3 Irishmen and a Dutchman Walk Into A Sphere - General Discussion Thread Part III

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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
My favorite is "the check in system is there to make things safe. What would happen if 300 people all arrive at the same time at exactly 8:00 AM?!? It would be madness/chaos/full of shenanigans". Like they would all be beamed down by Scotty at exactly 8:00 AM. Poof, you are all now outside the sphere. Fight for your rightful spot in the line!!!
 
My favorite is "the check in system is there to make things safe. What would happen if 300 people all arrive at the same time at exactly 8:00 AM?!? It would be madness/chaos/full of shenanigans". Like they would all be beamed down by Scotty at exactly 8:00 AM. Poof, you are all now outside the sphere. Fight for your rightful spot in the line!!!
All I ask is that the people who are doing this just come right out and say yes, we are doing this because it gets us better spots in line. We're helping fans, but we're also being selfish about this.

I'd respect that.

The entire idea of the day of show 5 am check in alone shows that they are not about this being open and fair to everyone.

Because if "the list" was so open, fair and accepted as gospel by all U2 fans, then there would be no issues with everyone just showing up when the venue is ready to give out wristbands. Because everyone knows about the list. Right?

Why would you want everyone there at 5 am and waiting for 3 hours? Ohhhhh right... because then you can make sure that anyone who shows up closer to 8 doesn't have an argument to make. That's right.
 
At least they left the comments open on that page...
i commented on the original post with, oh, 8 laughing emojis - followed by a comment about how the only way a GA line started 5 days before the show would be fair is if the people who got there 5 days out sat their butts down and stayed there until wristbands were handed out.

the emoji comments stayed, but the suggestion that people should actually sit and wait, ya know, like we used to do, was deleted.
 
I don't partake in this BS. I think I have done it maybe once for 360 and then no more. My tour of duty started and ended during Vertigo, which was when you got in line and stayed in line.

Frankly, I don't even have a huge issue with people lining up at 5:00 AM if they want to and for those people that signed up to respect each other's place in "line". Say someone on the list arrives at 4:40 AM and then someone arriving at 4:59 gets in line in front of them because they have a lower number. Fine, you all agreed to this social contract.

But if someone arrives at 3:30 AM that is not on the list and gets in line at number 3 because the only people on site are the 2 people standing guard by the rock, guess what? The newcomer is number 3 and everyone else with a reservation can line up after that... I believe there was similar drama recently and boy, you would think those people without numbers that dared to physically line up had kicked babies and puppies on their way to their spot.
 
This is a GA check in system bashing safe space, friends.

Have at it.
I didn't go to this past weekend's shows, but I did notice it appeared as though the Saturday line-keepers made the check-ins avoid Friday night's show. I thought there was sort of an agreement there had to be a check-in during the show so that the same people couldn't be first both nights. IDK, WHATEVER.
 
i've waited in line for U2 twice. once was at the Barnes and Noble in Union Square for a book signing when they released U2 by U2. Me and Pat from the old U2Mart.com sat our butts down, along with a slew of other U2 fans and a whole bunch of scammers who were looking to get a free autograph to sell on ebay (as was the tradition at the time) slept on the damn sidewalk overnight to get into the thing.

The other time was at Vertigo in Philly - with DaveC of all people - where we got there at 6 am day of show, sat down and waited. And I almost had to go to the hospital when i got home the next day because it was supposed to be overcast and rainy and ended up being hot and sunny without a cloud in the sky and i didn't have an ounce of sunscreen on my pasty ass legs - which were purple the next day.

but, yea - i saw my butt down and waited. which is the only fair GA system.
 
I don't partake in this BS. I think I have done it maybe once for 360 and then no more. My tour of duty started and ended during Vertigo, which was when you got in line and stayed in line.

Frankly, I don't even have a huge issue with people lining up at 5:00 AM if they want to and for those people that signed up to respect each other's place in "line". Say someone on the list arrives at 4:40 AM and then someone arriving at 4:59 gets in line in front of them because they have a lower number. Fine, you all agreed to this social contract.

But if someone arrives at 3:30 AM that is not on the list and gets in line at number 3 because the only people on site are the 2 people standing guard by the rock, guess what? The newcomer is number 3 and everyone else with a reservation can line up after that... I believe there was similar drama recently and boy, you would think those people without numbers that dared to physically line up had kicked babies and puppies on their way to their spot.

click clack
 
Should mention that what I do have a huge issue with is with secrecy of starting the line and other assorted shenanigans. I believe this past weekend had a Saturday list that conveniently required Friday check ins from 6:00 to 8:00 AM and 5:00 to 7:00 PM, you know, to perfectly align with Friday attendees presence around the Sphere to collect wristbands for Friday and get in line for the show while also being on the list for Saturday...

