STING2 said:
This poll is going to continue until the end of the tour, that is what I stated when it was started.
Getting tickets to a U2 show has always been "first come, first serve" ever since U2 first came to the United States in December 1980. There was no reason to change that. And how old are you Sting2, if I may ask? Have you been buying U2 tickets since 1980? When did you buy your first U2 ticket? I bought mine in 1987 and seem to have adjusted to the ellipse policy just fine and have actually benefited from it.
U2 only comes around every 4 years. If one cannot use spare vacation time once every 4 years to simply stand in line for 12 hours, then that is their problem, just as it is their problem if they can't get to the show that U2 is playing on that night in their CITY.
Your also forgetting that many people love the experience of standing in the line that long and meeting other U2 fans, some from other countries. Not everyone considers it to be the sacrifice you make it out to be, but then again, one makes sacrifices of time and other things in order to get things that one considers a high priority.
Plus, look at this poll. What do the majority of U2 fans want to see?
So you're saying that you're against the presale as well because that took away first come first served priviledge for some fans by giving priority to those who bought into the system? That is inherently unfair using your logic as well. But if you benefited from it, I bet you're for it.
Just because 'it's always been that way' doesn't mean that it should always be that way... obviously someone in the U2 camp saw a problem and this was their way of addressing it. If it didn't work, they could have easily scrapped it this leg. And you're right about sacrifice... I just spent 15 hours in a car this weekend driving to see them in Pittsburgh... that time is just as valuable as spending it in line. Hell, people were probably sleeping in line while I was dodging traffic.... hmmm.. who's busting their ass to get to the show more? I wound up 3rd row rail right next to someone who had number 18 written on their hand.
In Toronto I got front row, an experience I never would have had due to my professional career and constraints on my schedule. Trust me, I'd love to be able to blow off my responsibilities to go stand in concert like I've done in years past, but jobs and 'real life' responsibilities have their place too. U2 recognizes that their fans are older now and have families and I believe they instituted the lottery so that younger fans didn't monopolize the whole tour. And you know what I HAVE taken 3 or 4 days this year just for U2 and some of those were for non GA shows. I've taken time off for MSG, Toronto, Pittsburgh, and will be taking a day off for Buffalo. I'd argue that for people who are willing to take time off of work for travel they should have the same shot as the front row as those who stand in line all day. It's all the same passion for U2 that makes fans get GA tickets... where you live should not decide whether or not you get front row live... (bad play on U2 lyrics, but you get the point)
And your poll does not represent all U2 fans, it represents U2 fans who visit _Interference_ , which. statistically, would trend toward those who would give their arm and a leg to get into the front row, so obviously they will be against the ellipse. I bet if you actually took a scientific poll of fans generally, the results would be entirely different much closer to 50/50 than this tally shows.
Did you ever go see the Dead? Their whole ticket operation was a lottery. You did a mail order and got your seats by the luck of the draw. Same with Dave Matthews Warehouse tix... you put your name in and tickets are selected for you. Seniority plays a factor as well.
What would you rather have, because as I see it you only have two options for floor tickets:
1. GA tix for 50 bucks with a random shot at getting up front.
2. GA tix for a couple hundred dollars with even higher prices for ellipse seating, stand in line all you want.
Don't you realize that if they sold ellipse tickets outright you would have an even LESSER chance of getting them? If not just by the odds themselves (400 tix sold per venue), but by scalpers/ebayers selling them for $5000 a piece.
Be careful you might get exactly what you wish for next tour. This gives so many more fans the chance to get front row than otherwise would be possible. You guys should be THANKING U2 for doing this instead of complaining about it. Work smarter, not harder is a good rule to live by.
Don't forget that the GA experience is 100x better when you're not exhausted, rained on, or dehydrated after spending 20+ hours in line, too. There are two points of view on this, and I think U2 is just siding with their veteran fans.
(and can't the mods just sticky this so you don't have to bump it all the time?)