will have seats again. good job. i personally will love it!





The chief reason the list started is because venues were not allowing an overnight lineup.

always a bit of problem, but arenas are much easier thans stadiums. they are usually on downtown street corners where we can queue with the homeless folks. stadiums tend to be their own compounds and will truly arrest folks if there's a 100 people 3 days before.

Did everyone see the show?

:applaud::bonodrum:



OK. I'll post in here, but without reading Tony's comments or original post, as I have him blocked and my day has probably been less stressful because of that.

I had no problems with the way the list was run in terms of the plus-1; I also had no problems the way it was run in 2009, where that was not allowed. I had no problems and enjoyed being able to leave the line for several hours at a time to be a tourist and spend time with friends in 2011. It allowed me to be showered and have all my energy for the show. I did not complain when there were four daily check-ins in Montreal or every other hour in 2009, 2005, and 2001.

I don't disagree with the concept of the list because since 2001 it's the only thing I've ever known. But if the rules change I will follow the rules, whatever they may be.

The point being is you follow the rules of whoever is running the list. That's how you become a decent person and make friends. Some of my very best friends I met through U2.

I'm confused why Tony would go after me, since I had no role in running either of the two lines, but I think it's better he goes after me because with strangers I have a pretty tough skin, and think it's better he leave everyone else alone.

And now, to bring it back in, my experience in Pittsburgh was very pleasant. No one tried to cut to the very front of the line, there was very little bickering, the weather was great, food was nearby, I had my friends with me. I got to put on a birthday party for one of them. It was fantastic.

:heart:


:hug:


No sorry the queue for Melbourne is also in my backyard!

:lmao:


So to summarise your gripes:

- unofficial fan line systems are not official line systems according to stadiums in the USA

- the line check-in time was enforced inconsistently

- fans following the unofficial line got vexed at fans following the stadium policies in Chicago

- someone / some people used a +1 system (inconsistently) in Pittsburgh

- someone / some people saved spots on the rail for mates (probably everywhere)

- the list is wrong but you want to be on the list

:up:


the solution???? well, for all the people who agree AND disagree on here in either direction...it's simple.

if we ACTUALLY HAD TO line up for 3 days and stay there TOGETHER with each other the whole time with the exceptions of bathrooms/eating/showering time to leave of like 1 to 3 hours....you know, the way it USED to be on Elevation....

then not as many people would line up early and by 10pm the night before the show you'd only have like 35 actual people in line....not 200 on a sign up sheet.

folks, i too met some of my best friends and husband at U2 shows. and you know what, that was on Popmart and Elevation. because you had to deal with people face to face in line or outside the stadium, and didn't have the anonymity of the internet to trash everyone. maybe in this day and age of instant faceless access it's too much to hope for....but love, peace and actual accountability of sitting next to each other and sleeping on concrete next to each other would end all this negativity!
 
It's common knowledge there are a group of 20-50 'super fans' that abuse the system.

It gets abused because no matter what system is in place, there will be people willing to bend or break the rules. especially if their unoffical.

The Band has an official policy, that policy is there is no policy. Fans can create a list or use a numbering system but the venue and security do not have to adher to it.

If you want to avoid the GA line drama, just get there about 7am or after the day of show, you will be about 200-400 in line and you will be 2 or 3 feet further from the stage than these 'horrible line cheats'.

The best system I saw was mexico where they gave everyone a numbered wrist band and let people in by number, no line jumpers, no +1's.

All of you folks in here complaining it wasnt fair are wasting time, of course it wasnt completely fair, maybe next tour they will put seats on the floor and you can spend $1100 a pair on stubhub to get close, or maybe u2 will sell early entry front rail spots for $600 each and donate it to charity.
At least for the last 3 tours your favorite band has sold reasonably priced tickets that no matter how unfair the lineup is allow you to get close to them.

Here is the sad reality of this thing too, its an american thing, as stated this stuff didnt really happen in other places. I also found the GA crowds in the US to be exceptionally rude and intolerable. mexico everyone was nice and respectful. Chicago was an exception.
 