Also read that the number one person on a list missed a check in but of course retained the number one spot...
 
Should mention that what I do have a huge issue with is with secrecy of starting the line and other assorted shenanigans. I believe this past weekend had a Saturday list that conveniently required Friday check ins from 6:00 to 8:00 AM and 5:00 to 7:00 PM, you know, to perfectly align with Friday attendees presence around the Sphere to collect wristbands for Friday and get in line for the show while also being on the list for Saturday...

Also read that the number one person on a list missed a check in but of course retained the number one spot...
My shenanigan-adjacent experience: offered a lower number if I did a 4 hr shift manning the list.
 
Should add that it makes sense if one goes in person and declines the lower number because the person does not want to do a shift. Shady as hell if the top 20 are reserved for people not on site yet, in exchange for the lower number and a shift.
 
Should add that it makes sense if one goes in person and declines the lower number because the person does not want to do a shift. Shady as hell if the top 20 are reserved for people not on site yet, in exchange for the lower number and a shift.
It appeared that some spots were open for would-be volunteers.
I passed.
It, uhh, worked out fine.
 

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DON'T DREAM IT'S OVER.
Idk, I ended up successful in getting another ticket at face for last Thursday and Saturday, but it was hard. Didn't get in until ~7pm and after 8pm, respectively (but the 8pm one was at least locked in the night before, so wasn't stressing all day). I'll bet it'll be harder in March, but possible.
That's good work. Did you have to do a lot of social media work or just some ticketmaster luck?
 
And the dumb Facebook page is removing comments and locking posts that are criticizing the announcement.

The "captain" is still free to live stream from his car, however.
My question is how many people are part of this? Same 50-100? Do they go to every freaking show in the world? How do they even manage this feet? How many fucks do I have to beat up?
 
In all my time seeing the band, which dates back to 2006, I've seen them in stadiums (Sphere the smallest venue I've seen them at) and I think any queuing is so fucking stupid, personally, for any artist. Because I am a member of this forum, when I saw U2 in GA for the first time in 2010, I got sucked in thinking I should get there early. I can't remember what time I got there, but I was 100+ people back in the line, and then by the moment I got into GA, and everyone was settled, I was like a metre off the rail. People had been queuing since before sunrise and they were literally 30cm in front of me. For what? To hold a bit of metal? Absolutely ridiculous. Even at the Sphere, when I did GA, I got there maybe half an hour before the doors opened and found a little pocket on the floor 10-20m from the band, the closest I've been to them, and it was amazing. I don't get it at all.

I did almost have a medical episode myself, when I bought a cup of red wine, a gin and tonic, a water and a whiskey and it cost me $190 Australian dollars. That's sickening.
 
My question is how many people are part of this? Same 50-100? Do they go to every freaking show in the world? How do they even manage this feet? How many fucks do I have to beat up?
Someone on the Facebook group has been to 16 shows at the Sphere. SIXTEEN! If she got the cheapest tickets, that's $2,240.
 
Wait so how do you JOIN the Generic Assholes crew?

How do the members decide which one gets first spot and which one gets 50th spot?

Is this a cult where like 1 or 2 people are in charge?

When U2 isn't playing where do they line up?

Does anyone want to start a 400 level line up club?
 
The shows last weekend were FULL of friends and family from Ireland (according to our friend that works in the crew) and Bono who made mention of it from the stage I think both nights. Guess everyone realized that time was short and put in requests at the last minute so it really might have been a situation of extra GAs being issued. There were a couple people on FB saying that they bought last minute seats and then moved to GA when they realized that seats were double booked, but I am not quite sure I am believing that one. :p
I read in an article that the shows last weekend were being filmed. Did you notice any extra cameras/drones?
 
The band must hate so many of these people. I feel like Bruce made tickets so expensive just because he was sick of seeing the same 75 year olds at every show.
 
The band must hate so many of these people. I feel like Bruce made tickets so expensive just because he was sick of seeing the same 75 year olds at every show.
Bruce is getting everyone paid and taken care of after decades of underpricing his shows. If anything, he has more of a chance of the same rich faces in the front pit now than the previous lottery lineups.
 
I read in an article that the shows last weekend were being filmed. Did you notice any extra cameras/drones?
Yes, Bono mentioned it at both shows. I was afraid the extra cameras were going to be intrusive, but frankly if he hadn’t mentioned it, you wouldn’t have known anything was different. At least not from my vantage point. Just saw the same cameras as before.
 
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