Liesje

I don't have time to read the entire thread, but I read the first few pages and would like to add my two cents. I agree with everything Kevin said in the original post (and mads' posts - I must've been right near you on the floor).

This was my 10th show this tour and my 8th GA experience. I completely agree that when you line up YOU ARE THERE with the exception of one hour to shower and grab some grub. Taking numbers/wristbands and showing up hours, or DAYS later is laughable. What a pansy-ass excuse for a U2 fan. Now, if the venue is able to organize this and keep it under control (re: the passing out of wristbands in Boston), then fine, great! But seriously we cannot expect half a dozen fans to keep control of 500 people "lining up" days early.

People have been asking me about the trip and the first thing I says is DAMN I am SOOOOOO glad we lined up the day of! I sit here laughing because I ended up in the same row as people who slept on the pavement overnight and stood behind people who'd been there (allegedly) for two days. Thank God we chose to make use of our time on the island by doing some tours, seeing the sites, and relaxing the beach. I *almost* feel sorry for those who wasted all that time in line only to get royally screwed by the clusterfuck we ALL knew would happen.

My experience with GA lines this tour has been that if you're not in the very front, it's hardly worth the effort. At least for the arena shows, the first 100 spots are closely policed and it's nigh unto impossible to cut in near the front. The middle of the line - the people that are willing to wait all day, but not days and nights - are the ones who end up getting screwed because you're too far back to get a number and too far back for help from the line nazis. I knew this would be the case so even though we showed up at 7am the day of (halfway back in pen 3), I had zero expectations and would not have been surprised if a few hundred people managed to cut in ahead of us.

I think the stadium did as well as could've been expected. My only disappointment was that when we arrived, they literally parked us into a parking space in order of arrival, so we all assumed they were going to usher us out into the line in the same order. By the time we had to scrunch into the line, this guy came around and basically said it was every man for himself and we could police ourselves. By then, people from farther back had already moved around the sides and were trying to cut in. I just let it go since I'm guessing this happens with any stadium show anywhere, I just wish the stadium security would not have given us these false notions to begin with. Once on the floor, I was standing near people we were by in the pen and also by people who'd been there for one or two nights, so it all evened out in the end. In hindsight, I wish some fans in each pen would've organized to numbered off their own pen, since security gave us a wristband with the pen number but no indication of what that meant for lining up.

Maybe this has been addressed already, but does anyone know why more than half the front section of the floor was vacant? I saw a woman literally bawling because she was in the second part and we had all that space. I thought they'd put more people up front once it got closer to the start, but even though I was second row on the rail, 5 steps back would've put me in open space. Was this an order of the fire marshall?

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Super_Fan

No one cared after Pen 1. Pen 2 and thereon just showed up and just walked in not caring. Few people care which are the one's camping out and the one's not lining up just there for fun, don't care, drunk or the only know like 18 U2 songs.

Miroslava

I sincerely disagree. If someone is camping overnight, they obviously care where they are. The first half of Pen 2 had numbers, and I think that if the numbering stoped, it was cause there was no one staying up and issuing them, but people were definitely asking for them.

And Lies, as for the half empty GA, quite a few VIP (orange) wristbands were issued to minor celebs and OTX package people. They showed up sometime before/during PJ.

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m u s i c i d e

Liesje

Well, I don't expect anyone to care. Like I said, we went knowing that we were NOT willing to sleep in line and not willing to get up at the asscrack of dawn either (we got up at 5 which is 10am our time so it was fine). Like I said, we can't effectively expect a few fans to police 1500 people.

I've been wondering why U2 don't hire someone as like a GA liason. Someone who is OFFICIAL and works for U2 but also communicates with the stadiums and their security about how these lines will go down, etc. For example, when I arrived, security walked up to me and told me to get rid of my camera. Then three hours later, I was told it would be allowed (which I knew all along). Then, security said U2 said no backpacks were allowed, but they had told everyone and advertised on their websites that backpacks ARE allowed. Just two examples of inconsistencies between U2 and the venue that could've been easily communicated to each other and then to the fans well in advance.