Here is the sad reality of this thing too, its an american thing, as stated this stuff didnt really happen in other places. I also found the GA crowds in the US to be exceptionally rude and intolerable.

You need to start a commune in montana or somewhere.
 
As Jim Richards once said to his fans, "you're a pack of arseholes"

I'd say it's a pretty good bet that's what the band would think too. I'm sure they adore seeing the same fuckers front row every.single.night, and I'm sure they'd love them even more if they knew all the obsessive/weird/completely unnecessary/SCARY/fucked up stuff that goes on to get them there.
 
Does anything resembling this kind of obsessive bullshit happen at Australian U2 gigs?
I wouldn't know, because I've only ever rocked up well after gates have opened and thus only managed to be -OMFG!- six feet from Bono, instead of two. So I have no first hand experience of what nuttiness is going on (or not) at Australian U2 gigs. I know people start arriving pretty early, some the night before (which on it's own seems completely mad). But is it that many? And does all of this shit happen? IF it hasn't been 'imported' yet, can you all please not ever follow a tour to Australia? Thanks.
 
Generally, when you read something, you read it in the voice that you yourself speak. So I read Interference with my schmoooth Aussie bogan voice usually. I found I have more fun if I read this thread with a Monica from Friends/Elaine from Seinfeld American twang. Adds a nice note of whininess to it :love:
 
But correct me if I'm wrong, aren't those of you who use this "list" cutting in line anyway? If your name is on the list two days in advance, and then you rock up at 4pm and go straight to the start of the line, that is cutting, ahead of hundreds of people who had no idea about the list, that is cutting, no? I'd rather Dude cut than get pushed back 100 people.


No...once on the list, you have to make roll call at 4am on show day....or whatever time is given when you sign up.
I don't make the rules....that's for sure. I just follow suit which makes me an offender by following said rules.

I wish this all gets sorted though as this thread has done quite a bit of damage.

I anticipated that fans would get "antsy" as the tour would start to move down to the final remaining shows.

*sigh*

Anyway, I'm done talking about rules that I didn't make.
 
Does anything resembling this kind of obsessive bullshit happen at Australian U2 gigs?
I wouldn't know, because I've only ever rocked up well after gates have opened and thus only managed to be -OMFG!- six feet from Bono, instead of two. So I have no first hand experience of what nuttiness is going on (or not) at Australian U2 gigs. I know people start arriving pretty early, some the night before (which on it's own seems completely mad). But is it that many? And does all of this shit happen? IF it hasn't been 'imported' yet, can you all please not ever follow a tour to Australia? Thanks.

Nope, only in America they line up days in advcance with this numbering system where you sign up and just come back the day of the show. From what I've heard Australia has no such system, you guys show up on the day somewhere and just stay in line.
In Europe we don't have this sign up in advance bullshit either. But we do have a list/numbering system. One that works.

Basically the EU system is like this. First person at the site starts the line, usually the early ass morning of the show or the night before. That person gives out the numbers and lists them in a notepad or whatever, and everyone STAYS IN THE LINE. Sure, you can leave for an hour or so to get food or drinks or take a piss, but you cannot just go on out and about and have fun all day and come back in late. In the early morning there's usually role call at 7, if you're not there, you're off the list. There's a few moments during the day you have to be there, that's when you get led on stadium grounds, get a wristband(not all shows) and when everyone has to throw out their shite so everyone can get in safely.

This system works. It's nice, fair and you meet a lot of nice people around you. Based on the first come, first serve principle, and purely only a way to keep the line as it is in order. Not to start a line days in advance for 'privileged' people.

My mind was blown in Montreal with the morons that started a line system 3 days in advance. And I still do not understand why someone would do this shit. But ah well, I had a great spot when I walked in at 5pm the day of the show. :shrug:

For the record, the Toronto line was way better organized. Though it's still weird to me that we had to sign in the day before, but what the heck. I didn't complain and got a number in the 100s, checked back in at 4am and spent most of the day in line asleep or talking to my fellow U2 fans. It was a great day, good spirits and nice people. Sure, few cutters but security kicked them out nicely.

