How to get fairly good concert tickets, in Miranda's most humble opinion.
Let me guess, you want Backstreet Boys concert tickets. But not just any BSB tickets, front row center tickets. Well, I'm sorry but I honestly don't know how to help you with that one. The problem is that you will most likely get your tickets through Ticketmaster, just like everyone else. What happens, now I can't confirm this but I am pretty sure that this is the way it goes, but radio stations and professional scalpers get the good tickets before anyone else can. (Good tickets being the first couple of rows). So unless you're really lucky or have an excessive amount of money you're willing to pay to scalpers just to get close to the boys...you're going to have to go with ticketmaster.
Now this I can help you with! During the past year I've had several experiences in getting tickets through ticketmaster....some good and some not so good. Well, I've learned from my mistakes and now I think I have the system down pretty well. Just during this one year I have had experience with all three ways of obtaining tickets from ticketmaster: outlets, phone, and online. So....let me break down each one for you, pros and cons, and give you my advice on which one I would use for myself from now on.
Ticketmaster Outlets
This is the first one I tried this year when I bought tickets to see *N Sync on January 15 in Baton Rouge, LA. GASP! Yes I did say *N Sync. I love them. Alot. And no, I am not a traitor to BSB, I love them too. Alot. = ). Anyway, I digress. Well, here's how it went for me. I got to Krogers at 8:00 am, 2 hours before the tickets went onsale. But, this did me no good whatsoever. It seems ticketmaster has a policy for their outlets that supposedly eliminates long lines forming at outlets. What happens is that when you get there, you get a ticket that has a number on it. The outlet attendant gets an identical one that they put into a bag. About 30 minutes before the tickets go onsale, she picks a ticket out of the bag. Whoever has that number gets to be first in line, and the person that has the next number in consecutive order, gets in line behind them. Example: if number 15 is called, the person who has number 15 gets first in line, the person who has number 16 gets second, number 17 gets thrid and so on. When they get to the last number that was given out....say the last person to show up got number 30....so after number 30 gets in line, number one gets in line, then number 2 and so on, until everyone has a place in line. Well....I got the first ticket. But as my luck would have it...the guy that showed up second to last (and he was a jerk too) ended up having his number called. So he got to be first even though I was the first one there and I ended up 3rd. Well, when I finally got up there to get mine...everything went okay...but when the tickets started printing out, one got jammed. So they had to spend the next 5 minutes (and 5 minutes is a long time to wait considering the show sold out in 40 minutes) getting it unjammed and had to redo everything and i got even worse tickets. Not a very good experience. I still saw *Nsync pretty well, but not as good as I could have. So now, I'm not too fond of going to the outlets and buying my tickets. But if that is the only way you can possibly do it, my advice is that you get there early and get your number...then about 20 or 30 minutes later have a friend take a number...and 20 or 30 minutes after that have another friend get a number and so on until you either run out of friends or time. That way your numbers are all spread out and you have a better chance of getting close to the front of the line. Now...on to the phones...
The Phones
GASP! The evil phones! So I guess you already know how I feel about getting my tickets on the phone. Well, after my outlet incident, I tried to buy tickets over the phone for yet another *N Sync concert on April 6th in Lafayette, LA. I started calling about 10 minutes before tickets went on sale. Well, I got through 2 minutes before tickets went on sale, the operator told me to hang up and try again b/c tickets were not yet on sale yet. So I started dialing again. Busy. Hit redial. Busy. Hit redial again. Busy. This went on for about 30 minutes, but then lo and behold I got through! So I'm giving the operator all my info...my name, addy, credit card #, and so on...but right before I could confirm my purchase. Click. The phone went dead. I tredi calling back but as you would guess....busy. I was so mad and upset that I started crying. I was so close! So...I didn't get to go to that *N Sync concert. Well, it turns out...*N Sync is exteneding their tour...they would be in Houston on August 13. So, I decided to give the phone one more shot. Well...I tried and tried for 40 minutes but could never get through. So in last minute desparation I ran to my computer, got on ticketmaster online and bought tickets right before they sold out. Whew! Thank God for ticketmaster online! So now maybe you have a clue as to where I stand...
Ticketmaster Online
My advice: If you have a computer, use it! This is the best method I have used so far. It saved me when I couldn't get through on the phone for *N Sync tickets and it gave me pretty good tickets for Cher and Ricky Martin. You just have to know how to use it. How did I do it? Well, that's what I'm about to tell you. What you might want to do first, before you buy tickets...like a couple of days before you buy tickets, is to familiarize yourself with Ticketmaster Online (www.ticketmaster.com) first. Go through it and get a feel for it. Let me tell you something that you need to know before consodering ticketmaster online. There are two things you need:
A computer with internet access
a credit card
Make sure you get your parents permission first before you grab their credit card and go hogwild! And, if you are very young or not too familiar with computers or the internet, get an adult with a good knowledge of computers and the internet to do this for you. Now...how do you go about getting tickets through ticketmaster online? Well, here are step by step instructions.
Go to www.ticketmaster.com
At the top of the page, there will be 2 form boxes, next to the top one will be written, "1. Type in event" in that box, type in backstreet boys and click "go"
you're at a screen that lists what states the backstreet boys are going to be in. Click on the state that the concert you want to buy tickets for will be in.
There will be a box that lists all the BSB concerts for that state. Click on the concert you want to go to and then click, "Buy Tickets"
Now you're at a screen that gives you info about the show, including what day and what time tickets go onsale (usually 10:00am). If the tickets are not onsale yet, it will say, "TICKETS ARE NOT CURRENTLY ONSALE FOR THIS EVENT". When they do go on sale, this statement will be replaced by a button that says, "Buy Tickets Now!". Click on that button.
Now just follow the directions on the screen, and you should have your tickets. They will arrive by mail.
Now, I have a few tips that will help you get the best tickets possible by using ticketmaster online. What I do is ahaed of time, like a couple of days before, I save the screen that has all the info on the concert i want to go to (number 5 on the steps list)in my favorite places. (Bookmarking it for peeps that don't use AOL) Then, about 5 or 10 minutes before the tickets go onsale, I go to that screen and hit reload or refresh until the button saying "Buy Tickets Now" appears and replaces the "TICKETS ARE NOT CURRENTLY ONSALE FOR THIS EVENT". I then click the button and on the next screen I select "Best Available" when it asks what your preffered seating is. And that's it!
In closing, I'd just like to say, use what ever system you want. Just because I had bad luck doesn't mean you will. Although I will still attest that ticketmaster online is my fav. It doesn't matter which method you use, all three draw from the same tickets. The outlets don't have a better selecetion than the phones or internet and vice versa. Like I said, if you are not comfortable with your internet and computer skills and don't have anyone who is, don't use ticketmaster online, you're better off going to an outlet. Use the phones only as a last resort. I've never heard of anyone having good luck with the phones. Oh. I promised info on how to sneak in cameras to venues that don't allow them, didn't I? Well, my advice is that you bring a big purse, stick the camera at the bottom and cover the top with pads. I promise that no one will dig through a bunch of pads to see if your hiding a camera! And just to make sure, if you have a choice, go to a male purse checker. They'll just look in, see the pads and glance away with an embarassed look on thier face. Trust me, it works! Well, that's all for now. Hope I was of some help. If you have any questions please feel free to email me at curlyfrogg@aol.com. Please say something in the subject line about ticket buying tips so I know what it's about. So long!
