Best source for last-minute tickets?

March 29, 2005 7:25 AM

What's the best way to get the best possible seats for a concert at the last minute?

If I wanted to maximize my chances of snagging the best remaining seat (perhaps even a fairly good seat that's the only solo left in a sea of pairs) in the house, is my best bet the venue box office on the day of the concert, or the dreaded TicketMaster website or an offsite TicketMaster location or is one just as good as the other? Experiences from other last-minuters and insider information from former TM or box office employee types would be very appreciated!

posted by Dreama to media & arts (15 comments total)

Ticketmaster is generally a very bad place to do last minute purchases, as they only have a certain number of tickets that they are allowed to sell. This means ticketmaster generally sells out considerably sooner than the theatre box office. Depending on how far ahead this concert is... you should try to make it to the box office before the day of the show. But then again, if you can't there are always scalpers. There is really no difference between ticketmaster online or in the back of a department store as far as I remember.
posted by mervin_shnegwood at 7:35 AM on March 29, 2005

I once landed a front row center seat by showing up at the venue an hour before the show started and just going to the box office. I lucked out because they ended up busting a pair of tickets that were on hold but not picked up and someone had bought the other one leaving a hard to sell single for me. The venue had a large general admission area, though, so cutting it so close to showtime didn't bother me because I knew I'd get in regardless, even if the seat sucked.

I've also used ticket "brokers" on occasion when I was willing to spend a bit more to see a show. I always got pretty good single seats since they're harder to unload than pairs so they'll often cut you a better deal. Don't try to go to a broker an hour before showtime thinking they'll drop their prices, though. Most would rather eat the cost of the ticket than get people into that habit.

On occasion I've also heard of a new batch of tickets being released on the day of the show. I suspect it's something similar to my front row deal, where a bunch of unsold tickets are somehow put back into the ticket pool.
posted by Cyrano at 8:05 AM on March 29, 2005

If you have the energy Ticketmaster can get you the tickets. About a week or two before the show start checking Ticketmaster every 30 minutes. Frequently large blocks of held tickets will come available. My brother in-law had used this method many times to get seats in the first ten rows at major concert events. Sometimes if the band has a fan site with a message board messages are posted about blocks of seats coming available. For some acts, like Springsteen, these boards will help newbies to get good tickets, very altruistic.
posted by caddis at 8:15 AM on March 29, 2005

Mug a tout.

No, but seriously, sometimes touts are the only option if it's a sell-out and you really have left it until the last minute. However, like all decent people I despise touts, so I'll generally do anything to avoid using them. On the rare occasions I have, I've looked for the ones that seem to be having a bit of trouble shifting their stock and tried playing one off against another. Make no mistake, this can be a very dangerous practice, but it can also be quite amusing if you don't mind heavy verbal abuse and occasional physical threats. It helps if you have a bunch of large mates with you.

I've also found that you can sometimes get lucky with people who aren't touts but simply have spare tickets because a friend didn't show up or whatever. The difficulty here is letting it be known you're not buying as a tout but as a genuine punter willing to pay maybe a little over the face value. You have to develop a genuine look and a convincing line. I know when I've had spare tickets I always look out for people like this. The good news is that touts usually make it so damned obvious they're touts that it can be easier than you think.
posted by Decani at 8:20 AM on March 29, 2005

I've gotten awesome seats from ticket brokers online, if you're willing to pay. I can recommend boyjohn.com, I just ordered two Nine Inch Nails tickets from them for $320.

If you're sitting in a single seat, and the show is in you hometown, I would recommend showing up early and just asking everyone you see if they have an extra ticket. If one of their friends couldn't make it, they'll usually sell it to you for face value.

Also, the guys "scalping" tickets outside the venue are usually selling them for face value or close to it (unless it's a really big deal sold out show or something). I went to see Interpol last week and say two people get front row seats from one of those guys for a third less than I paid through Ticketmaster.
posted by andrewzipp at 8:21 AM on March 29, 2005

Promoters will ofttimes release a block of tickets day-of-show due to the fact that one size does not fit all when it comes to touring shows. They'll load in to a venue and find that there is more seating space than they planned. These seats are usually close to the stage and only available at the box office day-of-show. If you only want a single seat, you should have no problem waiting 'til the last minute.
posted by Floydd at 8:21 AM on March 29, 2005

What Floydd said. If the concert isn't sold out this close to the date then the box office is the place to get the tickets.
posted by terrapin at 8:37 AM on March 29, 2005

Win them on the radio. This got me excellent seats very close to the stage 3 days before a recent Velvet Revolver concert. /unhelpful
(it was only 2 days ago. I'm still pumped.)
posted by raedyn at 8:39 AM on March 29, 2005

"Larger" seated venues will often release a bunch of tickets at the box office the day of the show. Since each touring act has different space requirements, they never know exactly how many seats they can sell.

The released tickets are usually front-ish rows, off to the side (because they don't know how obstructed those giant speakers will make the view) or around 10 - 20 rows back, near the sound board (because they don't know how much rooms the sound board would take up).

There's also often unused comp tickets that get put on sale the day of the show as well.

However, this is always a crap shoot, and if not getting in is going to make you die, I'd buy the crap tickets first, and then try the box office the day of the show. Then try to punt your crap ticket off at face value/discount to someone else.

Also, go to the box office IN PERSON when it opens and find out when the tickets will be released. It's usually a few hours after the first person from the touring entourage arrives and will vary venue to venue. Phone people will often not know about this or be instructed not to tell people over the phones about it.
posted by alan at 8:55 AM on March 29, 2005

If it's a big show, there are usually tickets being sold on craigslist.
posted by ori at 9:05 AM on March 29, 2005

Don't forget that frequently people with extra tickets will try to sell them at the venue as well. I've personally sold a second row ticket for under face at a show when one of the people in my group cancelled at the last minute.
posted by Four Flavors at 10:09 AM on March 29, 2005

Actually, it's really easy to win tickets off college radio stations, if they're big enough to get them.
posted by rfordh at 10:58 AM on March 29, 2005

Check with the concierge of your local fancy hotels. You may not be able to get anything from them unless you actually check in to the hotel, but if the show is really worth the expense then do that too
posted by pwb503 at 2:06 PM on March 29, 2005

As a guy at Neil Young concert once told me, all you gotta do is show up the day of the concert and ask if any corporate clients have failed to claim their skybox reservations. Then you can get up in there for about $15. But if you're going to do that and then sneak down into the front row after the lights go down, just don't forget all your drugs back in the skybox, the way this gentleman did. Also, you should hit the bathroom before going up front, because much like sneaking in the the US from Mexico, after you've done it once, you're not going to want to do it again. (But maybe you can find somebody nice like me who will lend you their ticket stub so that you can leave and return =).
posted by idontlikewords at 3:21 PM on March 29, 2005

I, too, have landed front row center tix about an hour before a concert. I asked and was told this box office routinely holds a few excellent seats in case any last minute V.I.P.'s come a knockin'. No guarantees - but if you're just gonna pick them up at "will call" anyway on a concert that wont sell out... who knows?
posted by whatisish at 5:16 PM on March 29, 2005