Basic point for the OP: If you don't agree with the line, don't be a fucking hypocrit. You complain about the line and bitch and moan about the people in it, YET you still wanted to be on that list. So what is it that you want? You still were in that list system, you were part of the system you yourself despise. What's the fucking point?
 
cobl04 said:
But correct me if I'm wrong, aren't those of you who use this "list" cutting in line anyway? If your name is on the list two days in advance, and then you rock up at 4pm and go straight to the start of the line, that is cutting, ahead of hundreds of people

Hold up...the 4 oclock thing is 4 AM
...NOT 4 PM IE 5 minutes before the door opens...still a lil batty but no one is cutting another line. If you were on the list you had to be back in line 12 hrs before the show started.
 
basic point for the op: If you don't agree with the line, don't be a fucking hypocrit. You complain about the line and bitch and moan about the people in it, yet you still wanted to be on that list. So what is it that you want? You still were in that list system, you were part of the system you yourself despise. What's the fucking point?

this ^
 
^ fking hell it's like a school day trip!!! lmfaoooooooooooooooooooooooooo

never seen anything like it either!!

god i really do treasure the European gigs i've been to - yeah, you list guys should just stick to tours in the States - you would cry in Europe and we would laugh at you:D
 
My favourite part is the fretting over the wristbands. "Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!" - seriously.

And the couple of minutes from 9.15 on in this clip from the same gig. I don't know whether to feel extremely embarrassed for them, or just ashamed that I'm in some way a part of the same larger collective 'thing', or fanbase.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeiX8ivzgwQ
 
I totally get that if you are going to dedicate upwards of 24hrs of your life in the quest for three feet of advantage, you'd want some sort of order or system to recognise and defend that effort. The numbering and whatnot all makes perfect sense, is sensible etc.

It's interesting (funny? sad?) thing is that where it's gone wrong and obsessive and stupid and mad is among the people who no doubt see the most shows, in the country that gets the most shows. Funny that the less shows a country gets, and thus the less shows individuals are seeing, the less they care. It would make more sense if it were the other way around, and it was the "THIS IS MY ONE U2 GIG FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS" crowd that were a bit nutty about it all, and it was the "THIS IS MY 12TH U2 GIG THIS MONTH" crowd that had it all within some sort of perspective and were all cool about it.
 
I don't get all this shit I really don't...Don't people work? Lining up days ahead is ridiculous and quite frankly pointless.. I've said it before and I'll say it again...I don't think people, and I don't care who you are, what time you get there or how many shows you've seen, should have any right to dictate how a line is run.. Period...We are all there for the same reason and that is to see the band do what they do best.. no one should have to worry about all this BS..Why can't everyone just go the day of the show, first come first served and call it a day?...You can have your bragging rights after the show..

And yes NY GA line has already started for the next tour..You must check in at Spiderman on Broadway, do a shot at the Spotted Pig and hop on a train to Long Island and check into my lobby consecutively for the next 48 months..see you there :happy:
 
One person got so messed around by one or people at one or two shows they had to vent their fury. And I'm sure other fans got a bit fcked over too. But ... The vast, vast majority of U2 fans respect the self-appointed, unofficial system of the idiots who will line up early to get their Bono-spot. The vast majority of lines afaik were happy, relaxed affairs. This angry hornet has got a disproportionately powerful sting.

Like it or loathe it, many U2 fans are desperate enough for Bono-proximity that they will line up to try to guarantee that. Personally, I think they're all daft. Far better to spend time in the pub, and then lie in, and then be a few further rows back at the show. But these mad fans are still gonna do it, and wisely leave me to my hangover.

You're not going to prevent unofficial lining up in North America. And this is only a North America problem, as queues are anticipated and facilitated elsewhere in the world, where people have lined up for much longer than two days.

