MERGED --> ALL QUESTIONS/COMMENTS about the ELLIPSE HERE + "Ellipse" GA Policy U2.com

[tkramer]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: lottery

Or $50 for a chance for some of the best seats in the house.

More than a few folks have stated if you don't get in the BS that you are much better off right behind the stage. These are people who have been to the first four shows and have seen it both ways.

 

[o.c.zoostation]

Good theory... Hhhhhmmm, maybe I'll just show up at 7...

Guiness Stout...I got there around 6:00pm and was o.k.

Furthermore, saw 4/1 show Side Stage (next to Edge) and the show was just as good OR better.

 

[Miroslava]

Just transferring this post... I was actually curious about this myself...

Quick question...hope someone can answer. I have 2 GA's for the second SJ show and I'm assuming if since it was not part of a presale (at least that I know of)...if my friend who is not a u2.com member will be able to be in the line with me. I bought both of the GA tickets...so I can't imagine he wouldn't be able to.

Any insight would be appreciated!

 

[modsavage]

she'll need a U2.com card, but being in the other line my better your chances of getting inside the elipse.

 

[by350]

So BOTH people need a u2.com membership to stand in line together, even though I bought both of the tickets???

THIS IS RIDICULOUS!

 

[UltravioletU2]

I just want to add my $.02 about the way they are doing it.

I HATE IT!

We have 8 of us who all bought memberships to get GA tickets. We had long and hard debates about GA's or good seats but decided that we all wanted to be together to experience it together. If we were going to do GA we all decided to camp out to get in the bomb shelter.

Now there is probably no chance of getting in the ellipse. We won't want to split up the group and the chance of 8 us getting in? Yeah, right!

So count me in for totally disagreeing with this new system.

 

[bono=genius]

i bought my ticket off ebay....and it is a presale ticket...but do i need a u2.com membership card too? along with it?

 

[Miroslava]

i bought my ticket off ebay....and it is a presale ticket...but do i need a u2.com membership card too? along with it?

I don't believe so... if the ticket is marked FAN on the top right corner, you get to go on the presale line, no proof of membership required (though they should...)

 

[U2SJ]

So if my boyfriend who is NOT a member of U2.com has a ticket that sais NFAN like my ticket since I bought them together, we can both line up together right?
I hate this stupid ass system too by the way. So confusing.

 

[Miroslava]

So if my boyfriend who is NOT a member of U2.com has a ticket that sais NFAN like my ticket since I bought them together, we can both line up together right?
I hate this stupid ass system too by the way. So confusing.

I believe the statement about only the U2.com member being able to stand in the U2.com line referred to the shows without presales... again, only one person has confirmed this... any one else have experience with that scenario?

 

[OffAxis]

Wow, 23 pages about this crap! If U2 would have just left it alone, it would have been fine.

Anyways, maybe this is in the wrong place or someone already mentioned it, but why couldn't I (not a u2.com member) just have someone screen capture their membership page, then photoshop my name in?

 

[U2SJ]

Thanks miroslava. Im actually glad I have shit seats for Sunday, atleast there is no stress!!

 

[Miroslava]

 

[Ody]

i had a feeling stuff like that would start happening...

I did too. You know some people will pay to get in. Randomness does add that aspect. With first come, first served the diehards in the front of the line were pretty good about keeping people out that weren't there all day. Now, people that go alone could get paid to be a friend, or to hand over a wristband from someone that didn't even want it in the first place.

 

[WildHoneyAlways]

The lottery is fantastic and I love watching all the "grade squatters" justify its unfairness when they've been blocking the majority of students from the "A" experience.

Seriously, anyone want to pick apart this analogy? Any takers?

Okay, as a teacher this analogy bothers me. ( I am totally anal, I know) I have kids who sleep through my class and still get A's and I have kids who study and get C's.

Is it fair? Maybe not but that's the hand they've been delt. If we are using this lame analogy this would equate the sleeper with the people who shows later in the day and the studier as the person who camps out.

I say just work the system.

 

[Miroslava]

 

[Sicy]

Originally posted by youngcity
I just recieved my tickets for the chicago date on the 10th in May, which I also share birthdays with Bono...lol, I have been on the floor for Bruce Springsteen and got into his "pit" by waiting outside that day four 7 hours, and was wondering if anyone could help me and tell me how to get into the ellipse that bono has?

Its all random. Once you get inside the arena they scan your ticket. If it 'beeps' and shows U2 VERTIGO on their computer screen, you get into the ellipse and you can take one person with you.

 

[Miroslava]

 

[ruffian]

I believe the statement about only the U2.com member being able to stand in the U2.com line referred to the shows without presales... again, only one person has confirmed this... any one else have experience with that scenario?

Miroslava, you are right...for shows with presales, the lines are formed on the basis of "fan" tickets (those bought in the presale) and general tickets. For added shows that did not have a presale, the lines are formed on the basis of u2.com membership or no membership. Since u2.com failed to mail out lots of membership cards, be sure to print out your profile and have it ready to show security.

Not to inflame the sensitive issue about the lottery system further, but what really irks me is that U2.com state there is "no need to arrive early," and that's just crap...if you beep for the ellipse maybe it's fine, but if you are in the majority and are on the floor you won't be able to grab a spot on the rail unless you get in the GA at the crack of dawn. So the lottery only benefits a relatively small number of people who choose to show up late.

ok, end of my rant

 

[Sicy]

That is very true!

 

[trish0860]

I have a stomach ache just thinking about all of this ellipse stuff.