I think that someone official should always give out wristbands and that this should begin according to the venue's GA policies. Then, line at Aloha there should be a few officers who police the line so if someone wants to leave, a time is put on their wrist band and if when they come back, they are late, they are issued a new wristband and sent to the back. Considering how many security officers were already watching the line, if they had done this, they would've already had more than enough staff. This would eliminate drama, fights, inconsistency between fan lists and official policies, and still give people a chance to leave for an hour (which IMO is PLENTY to walk to McDs or take a sponge bath in the restroom. If you need to shower and primp, then what the fuck are you doing in a stadium GA line?!?!).

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Super_Fan

The Flagship people did the right thing. Camping out Thursday evening would have lead to a disaster on the side of the road on the sidewalk. Security could have kicked us off.

They set the rules and we all agreed to it. This discussion should be over. The show is over.

In the future, if you have too many rules, and regulations from the start then you will get screwed, complained at the end.

Set the Rules, and Line Check In Times with 10 minutes leave-way and you will have a orderly fashion line Note ONLY IN ARENAS.

STADIUMS are different. No way to control and leave GA line to police themselves.

Liesje

That's what I was hearing, but I looked back towards the end of the show and was still only three rows from empty space. My feet hurt so bad I was thinking "shit, I could take a break back there and still only be ten feet farther back from the stage!". It didn't seem like enough VIPs showed up to make saving that much space fair. I dunno, the people we were by mentioned it was probably the fire marshall (who decides how many people can be in what areas).

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Miroslava

Well, IMO, the right thing would have been to start the line Friday, but that's just me. I had a fantastic Thursday night and a fabulous Friday and a GREAT show.

So yay!

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m u s i c i d e

Super_Fan

Craig Evans and Paul McGuinness do not want to handle that. Let fans handle themselves. Its not a real problem. Craig Evans who came up with the laptop lottery states everytime to allow fans to police themselves.

If U2 gave out wristbands then how does someone else know its legit if someone comes later. There is No Perfect System. Police yourselves and thats all.

Liesje

The rules WERE simple - the stadium allowed the line to start at 6pm on Friday. I'm not complaining about what the Flagship people did, b/c 1) I don't know them and 2) I wasn't near them in line and 3) I never expected to be issued a number or for any form of order to happen, but what I'm asking for is for WHEN THERE ARE official rules, for them to simply be followed.

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Super_Fan

OTX and ETS gave out wristbands to get into the ellipse. They did a drawing right before the show at the party. Band controls the wristbands. Do not get upset that they are allowing celebrities into the ellipse. Get there early and claim your spot.

Liesje

Well, obviously it is a problem otherwise people wouldn't be complaining about one thing or another after every single show. How hard is it for someone from the U2 camp to tell the venue "hey, we do allow non-pro cameras, we don't allow caps on bottles, and we don't allow backpacks" so when people politely ask, they don't get the exact opposite as an answer.

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Super_Fan

There are no Official Rules. Just Moral Rules.

Liesje

Brad, where the fuck are you getting the idea I'm upset? I said I heard OTHERS were upset and thought it was funny. No one's going to get exactly what they want every time. I'm more than happy with how things went down and definitely got WAY closer than I expected. All I asked was why there was so much more room at this show than stadium shows? I'm not implying anything so stop reading into it - it was a simple question. I don't know what OTS and ETS is so I don't care if they give out wristbands. I got in line when I wanted to and got the spot that I wanted.

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Super_Fan

Even if you were in the back of the line, the first Pen Filled up around 11 p.m. One hour after settling down.

Chizip

but didnt they try to control it at the beginning?

i agree with you, in stadiums there is no way to control it, so you get in line and you stay in line. you dont go off to the beach and cruises and all that.