Btw bulltproof, you criticised the change in line check-in time in Pittsburgh from 7:00 am to 5:00 am. Then you criticised Lou for challenging this change. Toast isn't normally buttered on both sides. But I'm reluctant to give credibility to your post by picking it apart.

One person? Hey, I was number 5. I didn't get "messed around". About 30 people got better treatment over many others. This wasn't about ME. It was about the "fans".
Bono spot. I don't want a "Bono spot". I have a short friend with me, and she can't see the stage from inner circle. We did outer in CHI and in PITT.
Line change I criticized the line change time based on these merits:
Lou wanted it at 7am. We told 150 people 7am.
U2Dave wanted 5am.
Lou yelled at Dave.
Many didn't want to let those that come at 7 back in the line. That was a selfish statement I didn't understand.
 
Oh, and I talked to U2Dave. He said he sees fans at one gig, while their friends put them on the list at the next gig before their plane arrives.

I didn't say it. Dave did.

But I'm sure I'll get backlash for it too.

And when I signed up on the list in CHI it was my first one.
When I did the list in PITTS Mike was the creator. I told him I expected it to be fair, no holding spots, no secrecy. He agreed so I put my name down.

Some of you can't wrap your mind around friends signing up friends.
 
I can wrap my mind around it. I even had a friend that said she wouldn't let someone sign her up and not me, so we went and got numbers when we arrived. You see, I agree with some of your points, just not your way of putting it out there.
 
This is all incredibly fascinating.

I'll just say that there are a lot of people here who don't understand that many fans only get to see one show on a tour, if that.
 
PhilsFan said:
This is all incredibly fascinating.

I'll just say that there are a lot of people here who don't understand that many fans only get to see one show on a tour, if that.

if you posted somewhere about the show, I missed it. Did you have a super awesome time?
 
One person? Hey, I was number 5. I didn't get "messed around". About 30 people got better treatment over many others. This wasn't about ME. It was about the "fans".
Bono spot. I don't want a "Bono spot". I have a short friend with me, and she can't see the stage from inner circle. We did outer in CHI and in PITT.
Line change I criticized the line change time based on these merits:
Lou wanted it at 7am. We told 150 people 7am.
U2Dave wanted 5am.
Lou yelled at Dave.
Many didn't want to let those that come at 7 back in the line. That was a selfish statement I didn't understand.

Selective quotations are very naughty. I said one person got so messed around they had to vent their fury - with photos, video and private messages - NOT that one person was affected by issues with the line. Perhaps you selectively ignored the part where I said "I'm sure other fans got a bit fcked over too".

Ok, your motivation for getting in line may not be for the front rail. I still classify the outer rail as a Bono-spot - a very good Bono-spot as it happens, probably the best spot in the stadium to see the show.

Personally, I respect Lou "yelling at Dave" (although I don't accept she did this on your say-so alone) in the line on the day, FAR FAR more than you privately nursing a grudge and collecting evidence to bitterly create what I see as a blatantly false picture of hardcore U2 fans' line-up systems. Actually, I respect Lou if she voiced any grievances openly to U2 Dave, I don't respect your time-delayed sourness at all.

I'm sure all lines were flawed, and it's quite likely all line leaders made mistakes with their attempts to organise the line. But ...

The vast, vast majority of U2 fans respected the self-appointed, unofficial system of the eejits (and I only call them this cos I know and love many such eejits) who lined up early to get their Bono-spot. The vast majority of lines afaik were happy, relaxed affairs. And the vast majority of the hundreds of people who helped run the lines around the world were in my experience friendly, helpful, patient and fair.

Your experience was negative. Your response to that experience is even more so.
 
Galeongirl said:
Nope, only in America they line up days in advcance with this numbering system where you sign up and just come back the day of the show.

Nope, same basic system applies in South America, too, where all this lining up for days in advance started. Fans line up in groups and take shifts manning the line, meaning everyone is gone for 2/3s of the time. I loved it.
 
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