New venue in Tampa!

October 17 - November 13, 2009. Concert reports, set lists, photos, media coverage, multimedia links, recollections...
Brysburg
Posts: 18
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 8:27 pm

Re: New venue in Tampa!

Post by Brysburg »

Wow...here I am in Tampa and I'm the last to find out about this change in venue! :oops:
This is fantastic! Morsani Hall is just beautiful with great acoustics; in a word, its classy and befits Leonard. And just as Jarkko said, the location of my new seats is nearly identical to the original location of the seats I purchased through the fan pre-sale...heck, they may be even better when one considers the nature of the house and stage configuration at Morsani! Woo-hoo! :D
donalagata
Posts: 197
Joined: Sat Nov 01, 2008 2:34 am

Re: New venue in Tampa!

Post by donalagata »

Hello Brysburg,
Sounds like you know your new seat assignment. How and where did you find this out? I called Ticketmaster this morning and they still had the concert listed at the St.Pete Times Forum. The customer service person I spoke to contacted the promoters of the show while I was on hold for Hmmm..... I lost track but I was able to clean up my breakfast dishes while waiting. Any way I was given my new seat assignment by phone from Ticketmaster and told an e-mail would follow. Of course no e-mail yet. I was also told my tickets would be held at the box office for me which may work out better for me since I am traveling to Florida from Michigan. So now all I need is proof in writing that this is actually going to happen. So back to my orginal question how did you get you information on your new seat assignment? I am excited about the new venue but I really hope that I have something to present at the box office to claim my tickets other than my hope and excitement to see Leonard. With the new venue do you have any suggestions on a near by place to gather after concert? Any shared information in regard to the above would be greatly appreciated....
Best Regards,
donalagata
Brysburg
Posts: 18
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 8:27 pm

Re: New venue in Tampa!

Post by Brysburg »

Donalagata: I received an email notification from Ticketmaster Customer Service at 11:45 am today telling me about the venue change and my replacement tickets. The subject heading of the email is "Important Alert for Leonard Cohen". You can believe that got my immediate attention!
Brysburg
Posts: 18
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 8:27 pm

Re: New venue in Tampa!

Post by Brysburg »

As a Tampa native, I previously posted (in the other LC Forum thread about the "Tampa Concert Layout Change") about various possible options for pre- and post-concert meeting places. As I said before, those options, especially afterwards, are limited due to the late hour and Tampa being a smallish town. The move to Morsani, which is located on the northern side of downtown Tampa, complicates things since this venue is further away from (and not within comfortable walking distance to) previoulsy suggested establishments such as the Mariott Waterside/Champions Sports Bar and the Channelside complex. The area around Morsani is sparse. There is a Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel next door with a "Waterworks Bar & Grille" inside (http://www.howardjohnsonplazatampa.com); this would be a convenient pre-concert meet-up option but closes at 11pm. Malios Prime steakhouse (http://www.maliosprime.com) is also within walking distance but will be closed after the concert. The only place I can think of that is reasonably close to Morsani and open after 11 pm is The Fly Bar & Restaurant (http://flybarandrestaurant.com/tampa), located a few blocks away at 1202 N. Franklin Street. The Fly's Lounge is open until 3 am.
donalagata
Posts: 197
Joined: Sat Nov 01, 2008 2:34 am

Re: New venue in Tampa!

Post by donalagata »

Thank You Brysburg for the information. No e-mail yet for me...... but I at least was told that I have seats at the new venue on the phone with the promise of an e-mail to follow..... I will have to wait for the papertrail to materialize. Also thank you for the information on places to go after the concert.
Best Regards,
donalagata
FanForLife
Posts: 116
Joined: Mon Sep 07, 2009 5:25 am
Location: Cork, Ireland

Re: New venue in Tampa!

Post by FanForLife »

Well !!!!

Tickets Version 1 – VIP seats in the Forum – travelling from Europe to see this so decided a treat was in order

Tickets Version 2 – TM reassigned seats in the downsized Forum – poor seats definitely not worth the money – cancelled the order after I read about the poor acoustics in this glorified warehouse

Tickets Version 3 – Bought $70 mid priced seats in the downsized forum, view should be OK and sound wont be better/worse than anywhere else in this three-quarters empty space

Tickets Version 4 – TM reassigned seats in the new location – great seats if you are longsighted and have bladder control problems and need the bathroom frequently – called TM (1800 is charged at international rates from outside the US) and cancelled this rubbish and took another refund

Tickets Version 5 – Almost bought new mid priced seats in the Grand Circle. Almost

Tickets Version 6 – Spotted seats, I mean SEATS just 6 rows back from the stage – so have travelled full circle and am back in VIP land

I’m kind of exhausted from all this and I haven’t left home yet.

