Today was an absolutely miserable day where I live. The contents of the day were ok (so far) but the weather just plain sucked. It was one of those dark, overcast days marked by spotty rain and a damp coolness that has made me revisit the theory that I have circulation problems. (That's a convoluted way of saying I was freezing all day. Hey, I tried.)
So as I wasted away in traffic on my way home, my mind drifted off to better memories from this past summer. One of my favorites has to be the Pearl Jam concert that I attended with my buddy Bryan. I try to hit at least one concert per summer, just because it feels like the season to do it, and PJ did not disappoint.
Looking back, I can't believe we even tried to scalp our tickets. They were Nose Bleed Specials that still cost us $80 a pop. When we got our hands on them, like two greedy kids, we speculated how much we could sell them for. What was our minimum price? How much would it take for us to part with them? $160 each? $200? We were giddy with anticipation.
As we walked up to the stadium on that warm day, we decided to pretend to purchase tickets from scalpers to get a feel for the market before we tried to peddle our own. We walked up to the first guy and asked him how much it would cost us for a pair. He was asking $80...for two tickets...in better seats than ours. Fantastic. As we walked away, he called out to us, "Hey, I got others! I know you don't want to pay face value!"
At that point we decided to ditch the get rich quick plan and just go in to enjoy the show. After all, we initially got the tickets to see Pearl Jam live, not to sell them for a quick profit. Upon entering the building, a few things quickly became apparent. Pearl Jam was making a killing. If the cheap seats were $80 and the merchandise lineups were any indication, the boys probably don't need to work a whole lot for the next little while.
Article comments
1 - Temple Stark
Nice. I can't believe the tix cost $80 though.
Where was it?
Also, did you know you can probably download a copy of that very concert if it was this summer from their Web site.
Although "official bootleg" is a meaningless phrase.
Cost? $10. Comes with pictures and extras. I downloaded their day at The Gorge at George, WA.
2 - Hardy
The concert was in Vancouver, which is about a 3 hour drive from their hometown of Seattle so that probably contributed to the excellent crowd. $80 was pretty steep but after having seen the show and being a fan, I'd pay it again without hesitation.
Thanks for that info about their website, I will definitely check that out.
H
3 - A.Ramos
80 bucks? where did you buy them? I had front row tickets for Kitchener & London and only paid 65 bucks each.
4 - Lono
Another route to take is to join Pearl Jam's fan club (the Ten Club). I know it sounds awfully tenth grade... they take good care of you. I have been in the Ten Club for eight years now and get first pop at tickets to shows.
andI get them without paying a penny to those pigfuckers at Ticketmaster. Pearl Jam handles their own fan club ticketing
and seniority counts in the Ten Club. For me, I get in the first few rows to every Pearl Jam show.
cost is $15 a year, and very well spent.
5 - BK
great to see another person enjoying a live PJ show for the first time. the vancouver show was great, but the more shows you go to, the more you will realize how die-hard the fans are, and that most of them actually sing along to every song, not just alive nor the "big hits" from the past. i am glad to hear you enjoyed it, i highly recommend seeing them again if you get another chance. each show is so different and is full of surpirses. and if you are talking about sitting in traffic in vancouver, my thoughst are with you there. this place is getting out of control. guess that's what happens when you have a major city with no freeways, plus surrounded by water with only two bridges... :)
6 - Jonathan
Well first of all, the $80 is canadian money compared to that of a $65 ticket to the gorge show in the U.S.
Nonetheless, both were worth it. I attend both shows back to back. The Gorge certainly was a special show, but Vancouver was awesome too. After the first show at the Gorge I was like "there's nothing that can top that... ever". Then the next night, in Vancouver, I was like "WOW, I don't know what to say..." They certainly know how to throw you out from underneath your feet. Glad you had a good time too! Go Pearl Jam! YEAHHH...
Oh, and you're right, the crowd was amazing in Vancouver... unforgettable.
7 - James
I would pay well over $80 if they actually decided to come back to the UK! It'll be 6 years next May since they toured here!
Pleeeease Eddie!!