liverpool54321

Brought back memories. Saw the outdoor show in London and then 2 nights at MSG where we were sat right next to the walkway. The indoor show was so much better than the outdoor one as it brought an intimacy which the set design asked for. The video captures this intimacy with the close up shots and vertical camera work looking down on the band members.

Thanks. Flight and hotel all booked. Here we go again.

Live Nation says no cameras for this tour leg but normally they mean cameras with detachable lenses. No problems in Berlin taking small camera in.

Changing the subject slightly, I noticed that the security for Red Zone on left side was a bit lax last night. Controlled by local security. Despite supposed to be Red Zone only a number of “guests” (red triangle passes) were being brought into the Zone by someone with stadium access pass. If/when tour resumes Live Nation may want to remind pass holders what the rules are for Red Zone.

We must have passed each other in the street as I was on way back from Zoo via Waldorf to see Ross about then.

Live Nation were very strict on no bags policy for Rolling Stones. Caused a bit of chaos as never enough left luggage spaces locally. My advice is don't chance it, no matter how small the bag. Handbags also banned.

I’m still waiting for my 2016 gift to arrive - not that I particularly wanted it.

And so it begins. Two days only to work out a plan.

It is also possible that all or most of the venues have very specific contractual arrangements which mean that around 70% of all tickets sold are under their control rather than the band's promoter. Often this means the venue has a direct tie in with Ticketmaster and corporate deals, aimed at maximising income over and above that which it gets for the venue hire. This is becoming the norm now for major venues where they have a strong bargaining position. For Ticketmaster (and indirectly Live Nation) this may also lead to additional revenue being generated via reseller market, but it is generally bad news for fans as allocations for areas such as GA and the better value seats can be severely restricted. The business model has a changed a lot in recent years and it is only artists who are truly independent (and big enough) who have the ability to negotiate something different.

Good letter from U2 tribe. Pity it went before the verified reseller went live as that would have been an interesting question to Live Nation when they claim they want to get tickets into hands of genuine fans. if Guy cares as much as he claims (albeit a carefully worded letter that the lawyers will have scrutinised) then set up a secondary ticket site to sell on unwanted tickets at face value rather than take large commissions on inflated ticket prices via his own secondary market. And ensure T&Cs that all tickets resold other than face value will result in tickets being cancelled. Then you can threaten Stubhub with legal action unless they take down U2 sales. Others do it, Live Nation need to decide if they are on the side of the fans or their shareholders.

It all looks very sad and aimed at maximising ticket revenue. I was at a meeting yesterday listening to the agent for possibly the biggest solo artist in the world right now and he explained how they have put in place their own system to stop secondary sales and touts hoovering up tickets for forthcoming tour. They spent 10 days going through purchases manually to verify 1.1m tickets. Every ticket is personally named and the T&C at time of purchase made it clear any resale attempt would result in cancellation. They also threatened all secondary sellers with legal action if any attempted to list tickets. Only Viagogo ignored this - as they ignore anything legal. They expect some 95% plus of tickets to find fans at face value. And if you can't go and need to sell, they have their own outlet to allow face value only sales. The problem for U2, even if they wanted to do something similar, is that contractually they may be constrained by the deal with Live Nation. I expect they are still in pay back mode and the contract hasn't got much time left to run. The Live Nation model is designed to maximise revenue across all areas which is why they own all aspects, including the band.

Although not planning to do North America I signed up for verified fan under Experience group. For me it all worked perfectly and I received codes a few hours before tickets went on sale. They emailed me as system couldn't cope with UK dialling code for text. Later I also got text as well. Appreciate many seem to be having problems getting the code. When I went to see availability a few hours after tickets went on sale It did seem there was much better availability than in the past and I had to think hard whether to book red zone for Chicago. The key lesson from this for me is the decision to implement changes so soon before tickets went on sale. A minimum 2 week gap should have been in place before tickets on sale to allow time to resolve rejections and have all codes ready to issue. One of my day jobs is to plan some of the biggest global sporting events. The mistakes made here are so basic. Hopefully Live Nation will conduct a full review as they need to get their act together on Customer Experience. For an organisation that is totally reliant on its customer base I have found their approach since taking over U2 a bit bewildering.

I got superfan code on re-ballot but looks like now sold out. Guess they issued more codes than tickets to ensure place will be full. Not too bothered as already got plans on Saturday.

Hi Big Wave finding it hard to follow logic in the statement and not sure it is factually correct. My subscription runs until end March 2018. I purchased my JT tickets using pre sale code that I got issued as part of 2016/17 subscription. That was January 2017. Since then I have renewed in March but not purchased any further tickets. The renewal at the time stated that it would allow me access to pre sale for any future tour dates announced - nothing specific re JT only. On that basis I would say that I don't need to renew at this moment in time as not purchased any tickets during my current subscription. i would say the U2.com statement is misleading stating that you have to renew if you purchased tickets for JT17. It needs re-wording to clarify this only applies where used pre sale code during current subscription. Renewals since last purchase should qualify for future pre sale code. Otherwise U2.com risks being in breach of terms of renewal. good to see you back and busy! emmo

Must get round to posting some pics. One of my favourites as wanted to capture Bono against back drop figure. Finally got it.