You Americans sure are strange folk – in Europe we just buy tickets and go enjoy the event – we never get to have all this entertainment in advance. And there are another 19 days to go – how many more venues are in Tampa for us to not visit……..

Seriously, I am so looking forward to this – it looks like the perfect venue. All the reviews I read suggest that there are great acoustics here, and from the LC concerts I have been to so far, the sound crew do a superb job making the very best use of the facilities available, so this really should be CD quality.

Can’t wait……..
2008 - dublin (kilmainham - the best, ever)
2009 - dublin (The Point) and tampa and NY(MSG) and san jose
2010 - sligo (second best) and oakland and portland and las vegas
2011 - lenny and me were resting, so we were
2012 - dublin (kilmainham again) and austin
2013 - dublin (The Point, 2 times)
2014 & 2015-enjoying the memories and saving the pennies; just in case; just in case..............
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lizzytysh
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Joined: Thu Jun 27, 2002 8:57 pm
Location: Florida, U.S.A.

Re: New venue in Tampa!

Post by lizzytysh »

Hi F To The 3rd Power ~
I’m kind of exhausted from all this and I haven’t left home yet.

You Americans sure are strange folk – in Europe we just buy tickets and go enjoy the event – we never get to have all this entertainment in advance. And there are another 19 days to go – how many more venues are in Tampa for us to not visit……..
THIS had me laughing so hard I ran out of breath :lol: . I can't even read it again without laughing just as hard every time I do :lol: .

I'm so happy for you and that your trip will at last for sure be worthwhile ;-) . I'll be going hunting an email soon.


~ Lizzy
"Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken."
~ Oscar Wilde
Mishima
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Aug 07, 2009 2:36 am

Re: New venue in Tampa!

Post by Mishima »

I just received notice from Ticketmaster about theTampa venue change...they gave me the option to cancel or, if they do not hear from me by 10/8, will mail me the new seat tickets for Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center and cancel the St. Pete Times Forum tickets. I have the $74 or so tix and they put me in Orchestra Row R on the side. I checked TBPAC and the tickets I could purchase tonight in this price range are Mezzanine 3rd row (Mezz overhangs Row X) so I will keep what they are assigning me....the $127 or so tix are Not Available so I assume they are sold out...the $250 something tix are available and they are of course great seats! In any case, I've waited all my adult life to see Leonard and am so glad they changed the venue. St. Pete Times Forum is a sports arena and good for that, rock concerts and Cirque de Soleil (not for Leonard). Carol Morsani Hall at TBPAC is a really classy venue and much more suited for Leonard Cohen. Look forward to sharing the space with all of you there! You can look at the seating map for Carol Morsani Hall at tbpac.org if you want to see where your seats are.
donalagata
Posts: 197
Joined: Sat Nov 01, 2008 2:34 am

Re: New venue in Tampa!

Post by donalagata »

I am exhausted from the multiple conversations and e-mails to Ticketmasters. No confirmation on my seat assignment via e-mail has arrived for me yet :( . I have read and been told too many different things so I am determined to get something in writing before I leave Michigan next Friday. I think that I have spoken to at least six different customer service persons at TM and not one has told me the same thing. I have been put on hold for greater than twenty minutes twice ( and yes I did hold via speaker phone).If you hang up and call back again you have to wait at least ten minutes before you reach an actual human being. So no way was I going to hang up. Lizzy I read that you too have not recieved an e-mail yet is that correct? I hope that the e-mail arrives soon and is not lost in cyper space somewhere...
donalagata
LindaB
Posts: 16
Joined: Fri Mar 21, 2008 5:16 pm
Location: Fl USA

Re: New venue in Tampa!

Post by LindaB »

Hi All, Ive been lurking around this message board, in fear literally, that something was going to go wrong with the whole thing, The news of the move was wonderful, but still I was afraid that maybe they'd miss me and I'd end up without a seat. Worry over, I too got a conformation email at 1145am today with new seating(row CC,Orchestra) :D
I also spent 2 hours on the phone with TM and TBPAC and no one had a clue how the seat transfers were being decided upon. Anyway, alls well now. :lol:
I hope everyone else is as fortunate as I feel tonight
What you practice, you become
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lizzytysh
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Joined: Thu Jun 27, 2002 8:57 pm
Location: Florida, U.S.A.

Re: New venue in Tampa!