 

[oceane]

I still think the same way about this lottery policy (it's a bad idea), but I must say I think it's great to hear stories about people who made it inside the ellipse and were right at the front of the stage, and never thought they would end up there at a U2 show. The thing is there would be other ways to have the same outcome without penalizing so many other people (like a regular lottery or a lottery only for the first 40 spots or whatever).

 

[tkramer]

Its an easy solution, a chimp could of thought of it. 250 spots for first come first serve, and lotto the other 150. It's not like they've solved the waiting in line thing, so they might as well make at least a few people happy...

 

[2heartsboston]

I GA for 2 days in Boston .......In December
but I will keep reading people please keep this thread alive
So we can have a strong idea of how to play it
When Love comes to Town

 

[*Ally*]

i still don't like the lottery, but it does seem to be keeping people from camping out the night before the show. from all accounts i've read, as long as you get there in the early morning you'll get a "good" number. that's a plus, as i don't think many people enjoy sleeping on concrete.

i'm still interested to see whether they continue to use this policy in europe...

 

[Hallelujah Here She Comes]

Okay, as a teacher this analogy bothers me. ( I am totally anal, I know) I have kids who sleep through my class and still get A's and I have kids who study and get C's.

Is it fair? Maybe not but that's the hand they've been delt. If we are using this lame analogy this would equate the sleeper with the people who shows later in the day and the studier as the person who camps out.

I say just work the system.

Ok, it wasn't even my analogy originally and it was awhile ago, but let me try to clarify. I'm not saying that assigning grades based on test performance is unfair and that we should grade based solely on effort. I'm saying that randomly assigning grades is unfair. And there is at least some correlation between working hard and getting good grades (I'm in law school and I can tell you that the people who can sleep through class and get As are very few and far between). So randomly signing grades is unfair at least in part because it rewards people who know nothing because they put forth no effort.

I think in a line situation there's even a greater correlation between who wants to be at the front and who finds a way to get into line early. So a lottery would be even more unfair in rewarding people who put forth no effort. So while you're right that the analogy is far from perfect, I don't see how way you distinguished the two situations makes makes the lottery sound more fair.

I also don't want to make it sound like I think that showing up early is some measure of fandom. I don't. But I do think that, for the most part, showing up early is a pretty good measure of the desire to be up front.

 

[The OOTS]

I'm still leaning in favor of the lottery.

I attended SJ1 and got beeped in. Would I have been disappointed if I hadn't got in? Maybe a little, but the show was still great. Was I excited I got in? Damn straight!

I arrived at the arena at 4:30pm, stood in the long GA line, and got second row in front of Bono. I realize I got real lucky. That's the beauty of it.

I saw some older fans (50s?) who had front rowand Bono smiled at them and their sign. I met some fanclub people who had front row. I also met some people who didn't realize that their lucky floor ticket landed them so close to the stage. They were clueless. It was nice to see the mixture of people get excited and get to enjoy the show from close up.

I'm sure that this is what the band was going for with this idea, and to me, the system works.

 

[Elessarian]

the eclypse is what covers the moon... just spelled differently

the ellipse is a circular shape... i.e. the egg, the heart, the bomb shelter, the toilet

how it actually works is like this... when you arrive, they give you a beeper like what you get at the outback or other resturants. you then take the beeper and shove it up your ass. as you pass through the metal detectors, if your ass beeps, you're allowed into the toilet. if you're ass doesn't beep, you've just got a beeper stuck up your ass.

That's my favorite post yet. As for myself, I really have no problem lining up at 5:30 am to make sure I get the GA experience. I'm short (or "compact" as one writer described Bono), and I know my only chance is to get there at the crack of dawn, ellipse or no ellipse.

But really, I have a solution. Everything should be first come, first serve. But after the line has formed, we are all counted off according to height. Groups of friends will be split up. All the shortest people together, the next shortest, and so on. Then we are all distributed t-shirts listing our actual height. Shortest people in the front of the ellipse and along the rail, then the next shortest and so forth. Taller people will be allowed to bring stools or ladders or sandbags to stand on as the floor fills up. Anyone deviating from their height-designated position will be shot back into place with a super-soaker filled with lemon juice. Maybe Bono can do that himself. Then, as Bill Flanagan once said, the whole show will have all the fun and spontanaity of a the D-Day invasion.

But seriously, one quick question (a "quick" question on a 24 page thread...ha!)......is the ellipse crammed full elbow to elbow, or, at maximum capacity is there still some ample breathing room? Thanks!

 

[Elessarian]

OOTS-I feel the same as you, just happy to be in the building. But being a 5'5 female, I wasn't able to see a thing and I had camped out all day.I felt like I was having an out of body experience/horrible nightmare as the band took the stage and I couldn't see a damn thing. The only times I saw Edge & Bono was the few times they were out on the catwalk, directly in front of us. I believe I know, why U2 did this, as I said in an earlier post, to make the GA experience even better, and to get the hard core groupies out of their faces every night. I got so tired of those twins getting into the heart at the 13 shows I went to last tour, and I NEVER saw them or their friends in line. I just wish the band had told us about the change before the show-But then again the bitching would have been unbearable. So I guess the answer might be to get them out on the catwalk more. Come on boys, surely you could muster that?!

Those of us who are 5'5'' and below (I'm 5'3'') have a really tough time. I feel like no amount of money, time spent in line, or luck can compensate for short-person genes. We are like second-class citizens at concerts. See, this whole thread is making me overly-dramatic. Maybe I should stop reading these threads and head on over to eBay to find some of those strap-on stilt thingys.

 

[daygloeyes2]

I'll be with one other person so if I do get picked to go into the ellipse(and knowing my luck,i won't) we won't be seperated.