And that was because Boston (and I want to say San Jose) were the only 2 cities where the Venue ran the GA numbered line.
Yes, San Jose Arena security ran the line there in 2005, it was great.
We showed up at around 12pm, received numbered wristbands from the security staff, and were told to come back and line up one hour before the doors opened. It was flawless, and nobody complained.
Not having to sit in line all day gave us the chance to hang out at the stage doors for three hours instead, where we met Bono signing autographs for 20 minutes.
If only every venue was like that.
Tokyo was even more organized than San Jose, but security there failed in it's ultimate execution (to our advantage).
Each Tokyo GA ticket was numbered with your place in line already.
Here are tickets 5-8:
http://entertainment.webshots.com/photo/2395366630054037085wiFDQp
When you got to the arena, there were signposts indicating where you had to line up based on your ticket number:
http://entertainment.webshots.com/photo/2421078460054037085nBsvjL
I hooked up with the U2-connected fans who had ticket #s 1-10, so I just walked in with them, even though my ticket was somewhere in the 1500s. We bullshitted the security guards, who didn't want to argue with a bunch of aggressive Yanks, Micks and Limeys and ended up on the front rail in front of Adam and Bono all three nights.
This worked for the first two Tokyo shows, but by the third show, word had gotten out that the security staff wasn't enforcing the ticket number system, so everyone (including the Japanese fans) started jumping the line and rushing forward when they opened the doors, it was madness. Same thing happened in Monterrey, Mexico, everyone had a wristband, but then just stampeded the doors in the end, fucking dangerous and stupid.