ruffian114

I had lower level behind the stage seats for I&E. Based on the seating map when I purchased I could have sworn my seats were over by the auxillary stage so I was disappointed when I saw the actual view I was going to have. A lot of time staring at the bands back... though as others have noted they did have small screens so you could see the band members faces periodically. I was actually off the side enough that I had a decent view of the big screen. Could see the auxillary stage as well but by that time they were pretty far away.

The Taylor Swift system makes more sense for her given her fanbase. I can see younger fans already very heavily involved in social media being more willing to perform social media tasks then an older fan base. As for presale strategies Muse used to force you to get will call tickets in their fan club presale. That way you don't get your ticket until the day of the show and you need to pick it up in person with ID. I'm sure some fans still wouldn't like it as it makes it hard to gift tickets and leaves you in a tough spot if something comes up and you can't make the show, but does seem to be something harder for scalpers to circumvent.

I remember reading U2: At the End of the World and hearing about how U2 lost money on Zoo TV because they wanted to keep ticket prices reasonable for fans. Seems those days are gone... For Innocence and Experience I didn't want to do GA. So I brought lower level $100+ tickets thinking they were over by the auxillary stage based on the seat map. Turns out they were behind the main stage. I got to stare at the bands back or tv screens if I wanted to actually see their faces for the majority of the show. Then Joshua Tree based on that experience I decided yea I don't love the idea of not getting a seat but maybe I'll get GA. Problem was no GA was available when the presale started so went ahead and got $100+ lower level seats again at the back of the stadium. This time I was at least in front of the stage but had a giant pole in front of me. Would have been nice if they mentioned they were obstructed view. Then I get an e-mail telling me that even though I only brought one ticket from the last presale if I want to take part in this one I need to renew my membership early. Decided I was done with the fan club (yes I know there are other perks like records I can't play that still haven't arrived). Luckily a friend of mine was able to get GA off the Citi presale so I will be going but this show might be my last. Particularly if the quality of the new music doesn't improve. In contrast to all this two tours ago I got Muse tickets off their free fan club presale. They also did seating around the whole arena but actually arranged their stage so there were no bad seats (one main center stage that rotated, two auxillary stages one on each side with significant time spent at all three stages). With no drama I was able to get seats right in front of the center stage for under $100. I realize Muse is no U2 but I personally like them just as much and there is something to be said for not starting your concert experience realizing your $100+ seats stink.

I had a nonU2 fan club member friend of mine get GA for the Newark show through the Citi presale.

I recently participated in TSO's fan club presale which used Ticketmaster's Verified Fan system. At the end of the day if they are using the verified fan system to limit scalper access I don't see how they can guarantee all fan club members will get tickets. I think we are all very aware by now that scalpers buy fan club memberships to get tickets so if they simply give all fan club members tickets you haven't done anything to limit scalpers. So then the question becomes how good are they at actually separating out scalpers from actual fans. I can tell you from the TSO experience that there were plenty of fans that wound up not getting tickets and were not pleased. TSO told people that didn't get tickets to contact them directly and they would work with them to make it right (and that was for a free fan club), however, given past experiences with U2 presales I don't see that happening here. I personally decided given how much drama U2 presale experiences usually bring, and being made to renew early despite buying only using one of my 4 tickets for the last tour (to get $100+ obstructed view seats that weren't advertised as such) I'm done and will take my chances in the general sale. Truthfully through the years, I've gotten better tickets in the general than the presale anyway.

I would contact the venue directly instead of ticket master. As GA and seats often have different entry points venues have been telling people with both types of tickets on the same credit card to go to the box office resolution window where I assume they print you actual tickets so you can enter seperately.

So you should certainly check with ticket master and the venue, but I'm pretty sure as long as you keep your old card even if the credit union has shut it off it will still work fine for the concert entry. I imagine the scanners for entry are just checking whether or not the card has the number matching the card number on the order and not checking whether or not the card is valid for being used as a credit card.

If you are back and center I would definitely be worried about an obstructed view from the mixing tent. It is pretty big and is indeed back and center. There are also a number of light poles as shown in the photo above. I was in a back lower section off to the right in Seattle with a $100 ticket that was not labeled as obstructed view. I had two light poles between me and the stage and the sound mixing tent kind of blocked my view of the auxiliary stage. Here is a photo from another thread to give you an idea of all the stuff between the back of the stadium and the stage:

For Seattle they sent out an e-mail shortly before the show about what to do with people that had tickets with different entry points on the same credit card. I am pretty sure they wanted you to go to the box office resolution office the day of the show. I imagine you will get a similar e-mail or you could contact the venue and ask what they want people to do in that situation.

$So I went with seats because I didn't feel like standing around all day and am 5'4" so also have issues seeing over people. I went with lower level seats at the back of the stadium as the seats closer than that were too rich for my blood. The tickets cost $100 plus $23.25 in ticketmaster fees and I'll admit at the end of the day I didn't think it was worth the money. With all the light poles and sound mixing stuff it was a partially obstructed view (though not advertised as such) and I have a feeling that is going to be the case for a good portion of the back of the stadium. Also even being in the lower level the band was far. I could see that there were people and tell who was who but couldn't really see their faces the way you can when you are closer. The one positive was that the screen was so large I did feel I could appreciate that from where I was. As a whole, I wonder if I would have been better off getting cheaper seats way up top. Not sure the view would have been that much worse and would have saved some money.

For Seattle GAs dropped the night before. I had RSVPd for the official U2 facebook event for the concert and got a notification via facebook that tickets were available so I'd recommend doing that. Not a guarantee but at least increases your odds.

Most venues have been sending out information a few days before the show dealing with issues like this and telling people where to go depending on their tickets. For Seattle, they requested people with tickets with different entry points on a single credit card to go to the box office resolution office the day of the show. I imagine at that point they printed actual tickets.

I'm currently 34 and have been to 5 shows (the last 5 tours) 1) Elevation leg 1 in East Rutherford NJ, GA inside the heart 2) Vertigo leg 1 in San Diego, CA, GA sadly was not randomly selected to be inside the circle 3) 360 in East Rutgerford, NJ, GA 4) U2IE Tour in Vancouver, BC had seats behind the stage (misread the seat map) 5) The Joshua Tree 2017 in Seattle, WA, had seats opposite the stage behind a light pole Have switched over to seats the last 2 tours as the waiting around all day and hours of standing was getting old, but am not loving paying more money for seats with questionable views.

https://www.facebook.com/pg/u2/events/

So for Seattle, they sent an e-mail out before the show saying that if you had tickets with different entry points on the same credit card that you should go to the box office before the show to get it dealt with (I imagine they printed out tickets at that point). I would call the venue and see what they want you to do.