Types of Venues: Assigned Seating vs General Seating

[elanorelle]

that is why we need pre-sales etc for us fans.

 

I am serious!

[elanorelle]

I personally HATE seated venues. Although I have no problem standing/queuing or whatever for hours/days at a time so I can say that... What I don't like about them, despite the obvious (half of the audience not standing up/generally being dull and boring) is that it's sooooo stressful to buy tickets...No mater what I've done I've never been able to get front row tickets for a seated venue. EVER. The people who end up front row usually tend to be random people who look out of place and barely even know who they're going to see and the most they do all night is a small polite clap at the end. At least with GA it's the 'real' fans who manage to get to the front as they actually have to sacrifice something not jus pure luck of being assigned good tickets online or over the phone or whatever. I prefer to earn my place, whether it's front or back.

 

I can understand your point! I guess there are pros and cons of either way!

[lollipop_monkey]

I'm going to stay general admission, at least based on my experiences.

 

The two shows I went to were in California, so we didn't have to worry about standing outside in the snow. We also started lining up between 11am - 1pm, which isn't the 6am crap that people face in London. There's also the fact that queuing for seven hours in LA was more fun than I could have expected - silly string, anyone? We walked up as strangers, but became friends.

 

I loved that with general admission, the front row are people who *really* want to be there. The problem with assigned seating is that the front few rows go to some record executive's brother's sister's neice who's only heard one song, or something like that.

 

I wish I'd been able to see both a standing show and a seated show to make a better judgement. I can see the benefits to having an assigned seat, but I can see the negatives, too. For the North American shows, you were pretty much guaranteed to be near the front if you showed up early. The tickets I'd bought for Vancouver were in the freakin' 11th row, and I was camped out at the Ticketmaster website waiting for it to turn to 10am. I bought them as soon as they went on sale.

 

I also heard that in Vancouver, some people would sit and some would stand and it made people who wanted to stand feel awkward. I can't imagine what a buzz kill it would be to be on the floor of a Mika show and have to sit.

[mandilambi]

When I got to seated shows, I stand up and do not care if people behind me are sitting. Christopher always feels bad because he's a big guy, but I always tell him if he paid for his ticket than he has a right to stand up and fully enjoy himself.

 

If you came to sit at a concert, then why not just go see a movie? Concerts are for dancing and having fun, not for sitting with your arms crossed the whole time.

[mellody]

in germany, all pop concerts are general admission (if it's a larger venue, there's general admission in the arena and assigned seating on the sides). and i prefer it this way, cause the only difference would be that you have to "fight" (in whatever way, whether it's queuing for ages or getting pushed around or probably both) for a front row place on the day when the tickets start being sold, instead of on the day of the concert. and experience shows that most of the front row seated tickets end up on ebay for astronomical prices.

 

anyway, that's what i experienced when trying to get tickets for the UK Take That shows 2 years ago... the only possibility i had was trying to get tickets online or via phone. of course i didn't get through by phone, and online i only got tickets in row 20 or so, although i tried the moment the tickets went on sale. then the server crashed, and for the other show i wanted tickets for, i ended up paying 100 pounds for a 2nd row ticket (and that was still cheap!). so in my opinion, the rule for seated venues is: the one who has (and is willing to spend) the money, gets front row.

 

and actually, i love queuing together with the other fans on the day of the show, cause that is where you meet and get to know people. i just prefer warm and dry summer temperatures.

[Mika4Life13]

When I got to seated shows, I stand up and do not care if people behind me are sitting. Christopher always feels bad because he's a big guy, but I always tell him if he paid for his ticket than he has a right to stand up and fully enjoy himself.

 

If you came to sit at a concert, then why not just go see a movie? Concerts are for dancing and having fun, not for sitting with your arms crossed the whole time.

some people HAVE to sit, like I have asthma and would need to sit down some time, my mom'd sit because of her back, Wendi told me some of her ocnditions that would mean she'd need to sit... so having chairs there would be good for these people.

[rilo8913]

It really depends. I think if it's a very large venue, then it gets to be VERY dangerous for it to be general admission. Even at the really small or intermediate-sized venues people on this site alone have reported being bruised by others around them who are either over-excited or wanting to get the "best" spot... so that tension only increases as the size of the crowd/venue swells.

