First Time Concert-goer needs advice!

[GypsyDaffodil]

What is the best way to get tickets? Online or otherwise?

Help!

[dissention]

Some say online is better, but I've always stuck to getting them at the box office. It's too expensive online for me. Good luck!

[GypsyDaffodil]

How much are all those handling fees and stuff...?

All I want are decent seats... is that a crime??

[EveryHour]

If you have access to the fan club or other presale, obviously you'll want to try that first the moment they go on sale and see what you get. Pre-print a map of the venue so you can immediately see where the seats are that are popping up on the computer, and don't be afraid to take a risk and put them back and keep trying again if you're not happy with them. Listen to local radio stations that play The Mac, and they sometimes might announce a code to access a presale of tickets they have set aside. Other than that, it is my experience that nothing beats the "in-person" route. This won't apply here (but you might get lucky the first time), but I've had to try buying tickets at several different places to find the one I'm happy with. A lot of Ticketmaster salespeople will bend the rules about the lottery drawing. They're advised to do a drawing (and most people are sticklers about this!) if there's more than 2 people in line. However, they're only required to do it if someone in line asks for it! You might get a bugger once in a while, but most people are mellow and feel that whoever was there first should be first! The drawing concept was started to prevent people from loitering for days outside of businesses (thank Garth Brooks!), so if you get there nice and early, make sure you don't do anything rowdy! Also, purchasing an odd number of tickets helps because most people buy pairs, with your absolute best bet being purchasing one single ticket. Additionally, amazing seats almost always pop up the last days before the show because unused promotional tix get returned. There's also always Ebay or ticket brokers if you want to pay big bucks for the closest (or sometimes not-so-close!) seats. Good luck!

[Jen77]

You might want to try ebay. I got 4 tickets for the Cincinnati show for $400....and they are awesome seats!!! So I saved over $100 that way. And there are always people selling excellent seats.

Hope that helps!!
Jen