December Ditties - 2018 Stream of Consciousness Saturday - Hairy

Linda Hill has given us another good #SoCS prompt with the word "hairy."  We get bonus points if we can use it in two ways.

hair·y

/ˈherē/

adjective

1. 1.

   covered with hair, especially thick or long hair.

   
   

   "a hairy chest"

   
   

   synonyms:

   shaggy, bushy, long-haired; More

   • 
     
2. 2.

   INFORMAL

   alarming and difficult.

   
   

   "we drove up yet another hairy mountain road"

   
   

   synonyms:

   risky, dangerous, perilous, hazardous, touch-and-go; More

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Tip

Similar-sounding words

hairy is sometimes confused with harry

Working off the second definition first, I had a hairy experience trying to get tickets to see Queen last week.  Ticketmaster has changed their ways again (no surprise) and now you are allowed to enter a "waiting room" before the tickets are available. 

As you can see from this screenshot, I was in the waiting room 19 minutes and 22 seconds before the tickets went on sale. 

This was on my main computer.  I was also on my laptop and my phone app at the same time.  So really I was online about 20 minutes BEFORE 10 AM (PST).  

The next step is to get in line!  As you can see, there were 2000+ people ahead of me in line.  Again, that was on my main computer.  My phone showed that there were about 500 people in front of me and my laptop showed about 250.  I figured that was going to be my best shot.

It is hard to tell from the picture but there is a little purple man walking across the bar to tell you where you are in line.  I kept watching all three devices to see which one was going to pop up first.

As you can imagine, it was a hairy experience watching all three "lines" move forward.  Would I be able to get these tickets?   How did all those people get in front of me when I was in the waiting room 20 minutes BEFORE it was time?  I needed four tickets this time since our daughters were going to go with us.  Could I get four tickets together?

Once I actually was able to see which tickets were available, it was another hairy race to the checkout page.  I actually had four tickets in my cart and when I went to click "buy tickets" the screen said, "Sorry, another fan beat you to those seats.  Next time click faster!"  Well, not really that last sentence but you get the idea.  Frantic search for four more seats together, rush to push "buy" and check out. 

When I reviewed the order - YIKES - I had only purchased two tickets!!!  Hop back to one of the other devices which by now were allowing me to view what was available.  I was going to try to get two more tickets near us but wait, there were four tickets together on the floor!  Grabbed those and:




But what was I going to do with the other two tickets?  I briefly considered trying to sell them since obviously this was going to be a popular show but then I figured that I should try to cancel the first order instead.  Then there was another hairy few minutes while I waited for Ticketmaster to a) answer the phone, b) check my order and verify it and c) make a decision to allow me to cancel the order.  The kind gentleman suggested that next time something like that happens, I should call them first before buying the second set of tickets and they could just do a replacement.  I explained that the tickets were going so fast, if I had waited for them to come on the line, the better tickets would be gone, which he acknowledged could happen. 

At any rate, we now have 4 tickets on the floor for the Queen concert NEXT JULY!  Imagine those people who wait until the actual time the tickets go on sale, or wait until it gets closer to the date of the concert since WHO KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE GOING TO BE DOING SIX MONTHS IN ADVANCE? 

Well, we know cos we are going to be seeing Queen who, while has not really ever been known as a "big hair band," has had some long haired periods in their career, and I think that covers definition #1.




Thanks again, Linda.  This one has been a fun one!

A to Z Challenge - 2016

T is for Tickets...

Thank goodness for Sundays!  A day to catch up a little.  I have been really busy with work the past few days and have not had time to prepare posts and/or check out any of the other blogs I've started to follow through this A to Z Challenge.  If I'm going to be able to afford the tickets to the concerts we see, I better do my real work first!

Which leads me to today's topic, the search for the Golden Tickets.

  I wrote a post in January about this subject.  In it I describe my concerns and recent frustration with getting tickets to see Adele, which sadly we were unable to do!

In the "olden days" there were Ticketmaster outlets in the "record shops" and you could get tickets there.  No more record stores means no more outlets.  You can go to the venues directly and wait in line on the days tickets go on sale, but not everyone lives close enough or has the time to do that.  You can try calling Ticketmaster, but in reality, I believe that is just a person in front of a computer the same as I am and they have no special powers to getting good seats.