Post by lizzytysh »

Well, my computer decided to say goodnight before I did... I was almost finished with my post, too. That was over an hour ago. But here we go again. I found the email and I was assigned to Orchestra 12 ~ 12? 12?? 12!?! Row DD sounded good, though. S 22-S 22 ~ now how's that for stating a seat number :roll: . All I wanted was clarification on what the 12 is all about. TM told me my ticket was cancelled and refunded. I had them transfer me to someone higher up... "Customer Service" ~ I suggested that perhaps the message I was given was the result of poorly-trained staff not being able to properly interpret what they were seeing.

Well, Customer Service found that "technically" it was cancelled and refunded, but I actually have until October 2 to call them before it actually get refunded through or some such. Meanwhile, they're holding my seat until October 8th. Of course, the TM Customer Service woman ~ who asks "How can I give you world-class service today?" to which I replied, "By giving me world-class service today." Well, there was no world-class service on the docket, as she had no clue as to what Orchestra 12 meant... she has no actual seating chart, as in a diagram, in her TM computer :shock: ... nope. Just words on a screen that say what's still available, such as Orchestra 3, Row ... , Seat ... ~ but no way that she can clarify for me what the 12 is all about... only that "That's what it says... " Yuh think?? [As I recall, that's where I came in on this movie.]

However, she could give me two phone numbers to the venue, which might be able to help me. So, I called the first number and got "Teletouch Paging ~ If you're calling about an outage in your area, press 1" :roll: . So, I tried the second number she gave me and got what we refer to as a "Reorder" signal... that's an extremely fast 'busy' signal, which suggests that something is wrong with the telephone line.

Not to give up, I checked on the Contact Us link... and got a fax number and an email address there... but no phone numbers, box office or otherwise.

So, I probably oughta just go ahead and confirm tonight, as I'm sure I'm in the 4th row and on the Dino-Javier side, and facing Sharon [as the women stand facing out at an angle]... and it's this side of the stage that Leonard interacts more times in a personal way with his band members... Javier, Dino, and then his kneels and such.

Still, I'd like to know what the 12 is all about. When I look at the chart myself, there's no such number... Orchestra is Orchestra, Mezzanine is Mezzanine, News is News [whoops :razz: ... had to throw that in there ;-) ].

YaY, Linda!!! I'm happy for you... and this venue looks like a dream! Exactly what the spirits ordered for Leonard 8) .

Donalagata ~ Do you use several email addresses? If so, have you checked all your others? You're right on how contradictory the info you get is... I still don't understand the October 2 part. All that's needed to correct the cancellation is for them to re-enter your credit card info, with no additional processing fees being charged. I'm hoping you'll insist on box office pick-up, with written confirmation of that, as you said.


~ Lizzy
"Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken."
~ Oscar Wilde
Brysburg
Posts: 18
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 8:27 pm

Re: New venue in Tampa!

Post by Brysburg »

Lizzy, No worries...the number 12 refers to the door through which you will enter the theatre from the lobby area. You have great seats in the fourth row. Enjoy!
philrose
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Joined: Tue Jun 22, 2004 6:50 am
Location: NW Florida

Re: New venue in Tampa!

Post by philrose »

I got an email about the venue change and called Ticketmaster. I'm delighted with the change of venue and can't believe after 37 years of listening to Leonard that I will be in the same room as him in a few days. I have reasonable seats but don't really care where they are. I would hang from the rafters for the whole concert if I had to.
Lizzie I will be in Tampa all day Monday (the day of the concert) so if you have time to meet up for lunch that would be great.
Looking forward to sharing an evening with Leonard with all of my friends here on the LC Forum.

Phil
~~~ A Wandering Soul Mislaid ~~~
philrose
Posts: 67
Joined: Tue Jun 22, 2004 6:50 am
Location: NW Florida

Re: New venue in Tampa!

Post by philrose »

Anyone know if there will be a particular dress code for the Tampa show? I'm not one for dressing up but also don't want to stand out by not dressing appropriately.

Phil
~~~ A Wandering Soul Mislaid ~~~
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lizzytysh
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Joined: Thu Jun 27, 2002 8:57 pm
Location: Florida, U.S.A.

Re: New venue in Tampa!

Post by lizzytysh »

Hi Phil ~

Dress however you like. At the Performing Arts Center in Montreal, whatever people wanted to wear is what they wore. Most relevant is that this is a Leonard concert, so we wear what makes us feel comfortable, from whatever direction we seek that comfort. Formal is fine, casual is fine. If it were the opera, maybe that would be different, but this isn't the opera. At the elegant venue in Detroit, people wore exactly what they wished. Again, this is a Leonard Cohen concert 8) ;-) . Hope to meet you there.


~ Lizzy
"Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken."
~ Oscar Wilde
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