Bratislava, Aug 28 - on sale (April 13)

[jarkko]

I don't think we need to go on with this dialogue - it's better to concentrate on the next pre-sales, but you have wrong information about those European pre-sales and it needs to be corrected. We HAD seats in rows 1, 2 and 3... for both Belfast and Dublin, but not the whole rows. Our limited allocation includes all price groups. Read the whole thread (like pages 7 and 11 or the Dublin/Belfast thread) to see that a number of members got seats next to the stage (and most who have got tickets are not reporting them on the forum). You know, if we have let's say 10-20 seats per row, and our members buy several hundred tickets during the first 1-2 minutes, it is obvious that everybody cannot get the best seats. Some of the ticket sellers are also showing tickets in some kind of random order, which makes it more difficult to know if the ticket shown is the best or not. There is nothing we can do to that problem.
These comments were about the ongoing European pre-sales.

[mirka]

Jarkko, I sincerely admire the amount of time and attention you've put into this project, and I'm happy that things turned out better for fans in Europe this time.
I just posted my personal experience from US leg of this tour, unfortunately it was ugly.

[casterbridgecohen]

Last year I was preparing to pay a 70% premium off a scalper for a single ticket at Manchester and as the guy did not want to break a pair he had the kindness to point out tickets were being sold at the box office - I bought row 2 48 hours before the concert !- (and had my camera detained by securiy at the intermission because they thought I was filming for a bootleg dvd but thats a different story!

Last week I upgraded my tickets by buying Row 3 for next Sundays concert from Ticketmaster and I note they were selling Row 3 for Victoria yesterday.

There is a definate pattern - they hold back fron row tickets for VIP and Premium Sales and Guests - if they do not sell they are released 5 - 15 days before the show.

[mirka]

Jarkko,

I don't believe my information is 'wrong', it is only if you consider the facts to be 'wrong'.
I just stated what I've experienced myself, and noticed reading other people's posts, both in US and in EU legs of the tour.
I could as well say that not all people who got wronged during this tour posted their complaints, in fact I think only minority did.

The fact is that they (TM or AEG, who knows whom ? nobody will admit it now) held back large best blocks of tickets for most US concerts, selling the worst tickets first, to people who were most willing to buy ANY tickets for ANY price. (Seeems to me they are still doing it in Europe.)
It happened that those people were mostly long time fans, and what could be easier then using pool of fans hanging around the Internet website ?

ps.
am I having visual problems, or you changed your whole post at the top of this page ??
this way my response just below it doesn't make much sense

[Mabeanie1]

I think we are in danger of confusing several issues here:

1) Pre-sales:
For the US and summer 2009 European shows, AEG and Leonard's management have very kindly granted us the opportunity to buy tickets in advance of the public in special fan pre-sales. In addition, they allocated tickets to us for some of the Autumn 2008 shows. As Jarkko has made clear on more than one occasion, these are in most cases special allocations of tickets. They may or may not include the best seats. In my experience, they very often do not so I am really not surprised that the first 8 rows were not available in the Bratislava pre-sale. Yes, the front row was included in the Belfast pre-sale but to be clear, my front row seat is the very end seat on the left hand side with a limited view of the stage. I continued to be allocated seats 49 & 50 for some time after I bought and other members also bought seats 49 & 50 which suggests that the fan seat allocation was a narrow strip down the left hand side of the floor. I did much better in the public sale, with a third row seat, dead centre.

For anyone else but Leonard, I rarely take part in pre-sales and much prefer to wait and take my chances in the public sale. However, where Leonard is concerned I simply cannot take the risk. This is a time limited opportunity so far as I am concerned: I have to do whatever I can to make sure that I am there at the event so I buy in the pre-sale to make sure I have a ticket - and then again in the public sale as well if there are better tickets on offer.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank AEG and management for allowing us this opportunity and Jarkko for all the hard work he has put in organising the practical side of this. Certainty is a very valuable thing. After the pre-sale I have the certainty that whatever happens, I will be at the show.

2) Holding back the "best" seats
This is what promoters do. It happens for all shows, not just Leonard's. They keep tickets for the great and the good and other miscellaneous "notables" associated with the shows, local or otherwise. They also hold back tickets in an attempt to beat the touts sites and eBay. However, everyone wants a piece of the action so they - or the people who benefit from promoters tickets - release a certain number of tickets to official "tout" sites (Ticketsnow, Getmein, etc which are owned by Ticketmaster) and they allow the ticket agents to do the same thing. For the US shows, Leonard's management took the relatively unusual step of stopping this practice to avoid any impression of impropriety, presumably for legal reasons. They have not applied the same restrictions to European shows and some of you may have seen my posts in connection with Liverpool tickets where I queried why management appeared to have taken a different approach for the European shows c/w the North American ones.

It is these tickets which typically get released in the few days before the show when promoters realise they have more tickets than they need. This is a not a new phenomenon. I used to work c 5 minutes from Birmingham NEC. As far back as 1990, if I wanted to get tickets for a show that was already well sold, I used to wait until the day of the show and call in at the box office on the way to work (gosh, I used to have a lot of traffic delays in those days ...). I invariably got seats in the first or second rows.

I am disappointed that the "best" tickets are continuing to find their way on to the tout sites for some of the European shows but I am not surprised. This is what happens, and what will continue to happen until desperate fans stop buying them, which of course will never happen.

3) "Sold out shows"
This is the issue Mirka has been railing against in her war against Ticketmaster, with some justice in my opinion. Again, this isn't just a problem with Leonard's shows. It happens for every single high profile event. However, it is simply not fair or right to advertise a show as sold out when it is not and when promoters must know that there is a stack of tickets still available to be dribbled on to the market over the weeks and months before a show, to beat the touts or whatever. Remember the Manchester Opera House shows anyone? I started with tickets in row P of the balcony for the Friday show. By the event I had upgraded twice, once to row Q in the stalls, then again a week before the show to row H. Had I held my nerve, I could have got row A a few days before the show.