The whole process of getting tickets can be stressful.  I find myself breaking out in a sweat, mind racing, fingers flying on the keyboard, eyes on the clock, waiting for it to hit 10:00 (that's the time most tickets go on sale around here).  Once I actually get in to the ticket selection part, I have trouble sometimes making a decision...can I get closer if I give these tickets up?  I have learned that they usually start offering the seats in the back first and work their way up to the close seats but if you miss that window or the tickets are popular, the good seats can be gone and you'll get stuck with the upper deck.  Oh the horror!

As I've said before, we have 9 concerts planned for this year, running from May to September.  I have gotten spoiled and I want to sit as close as I can and for the most part I am willing to pay for those good seats.  I do not want the "VIP" or "Fan club" experience so I know it will be hard to get in the first 10 rows most of the time, but I'm willing to pay almost up to $200 a ticket to see someone we really like.  I would have paid more than that to see Adele but wasn't even given the chance!

Because we saw four shows last year at the Mountain Winery, we were given "Loyalty Club" benefits this year which meant that they were having a pre-sale just for people who had done that.  Since the venue itself only holds about 2500 people, our chances for good ticket selection turned out to be great.  We got tickets in the front section for each of the four shows we are seeing there this year and I am particularly excited for the Foreigner concert where we are in the 2nd row!  Since we are seeing four shows this year, our "Loyalty Club" benefits will extend to next year.  Now if we could just get Adele to go there, we might have a chance!

So, that's my T story and I'm sticking to it.  What about you?  Any special tricks to getting good tickets?  Willing to wait in line 30 minutes or more? Love to hear about it.  
 

Jazzy January - 2016

January 26 - I'm concerned.  Within the last few years I have built up a slight reputation as being a "concert queen."  We've been averaging about 5 to 8 concerts a year and I have been able to get us some pretty good seats.  For our last concert, Scorpions, we were in row 14 and the stage came down the middle of the aisle to just about where we were sitting.  I got some awesome pictures.

These were not taken from the big screen like some of mine are, these are up close and personal!  It was a terrific show. 

I have, of course, created a Ticketmaster account and made a list of our "favorite" artists so that I get advanced notice whenever someone we like is going to be performing in our area.  Usually I get a pre-sale notice as well, either from the credit card companies or a radio station.  I have learned that during the pre-sales they tend to sell the tickets from the back to the front so just clicking "best available" doesn't always mean you get the best available and sometimes giving up the first set of tickets they show you will lead to better tickets the next time through.  It's a fine line and I'll admit I have lost some good seats because I wanted to "get a little closer."  I have even ended up with extra tickets because I found better seats after I bought the "best available."  Fortunately, most of the times I've been able to sell those extra tickets.  It can be a little nerve wracking.   

But, a recent experience with trying to get tickets to see Adele has made me a little nervous about being able to get these close up seats again.  

True, Adele did just come out with a new album that is breaking all kinds of records and is touring for the first time in many years, but the fact that I was UNABLE TO GET ANY TICKETS AT ALL, even with three shows in our area, made me quite upset.   

There was no "pre-sale" for this event as there usually is.  That means my having an American Express card or a Citi card made no difference.  There were the usual "special packages" available but really, $400+ for one ticket is just too much for us to pay.  

It's not like I was late getting to the site either:

In Line

Waiting

                     

I was right on Ticketmaster at 10 AM and "in line" to get tickets.  The next thing I knew it said I had a wait time of 31 minutes!  When the half hour was up, my message was that there were no seats available!  None.  Not even the $400 ones!  Not even the cheap seats in the nosebleed section.  Not at any of the three shows in our area.  And, after posting my frustrations on Facebook, I found out I was not the only one of my friends who was not able to get tickets.  That wasn't very comforting.    

The other day I saw another concert coming up with people we had not seen before (something that is getting harder to say), Sting and Peter Gabriel.  This time there was an American Express pre-sale and I was able to get tickets on the floor toward the back.  Not the best, but not bad.  

I went on Ticketmaster again when the tickets went on sale to the "General Public" to see what kind of tickets I could get and the selection was limited to high and on the side or way in the back.  I'm glad I got the ones I did.   

The Mountain Winery concert series posts their lineup around April.  Because we got tickets to four shows last year, we are supposed to get advanced ticketing opportunities for this season.  I'm hoping that is true and that they offer some good seats to the pre-sale group.  I'd hate to have to give up my "Concert Queen" status!  

What about you?  Any luck with Adele tickets?  Any ideas about how to break through the barrier?  Think it might be easier to call instead of going online?