 

Personally, I think it's a lot less stressful to have a seated venue where you get to the concert right before it starts and you have a spot reserved for you. The one time I've done the general admission thing was in New York for Mika's concert, and I didn't concern myself with getting there super early... I got there about 30 minutes before doors opened and found a nice place on the second level. That venue was pretty conducive to standing though (luckily) with many a railing to lean on. So... experiencing the thrill of finding just a corner to stand in amongst the crowd can be fun sometimes, I suppose, for various reasons, but overall it's easier to not have to worry about that.

 

Every time I see this question though I think of the horrific incident at that concert for The Who in the 1970s....

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seating#Reserved_and_free_seating

 

On December 3, 1979, the Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati, Ohio, was the site of one of the worst rock concert tragedies in United States history. Eleven fans were killed and several dozen others injured in the rush for seating at the opening of a sold-out concert by The Who. The concert was using festival seating. When the crowds waiting outside heard the band performing a soundcheck, they thought the concert was beginning and tried to rush into the still-closed doors, trampling those at the front of the crowd.

 

The tragedy was blamed on poor crowd control, mainly the failure of arena management to open enough doors to deal with the crowd outside. As a result, concert venues across North America switched to assigned seating or changed their rules about festival seating. Cincinnati immediately outlawed festival seating at concerts, although it overturned the ban on August 4, 2004,[1], since the ban was making it difficult for Cincinnati to book concerts. (In 2002, the city had made a one-time exception to the ban, allowing festival seating for a Bruce Springsteen concert; no problems were experienced.) Cincinnati was the only city in the U.S. to outlaw festival seating altogether.

[sienna]

Seated arenas would be perfect....

 

And presale tickets for the official MFC of course!

[mandilambi]

some people HAVE to sit, like I have asthma and would need to sit down some time, my mom'd sit because of her back, Wendi told me some of her ocnditions that would mean she'd need to sit... so having chairs there would be good for these people.

 

Well, absolutely they are good for some people. But I don't believe it is right to expect everyone else to sit down as well.

[Mikafish]

Hmmm...I'm not sure where I stand on this one (no pun intended!).

 

I love being able to get right at the front and when I've been weel enough to do so i have queued for hours to get there. Which has caused problems, I'm a type 1 diabetic and having a hypo at a gig would be my worst nightmare!

 

But I'm not all that well at the moment and there is no way I could queue for hours. Doesn't make me less of a fan but it does mean I couldn't queue for GA even if I wanted to.

 

The only time I've been to a seated show was the RHS, but most people were on their feet dancing at the appropiate times.

 

I love the idea of the MFC getting pre-sale access but I also worry about fans that for good reasons - unable to use internet (like my mum) or young fans who's parents may not agree with them being part of an online forum (understandable) may lose out.

[Mika4Life13]

Well, absolutely they are good for some people. But I don't believe it is right to expect everyone else to sit down as well.

No one is grabbing them and forcing them in their chair, they're putting the chairs there incase they need to also.

[mikalovernj]

hum, i would rather have assigned seating cuz then i dont have to worry about getting there too late and not being able to see

[mandilambi]

No one is grabbing them and forcing them in their chair, they're putting the chairs there incase they need to also.

 

Really? Thanks for clarifying that for me....

[mikalovernj]

this is boring:thumbdown:

i mean right now its boring on the forum

im boooored

[Sivan]

i prefer general admission.... wait for hours and be front row... if its for mika..

 

 

im just sad with seating concerts... like i went to see my fave band MATCHBOX TWENTY in vegas but i had crapp seats very far even tho im in their fan club and stuff...

 

and in few days im going to see KT TUNSTALL and i have seats in the BACK of the venue

 

its ok to have seating when its an artist im not THAT excited about...

[mikalovernj]

wow, this is the lowest number of people ive seen on here:naughty:

maybe its cuz im a up a little to late:naughty:

[Christine]

I agree completely. Where he played in toronot is supposedly the "bad area of toronto" (we have many of those though ) and my parents didnt want me going into a club.

 

It's not a bad area. It's a couple of blocks from Yonge Street and steps from the lake. The clubs are huge though so depending on the music, when people drink stuff happens. It doesn't matter what part of Toronto it is, that's just human behaviour.

 

The only violence at a Mika concert would be me and Sariflor taking on the jerks who thought they could queue jump at 6 pm and get in front of us.

 

Yeah like why the **** couldn't mika play at the air canada centre? Is he really that cheap?

