atikicat

But if the numbered bracelets aren't random, you'll have the same situation with people camping out for days to be first in line for those. The only way to really stop the camping for days is to either due a random lottery for all spots in line or to go back to reserved seating on the floor.

bfloxng

HOLY CRAP!!! Why would people pay that kind of money for the poster!!! And the seller sold half a dozen of them!

http://search-completed.ebay.com/sea...&fsop=1&fsoo=1

tryan101

Yeah, I thought it was pretty odd that I ran into some of those EARLY campers (#100-ish camping since Thurs, so they said), at the pool at the Outrigger on FRIDAY afternoon.

and the whole late entry VIP's? what a friggin scandal. we were somewhere around 800 and got in (arrived at 6-ish Sat.), and people maybe 400 spots behind us did not get in. we're all wondering, why is the ellipse only half full? now we know.

now add in the 4 or 5 obnoxious a-holes one row in front of us on Edge's b-stage rail that were so intent on protecting their space they had no problem elbowing out my 10 and 13 yr old kids who were just trying to get a glimpse of the stage all the while allowing their late coming friends rail access and you really start to question what the hell is wrong with these so-called fans. you know who you are mr. all in red 50 yr old guy and ms. white baseball hat biatch. we're telling our kids, rise above, it'll all work out, and ms. biatch whips around and says "what do mean by that!!?? It'll all work out? what do you mean by THAT!!?? so my wife says, uh, it means we're going to have a great show regardless, that it doesn't have to ruin their day. defensive much?

Lila64

__________________

blueeyedgirl

Oh how awful

oceane

That's the thing, even if the venue gives bracelets, people will line-up to get those if it's not random. It was like that in the first Boston shows (maybe later on too), and we ended up having to show-up even earlier than usual in the morning to get a decent spot. That being said after that we could leave for the whole day which was nice, but still that doesn't solve the lining up and fan numbering system problem.

I completely disagree with seats on the floor, GA is THE way to go on the floor, even with all the problems.

So it's either there is a real lottery (as opposed to the mixed crap system enforced on this tour), but with bracelets only available up to a certain number (so there is at least a minimum of reward for people willing to show up a few hours before the show), OR it's first come first serve, but with a numbering system and lining-up rule enforced by a U2 or venue staff, not fans. I think U2 could afford to pay one or two people for the whole day to do that.

digsy

firstly, despite what you may think about the flags, it wasn't a ploy to get us on stage.
to be very long winded about it, what the flags were about was showing the band the effect they have on fans like us - we all met at various stages because of a shared love of U2 and
we think its kinda cool that something like that can bring people from all over the world together in one place like that.
i count the flagshippers as very good friends (and one very lovely boyfriend!) and that would never have been the case if i weren't a u2 fan, i would probably never know these people.

so really we were just trying to show the diversity in this little group of friends that the band had created and hoping to represent that to them.
and yes, that might be a long stretch to get a message like that across with just flags, but they weren't any old flags, they were OUR flags and the idea was U2 look down and see a South African next to an Englishman next to an Argentinian next to and Irishman having the time of their lives and hopefully get some scope of what they've created, because its something I am/we are very very grateful for.

so there you have it, and yes we were probably hoping for some sort of response, something that indicated that they understood it or saw it at least - we all went mental near the beginning of the song when we could see Bono scanning down the line and mouthed "wow" - but that was the best we would have dared hope for.

To honestly think that we, or anyone else, had any inclination that Bono would go so far as to pull 17 people on stage at once is ridiculous and we would never ever ever have expected it or planned it or plotted it or any of that other rubbish.

that said if you wish to remain cynical about it and think it was all some part of our master plan, then why don't you start having a go at all the "bono, dance with me" "bono its my birthday" girls who hold up signs. in fact, why don't you accuse Mary - who got pulled up on stage that same night - of plotting considering she had a sign about dancing too? (i'm not saying you should of course, mary was lovely and its a cruel jibe to make)
maybe its because your whole argument is flawed and you really just couldn't be bothered to look further than the soft target to take your woes out on

and i know it wasn't you who mentioned entitlement - i addressed a lot of people in that post, bfloxng was one of them - but the need to be near the front doesn't even come close to equalling an entitlement to be so.
i have a "need" to be at the front of all gigs i go to, not just u2 (i hate being near the back, in seats etc, i get bored!) but i would never believe i was entitled to be.
its up to me to put the effort in - if i rock up 1 hour before i gig i can't expect to be in front row, but if i want to TRY then i need to put in the hours and the camping and the effort to be in with a shot - not entitlement, just hope, luck and damn hard work.