In summary, the pre-sales are what they are. They are allocations of tickets for fans, no more, no less. Sometimes they will include front row centre. More often than not, they will not. However, they still represent a valuable opportunity to be certain of having tickets. I for one am very grateful. Thank you again for giving me this opportunity, AEG, management, Jarkko et al.

Wendy

[SuzanneT]

All who want to go to a concert L. C. in Bratislava, then from Moravia (North Czech republic) to Bratislava!
Obviously I go by car, so I offer two place for those who go from some of these cities: Opava, Bruntál, Olomouc, Prostějov, Vyškov or Brno!
The details of the timely agree! If you are interested you can contact me by e-mail!

[SuzanneT]

...and something else:
Why speculate who will have better tickets, Let's be glad that Leonard will be in Bratislava, and that we can be there a couple of hours with him! Yet each time in the company of his own, his music, texts and well tuned fans worth, whether we are from the stage or the one hundred meter
Just a few days ago it seemed to him that we here in the middle of Europe have to travel hundreds of thousands of kilometers, and now agree on a number in the room! I would have preferred in the first place, but just me, though I will be there .. maybe me fate gives...
(Sorry for my English, it is still learning ...)

[Dreamhunter]

Hi,

I am new to the Forum and would like to take the opportunity to greet all other Cohen-Admirers

I just booked tickets over the internet for the concert in Bratislava and didn't have any problems registering and buying. Got three seats in the 11th row

As I couldn't make it to the concerts in Vienna last year I really can't wait until the end of August. It will be the third time I see him live after the 1985 (?) concert in the Arkadenhof/Vienna and May 1988. I am so excited - my future wife (we will marry in June) and my sister, who also accompanied me way back 21 years ago will be with me. I am just happy now...

Kurt

[casterbridgecohen]

And you will enjoy it for sure - I promise you 100%

[Wimmer]

Hi!
Today on the evening i have booking 2 tickets from bratislava and didn´t have any problems with the registering and buying.With my husbund
a new Cohen Fan. We are so happy!!!
I saw him last year in Vienna.Now the next concert. And I hope in Spain the next concert from Him

Marina

[mirka]

I'm posting it again, as my previous post seems to be lost in the Cyberspace:

If anybody doubts there is a pattern of holding back best tickets during the fan pre-sale, and releasing it at later sales, please read this from the current US leg of the tour:

Just out of curiousity I just did a check for seats in Minneapolis. I originally did the 89 dollar tickets through presale. Well, with the exact same pricing option right now (April 21st) I would actually be in the exact same seating area but 7 rows ahead! Moving from row Y up to row R. I am content at where my seats are but it does seem a little odd.
viewtopic.php?f=32&t=14564&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a

[Mabeanie1]

I'm posting it again, as my previous post seems to be lost in the Cyberspace:

If anybody doubts there is a pattern of holding back best tickets during the fan pre-sale .....

Mirka

Of all your concerns, I do not think this is a fair or legitimate one. Everybody Knows pre-sales are simply specific allocations of tickets. They are a chance to buy ahead of others for which we should be (and I am) grateful. No more, no less. Please see my posting above for more detailed comments.

Personally, I think that by raising this point again and again, you are dilverting attention from the real issues which are the supposedly sold out shows and the apparent holding back of tickets from public sale. I for one am looking forward to reading that you won your ongoing war with Ticketmaster.

wendy

[mirka]

.
Wendy, I doubt Ticketmaster is responsible for all this mess, I think this is AEG strategy to sell worst tickets to the most enthusiastic fans during this tour, both in US and in Europe.
Jarkko explains that fans were assigned tickets in all price groups. Even if they were (personally I doubt it happened for all US shows) usually tickets in the higher price group were also least attractive: for the second Oakland concert I managed to grab a pair of row D tickets (at the 6th try !), they turned out to be the first seats at the far side of the row, with obstructed view.

I came to this conclusion, and so did other people who took time to look into this closer:

This problem - with many, many excellent seats withheld, far more than could be used by all the remote family members of all the artists - occurred with the Philadelphia May 12 show, which is at the Academy of Music, which is NOT a Ticketmaster location. This is also not the way the Academy itself normally does business, which makes me doubt it was their idea. I've never before seen this phenomenon at an Academy of Music event. Also, these tickets weren't made available a few days ahead. They suddenly became available on April 1, 6 weeks ahead, and around the time an early concert failed to sell as expected and lucky people were being upgraded from nosebleed seats to the pit.
viewtopic.php?f=32&t=14031&start=75#p168181

I have a pretty busy life, and cannot spend more time investigating this matter, the only thing I can do is to spread the information, so that fans buying now are aware of this pattern.

[Mabeanie1]

.
Wendy, I doubt Ticketmaster is responsible for all this mess

I never said they were - please read my posts above.

I'm not going to say anything else on this - believe me, I lead a pretty busy life myself - but I am not prepared to diss the pre-sales. As I have now said on more than one occasion, they are what they are. They are allocations of tickets no more, no less. If you don't like what you get in the pre-sale, you have to decide whether to buy what's on offer or take your chances in the public sale. Either way, we should be grateful for the opportunity we have been given to buy ahead of the general throng. If all people do is criticise, then AEG could very well stop giving us this opportunity with the result that the fans who have yet to see Leonard in their own country (e.g. Israel) could lose out.

Wendy

[moranmo]

Hi guys,

Anybody knows if this Bratislava venue is any good? the hall, I mean - seating, sound etc.?

and did you manage to place your orders using your own country's credit card?

thanks