 

Are you joking? The day that Mika plays the ACC is the day he's making some serious money, not deciding to loosen the purse strings. The ACC is more than 10 times the size of the Kool Haus and his Kool Haus show didn't sell out until a week or two before the gig.

 

I was surprised that he didn't play Massey Hall though. I would expect him there the next time if he isn't playing somewhere bigger still.

 

IThe people who end up front row usually tend to be random people who look out of place and barely even know who they're going to see and the most they do all night is a small polite clap at the end.

 

That's entirely up to Mika. Barenaked Ladies fan club members get the front rows. The longer you've been in the fan club the better your pool of presale tickets. The fans in the first tier always get to choose from the front row or two.

 

We also started lining up between 11am - 1pm, which isn't the 6am crap that people face in London.

 

People didn't face the 6 am crap in London in December either. It took less than 3 months for things to take that horrendous turn. Every time he comes to North America his audience doubles. If there are 5,000 people at his next shows (which I would expect in NYC and Montreal at minimum), you can bet that people will be queuing up from early morning.

 

If he ever achieves the kind of success in North America that he has in Europe, forget it. It will be worse than London.

 

Of course it would be far far better for us fans if Mika came back to the Kool Haus and other clubs, but the size of the venue is based on his popularity. It's not a seated vs general admission issue.

 

I love the idea of the MFC getting pre-sale access but I also worry about fans that for good reasons - unable to use internet (like my mum) or young fans who's parents may not agree with them being part of an online forum (understandable) may lose out.

 

Mika's fan club will be his fan club. It shouldn't mean that you have to participate in the forum. They are two different things.

 

I also can't imagine that someone who is so young and their parents are so overprotective they won't let them use MFC, would allow them to go to a general admission concert at the Brixton Academy for example.

 

Look at Mika4Life's situation. Her parents wouldn't let her go to the GA club where Mika played. She probably could have gone to the show if it had been at a proper seated venue.

[findingmywords]

i prefer general admission.... wait for hours and be front row... if its for mika..

 

 

im just sad with seating concerts... like i went to see my fave band MATCHBOX TWENTY in vegas but i had crapp seats very far even tho im in their fan club and stuff...

 

and in few days im going to see KT TUNSTALL and i have seats in the BACK of the venue

 

its ok to have seating when its an artist im not THAT excited about...

I agree...

It's funner to wait and be rewarded for waiting seven hours in heat and snow and vigorous conditions...

With assigned, you just go whenever and sit and wait for it to start

Who likes assigned things anyways?

[Christine]

I agree...

It's funner to wait and be rewarded for waiting seven hours in heat and snow and vigorous conditions...

 

You're often "rewarded" by people who showed up 7 hours after you did getting in ahead of you. I queued up for 9 hours and still ended up in the second row in a venue where the front row was big enough for 100 people to stand.

[Fmbm]

You're often "rewarded" by people who showed up 7 hours after you did getting in ahead of you. I queued up for 9 hours and still ended up in the second row in a venue where the front row was big enough for 100 people to stand.

 

You ain't got no skills.

[Christine]

You ain't got no skills.

 

Unless your skills include clubbing security guards over the head so you can get by them, you don't really have a choice. It's entirely random.

[Fmbm]

Unless your skills include clubbing security guards over the head so you can get by them, you don't really have a choice. It's entirely random.

 

Yes, it is, but that's sort of what general admission is. It's anyone's game.

[rilo8913]

Which is why it's so much less stressful and people don't get trampled at reserved seating events.

[Fmbm]

Which is why it's so much less stressful and people don't get trampled at reserved seating events.

 

Yeah, but that's no fun.

[PhotoJenic]

Which is why it's so much less stressful and people don't get trampled at reserved seating events.

 

Agreed. I didn't have to stress about getting there early and waiting outside for hours during the winter, which is what I was freaked out about because of my feet. Summer wouldn't have been that bad being warmer and able to sit down but winter... forget it. It was a bummer I didn't get as close as I did last time but the first time around that only happened by pure luck and the fact that I wasn't even trying to get closer in return actually got me right up by the stage. Ironic how that works.

 

But yes, was less stressful and didn't have to worry about anyone cutting. You could also get up and use the bathroom and come back and still have your spot. Also not getting pushed and shoved around was nice. I didn't have to worry about falling off stairs and starting the domino effect. I'm sure he wouldn't have been too thrilled with me taking down some of his audience because everyone was pushing me to the edge of the stairs.

 

I'm all for assigned seating... yeah party pooper me. : P