Chizip

who was in charge of the line that allowed this crap to happen? that would have pissed me off big time.

ruffian

it was a guy and woman--I didn't recognize them from other shows. I think Brad might have started the line but they sort of took over and wrote all their (17 or so) friends down. Again, if their friends had been out eating dinner and coming back at some point, or even coming back in the morning--but to show up Friday night after signing their name on the list Thursday afternoon?

And I don't care about who's on stage or not--it has nothing to do with that or with the flags. It was simply the fact that the group tolerated patently unfair behavior.

bfloxng

My statement, that there was a sense of entitlement, stems from the fact that barely anyone from that group (again, 6 of 91 people on the list were in line at that point) actually put their time in in line. Instead, they signed a list and left. Total BS. What would have stopped me from taking a time-stamped picture of myself in front of Aloha Stadium the night I arrived (Wednesday), and then coming back (like I did at 3am Thursday) claiming a right to be number 1 in line (because, after all, I was there 1st and left)? What gives ANYONE the right to hold their place in line while they are at the beach, snorkeling, and taking a cruise, while others show up in line, stay in line in the beating Sun, on blacktop, and yet get a number further down the list? Obviously, anyone who would just sign and leave and EXPECT their place to be held--like Boston Michelle (I think that's her name)--has a sense of entitlement. Ditto for all the others in line who allowed it.

And, for the record, I never made any claim about the Boston line. I was in both Boston lines, in the cold, freezing my ass off, all night--with the exception of leaving for showers/meals--and woke up on the cold pavement in the morning to find Barb, Mandy, and others draped over me because they thought my body was giving off heat! (My best GA line bonding experience to date) The flagship group started that line (to my knowledge), put their time in in line that time, and I don't begrudge them for their flag idea nor for what must have been an incredible result for them (being pulled up). They earned it.

BUT...for representatives of the group to show up in Hawaii seeking to do the same thing--BUT DECIDE THAT ONLY ONE OF THEM NEEDS TO PUT TIME IN IN LINE BECAUSE THEY WERE KEEPING A LIST WHILE THEIR PRIMA-DONNA FRIENDS ARE AT THE BEACH--reeks of impropriety, selfishness, and a SENSE OF ENTITLEMENT (And, I might add, is certainly not in line with ANYTHING the band stands for).

I think that clarifies my position.

bfloxng

romi

I don't knoe if it's been posted here before or not, but here's my two cents. If everyone puts their name on a list and all but a few leave, then there is no line. Since it's run by fans, another group of fans shows up and can start their own line and list. I bet the farm that when the original people come back and find out there spots don't mean anything anymore, they will be upset. That's the main reason for making everyone stay most of the time, not to punish people. That's why it would be good for venue security or band employee to run an official line in the same manner the fans do. That would allow everone a chance to leave.

Just like a couple others have posted, I'm one of those people who wants to be in the front at concerts. It's not just as fun if you go to lots of shows. A complete lottery that determined where you are on the floor would not only convince me to skip the line up, it would convince me to skip many shows. If you are far away, most shows would be the same. Some people won't care, obviously, if there or not. I'm just saying how this would affect what I do and how I spend my time.

Hawaii is one of the major reasons I skipped the last show. I wouldn't want to spend two days waiting in line with so much to do, but I also wouldn't want to be in the back or in a seat.

Vincent Vega

I'm not a flagship member and don't want to defend anyone who did something like that, because I think that's an arrogant behaviour and utterly ridiculous.

My question is, do you actually know that they are "Flagship" members?
Because not everybody having a flag with him is necessarily a member of this group of friends.


And if they were Flagship members, blame them for doing that, but not the whole group by making these "representatives".

But I also think, if you want to have a good spot, face the "negative" aspects and wait 24 or more hours at the venue instead of spending the day somewhere else.

acrobat_baby

bfloxng

The person holding the list was a flagship member, and many on the list (about 10 of the first 30)--but conspicuously absent for 24-36 hours--were also flagship members.

I have no problem facing the so-called "negative" aspects and waiting 1, 2, or 3 days in line if I must to get a good spot. But...I am not going to wait while others "ahead of me" sunbathe, surf, swim and sail. That's just my principal. Next time, I will start my own line (I would have this time if it wasn't Hawaii..I didn't want to declare myself numebr 7 in line and spend two days arguing with numbers 8-91 who arrived ahead of me but left--some for a full day of swimming, beaching, etc.) and the latecomers be damned. Their number will not be honored if they absent themselves for hours and hours or days.