Pomona wrote:
it's best to focus on our great good fortune of being able to see Leonard.
And for what it's worth, I've never before done this frantic upgrading for a concert. The only reason I did it this time is because it is unlikely that I'll ever see Leonard again, so I'm willing to do whatever it takes to see him well enough to remember his every move and expression for the rest of my life.
I have to agree. It's really clear now, looking at the ticket flow for Philadelphia, that AEG must have held back huge numbers of the best tickets. Philly is NOT a TicketMaster venue, and I doubt the Academy of Music chose this strategy. I am planning to take a friend - an even more avid Cohen fan than I - and I have now bought three sets of tickets for the two of us. The first set I got on opening day of public sales were in the Amphitheatre, the highest balcony level. Tried again the same day and got back of the orchestra (Parquet) and took them. I thought that was it. I gave the Amphitheatre tickets to a friend who needed to have something nice happen to him. Then, April 1, I check on a whim and find front row center seats. I allowed myself to be gouged; I bought them. The friend who's going with me says Cohen is the one person he's always wanted to see and has never seen. I want to see his face when he finds out we're in the front row. But now I'm trying to unload the back orchestra tickets, which is hard since the venue now lists much better seats at the same price.
I chose to buy the extra tickets. I don't really regret it. If I have to, I'll give those away, too. But you know, I bought in good faith. I am trying to support a good venue and a great artist, as well as trying to have a wonderful experience for myself. I work in a public service job for a very small non-profit. Paying for this will involve many months of sacrifice in other areas. It's sad to be treated this way... and what makes it bearable is knowing we'll all experience something breathtaking, and I'll get to see my friend's face as we walk down the rows, and he keeps expecting to turn off to some middling set of seats, and we travel on to the front.
And I may have to laugh if my friends in the Amphitheatre seats wind up right next to us instead, upgraded to seats that were held against a demand that never came.
Has any concert on this tour, I wonder, ever really been "sold out?"
I go to concerts a lot. I never ticket shop like this. But this is Leonard Cohen, and for this I'm just a little bit more willing to be royally screwed by less than ethical "business" people.
Good luck!
