My First Concert...Questions.

[IErrantVentureI]

Hey all.

On August 17th, I'll be going to see Sir Paul McCartney at the BOK Center in Tulsa, OK. I'm very excited seeing as I've been a lifelong fan (I'm 18) of the Beatles, Wings, and Paul himself. But seeing as it's my first EVER concert, I had a few questions I was hoping you musically oriented people could answer!

1. How are tickets handed out? They go on sale at 10AM on the 20th. The tickets I want are $253 each and I plan on getting one for my girlfriend as well. (Shh, it's a surprise. Don't tell her.) Does that mean if I buy mine the exact second I am allowed to, does that mean I'll get like, front row or very close up front? I really want floor seats if I can. I know you can see the stage just fine from anywhere else, but I want that full experience.

Here is a link to the stage for reference.

2. Why the heck do American Express Cardholders get a presale? Does that mean they'll get all the good seats? The presale starts tomorrow at 10AM. But why do they get to pick first?

3. What's your personal favorite seat to watch a concert? (Front row, standing room, nose-bleed seats, etc.)

4. Is $253 a good price? I'm going to have to borrow a credit card and pay them off, because I can't afford them flat out.

5. How early should I arrive? Doors open at 6:30, show starts at 8:00.

If I have more, I'll ask them.

Excuse my ignorance if I sound like I don't know what I'm talking about. It's because I don't. That's why I'm asking!

Thank you!

[neckermanncj]

that's a lot of money!

more than i would spend....i don't feel like reading the rest

[JohnTheDrummer]

1. Order them online or go to an outlet and buy the tickets.

2. It happens, and yes they'll most likely get the good tickets.

3. Either front or in the middleish area.

4. That is friggin expensive... but I guess since its him its worth it... I guess.

5. 5:00pm

[tridentgum0]

Better hope your GF doesn't read this thread. Also, I'm jealous.

[TheClashTheClashTheClash]

Thats way too much. I like standing room only. And just because youre on the website at the time the tickets go on sale, doesn't mean that you will be able to get them right then. Sometimes you have to wait in a (digital) line for up to 30 minutes. But I really think that is way too much for a ticket. He's just doing this tour for the paycheck obviously.

[Mystlyfe77]

1. Assuming you're buying them online (most likely Ticketmaster), you'll try as fast as you can to get the best seats possible. For big shows (like this), you'll have to wait in a digital queue for a while, so you're not going to get your first choice seats. Beyond that, most of the absolute best seats (front row type stuff) are typically given out to friends of the artist/management/venue/people with ridiculous amounts of money. You're not sitting front row.

2. Because AmEx has a deal with whoever is running the concert that they likely paid for. They then advertise it in order to get more people to sign up for AmEx. Yes, they'll take the good seats.

3. I prefer smaller gigs (bars, clubs, etc), and I'm typically near the front (though I'll mix it up depending on the band playing). It's very rare I go to a seated event, and ticket prices typically dictate where I sit.

4. No, it's expensive. There are worse prices for even bigger artists, though. Most of my concerts range from $8 to $40.

5. If you've got an assigned seat, I'd say not too early (6:30). If you're fighting for a good standing room spot and being up front is important to you, then probably around 5:30.

[whofan]

1. How are tickets handed out? They go on sale at 10AM on the 20th. The tickets I want are $253 each and I plan on getting one for my girlfriend as well. (Shh, it's a surprise. Don't tell her.) Does that mean if I buy mine the exact second I am allowed to, does that mean I'll get like, front row or very close up front? I really want floor seats if I can. I know you can see the stage just fine from anywhere else, but I want that full experience.

Floor seats are terrible if you really want the experience of seeing a concert (but more on that later). What seats you'll end up getting when you go to order are highly dependent on how many pre-orders there were and how many people have a faster internet connection/phone fingers than you. The last time Paul McCartney came to Toronto, the best tickets you could get 1 minute after tickets went on sale were the nosebleed sections. So it depends highly on interest and how fast people are at scooping tickets. So, do not necessarily expect great seats, even if you order quickly.

Here is a link to the stage for reference.

2. Why the heck do American Express Cardholders get a presale? Does that mean they'll get all the good seats? The presale starts tomorrow at 10AM. But why do they get to pick first?

American Express is undoubtedly a major sponsor of the tour, and thus they get special priveledges that they can pass along to their clients. This is normal.

3. What's your personal favorite seat to watch a concert? (Front row, standing room, nose-bleed seats, etc.)

Unless you can get absolute front row (and I doubt you can), DO NOT go for floor seats, you won't be able to see a thing and miss out on a great concert. I would suggest first row of the stands, just off to the side of the stage (however, not incredibly close to the stage, as you don't want to be looking at the side of the band all night). This way you're elevated enough off of the floor to see over all the idiots who stand up, and are still close enough to get a full experience. I had seats like this to see The Who in 2002, and it was the best concert experience I have ever been to. The best place is about halfway between the stage and the curl in the stands at the back.

4. Is $253 a good price? I'm going to have to borrow a credit card and pay them off, because I can't afford them flat out.

If you have to borrow a credit card because you can't afford the tickets, then you shouldn't be buying them. $253 is amazingly high, even for concert tickets. The most I spent was for The Who in 2002 (for those great seats) and those were $150. I would not spend more than that on tickets to a concert. Yes, it's a great experience and will give you memories. HOWEVER, you can get cheaper tickets and still have all of those memories. (Balcony is also a good place to watch a concert from).

5. How early should I arrive? Doors open at 6:30, show starts at 8:00.

I would suggest arriving about 30 minutes to an hour before doors open. Although it really doesn't matter as this isn't festival seating and you can show up 5 minutes before the show starts and still get your seat.

[voodoo618]

I'm going to PN09 in Milwaukee and it's $80 a ticket...

$253? **** that.

[IErrantVentureI]

Alright. I'm getting my ticket paid for since my birthday is a few days before that. But I do gotta cough up the money for my girlfriend.

I want floor seats, but if like you say, it'll be hard to see over people, I might change my mind...

And the BOK Center website is where I'm getting the tickets. Not from tickets.com or anything.

How much money should I bring with me for souvenirs and things like that?

[General Lein979]

By god that's expensive I got to see 11 days of concerts for $99
This year's line up
Last year's line up (significantly better than this year's)

Also something Hilarius you could have saw the Beatles from $2- 8.50 link Shea stadium was only 5.65 ish http://www.rarebeatles.com/photopg7/shea65.htm