VIP tickets, first row, ect.
 

iloveallaccess.com is providing those VIP packages and I was wondering whether there was any other way to get good tickets. Is iloveaccess the exclusive provider of the tickets for the first 20 rows or is there any other way to get those? I'd much rather pay 759 bucks knowing I will be seated somewhere in the first or first few rows than paying the same amount of money for being seated somewhere in the first ten rows and getting a lot of extra stuff I don't really want. Any ideas? :confused:

In 2004 I bought 2 vip packages for a SYW show. The tickets were $500 each I believe back then. We were seated 2nd row center, so not bad. If you went through a scalper or ticket broker you would end up paying the same probably. While we were sitting waiting for the show to start we met not one, but two people in the front row who had purchased their tickets at the venue right before the show. For me that was kind of frustrating to spend so much and someone who walked into the venue right before the show got front row.

I think a lot of it also has to do with how many seats you need. I think that right before the show there are a lot of single seats left over. I know many people here seem to get lucky by waiting to get their tickets, but it's always a gamble.

Well, I would only need a single seat, but trying to get one right before the how would be little too risky for my liking, seeing as I would be travelling from across the pond. Thanks for the input though!

I went to two Stevie/Don Henley shows that had the All Access thing going. For one, I got front row, for the other, second row. I did NOT do the All Access thing, but got them, regular price, through ticketmaster.

The thing about All Access is, you don't know exactly where you're sitting until the day of the show (I believe--maybe I'm wrong and it's a few days before the show). All they guarantee, if I'm not mistaken is somewhere in the first 10 rows. And, the seats are in the center section. So, they might give you 8th row, center, rather than front row, side, because they deem it to be a better seat.

I'm too much of a control freak for that (well, that and I don't have the money for such a thing;-) but, I'm pretty sure that's the way it works.

Frankly, I would rather deal with a broker because you know exactly what you're getting. But, I'd wait a little anyway. The only broker who seems to have things now is Stub Hub, and their prices are ridiculous ($2000 for 5th row or something? Get a grip!)

Seriously!

i would never pay that much for tickets.

When you order them from ticketmaster, can you choose the exact row and seat or just sections? From All Access I got the impression that the only way to get a seat in the first ten rows is when you buy one of those packages. But then I don't think they could fill the entire ground floor with those anyway as most people probably can't afford any of the packages.

Well, all the venues have seating charts that appear when you are searching for tickets on ticketmaster (and, sometimes, an online search for a venue's seating chart will get you a far more detailed chart, where you can see exactly how they number each row, etc). It's a good idea to familiarize yourself with them before the sale (if you're trying during a pre-sale or something) to get to know where you'd like to sit.

And then they give you various choices. For example, in an arena, you would choose "floor" seats so they only offer you the floor during your search. Sometimes, they let you choose floor center, or floor right side of the stage, floor left...but you can't say I want front row, 2nd seat over. They offer you what comes up on the computer. IF you like that seat, you can buy it (you have 3 minutes, I think, to make up your mind). If you don't, you can try again. I have literally tried dozens of times for some shows, every single day, sometimes for months, before deciding that I want to buy a particular ticket. It's a pain in the neck, but you can, sometimes, get exactly what you like. And, then, I have to admit, there were some shows where really good seats never seemed to appear.

Don't panic....
 

No, when the tickets first go on sale from Ticketmaster you can not choose,
it's first come / first served / best available.
Right now there is a huge deal being made about the VIP Packages.
Dont worry, there will still be good seats available for most of the shows
However, as with every concert there are always last minute tickets made available for reasonably good seats.
Your best bet, as you are coming from "over the pond", is to buy a regular ticket from Ticketmaster,
then when you get to the "here", check at the box office for the late release tickets....usually works, especially for singles....
Good luck,
George, (Toronto).

Thanks everyone. I had completely forgotten about the box offices. Looks like I'm going to get a ticket online then and try my luck getting a better seat at day of the concert. ... I actually planned on getting a VIP package, but seeing as I have to pay for the flight and hotel too, this seems like a better solution.

I have another question regarding the ticket brokers. At which point do they start to sell single tickets? A few weeks or months before the concert is taking place? :shrug:

Just get them thru a broker or something

Usually never. Always in pairs. But you can buy a pair and sell your extra one at the show.

It takes a few weeks for the brokers to start selling single tickets. For some reason, after a few weeks, they will be stuck with an odd number of tickets,
5, 3 or 1 and that's when you can get a single one. It doesn't happen with every show though.

Michele

I know your post was well-intentioned but it really bothers me that this is now the accepted thing. Just pay an unfair and extortionate price (and none of that extra money the ticket sells for even goes to the said artist).

I've never resorted to buying from a tout (broker or whatever you want to call them) and I've been going to concerts for almost 20 years and went to more than 50 concerts this year alone. Some of those concerts this year were high profile sell-outs too and I either got my tickets on the day they went on sale or waited it out and snapped them up nearer the date (this happens all the time, Ticketmaster release seats even to sold out shows). I had front row for Emmylou Harris and Willie Nelson, second row and third row for Neil Young and tickets right by the stage for Dolly Parton, Leonard Cohen and Bruce Springsteen (that concert sold out in minutes too) among others. The last time Fleetwood Mac toured here I never even joined the fanclub and I got first row and second row through Ticketmaster for two of their dates.

Maybe I'm not cynical enough to think it's okay to pay so much for a concert ticket particularly in these hard times. It just bothers me that so much of that money is going to a third party whose only skill was getting to a ticket before me.

I definitely appreciate artists like Tom Waits, Pearl Jam, Tom Petty and, recently The Who, who try to stop touts buying up the tickets and give their fans the chance to see them without paying ridiculous amounts of money. If I were an artist I'd hate to think that only the well off could see me in concert.