The ole switcharoo!

July 20, 2006 5:13 PM

Ticketfilter: It is possible for me to switch my seats with someone else's if it's Will-Call only?

With blind luck, I ended up with front row seats to the Tom Waits concert in Memphis. They are Orchestra Pit Row 1 and I called the Orpheum to confirm they were indeed the best seats in the house. My brother also ended up with seats, but way back in the back row of the balcony. Basically, I want to show up at Will-Call with my ID and credit card, get the tickets, and then give one to my friend Jim, and one to my brother. Then I want to sit in my brother's crappier seat. The kicker is, we also get wristbanded. Are the wristbands going to differ (like maybe in color) for the different seats in the house so that when he tries to sit in my seat they'll tell him his wristband says Balcony? Should we all just go in, sit in our assigned seats, and then switch once the show starts? I even thought of us trying to switch our armbands if they are colored but don't want to take the chance of breaking them and not be let in at all. Am I being paranoid that anyone is even going to be paying attention?

posted by Ugh to sports, hobbies, & recreation (10 comments total)

Call the venue.

This is not going to have the same answer at every venue, so just call the venue. That's really all you can do.
posted by twiggy at 5:27 PM on July 20, 2006

Maybe I'm dense, but why can't you walk up to the will call gate with your brother and his friend, pay for the tickets, and have them put the wristbands on your brother and friend, then have your brother and friend buy the tickets, and wristband you?

...upon RTFL, I see that they seem to be quite dickish about it, but it seems to me that as long as 2 tickets=two patrons, they shouldn't really care.
posted by muddgirl at 5:35 PM on July 20, 2006

Twiggy, I called earlier today and the person who answered said they weren't sure what the policies would be or if the wristbands would differ. I'm going to try again tomorrow and hope I get someone who knows what's going on. Just thought i'd ask here in case I don't find out before the show.
posted by Ugh at 5:40 PM on July 20, 2006

My experience with these things is that picking up will-call tickets are usually separate from entering the venue & getting wristbanded for all but really small venues. So you can pick-up the tickets, meet your friends, and divide up the tickets how you want. Looking at the Orpheum's ticketmaster page leads me to believe this will be the case there (you can pick-up your will-calls in advance).
posted by justkevin at 5:55 PM on July 20, 2006

Ticket purchaser and guest will be wristbanded at that moment and given the 2 tickets, which will be punched. Ticket-holders must present their punched tickets and be wearing undamaged wristbands for admittance. The venue will open at least an hour before show time; check www.concertwire.com for exact door time. Lost or damaged tickets and wristbands are not replaceable.


Have them there with you. Have the wristbands put on them.

These measures may sound extreme, but have any of you tried to go to see a band you're a fan of lately? I've been screwed out of so many tickets by ticket brokers and eBay whores gobbling them all up within milliseconds of the onsale time that I actually welcome this draconian behavior -- at least until it slows the problem of overinflated prices on tickets that end up going unsold, so I'm left outside in the cold or in some crap seat in the back while a 3rd row seat sits empty.
posted by twiggy at 6:17 PM on July 20, 2006

Ah, I didn't mean "pay for the tickets" and "buy the tickets", I meant "show ID and pick up the tickets".
posted by muddgirl at 6:36 PM on July 20, 2006

Twiggy I feel the same way as you. Seats 15 rows back from mine are going for $999 on eBay and people keep saying I should sell them but that's not going to happen.

I do know for sure when you go to pick up the tickets at will-call that is when they punch them and wristband you. If you show up four hours later to get into the show, you have to show that wristband and punched ticket to get in. If you lose either somewhere along the way you're SOL.

I honestly don't think they'd let me get away with being there to pick up the tickets and then saying "no, don't put the wristband on me, put them on my two friends instead." They would immediately peg me as a scalper who had sold the tickets on eBay and just said "meet me at will call where i'll have them wristband you instead of me." Surely they wouldn't have come up with such an elaborate policy only to have that big of a loophole.

Maybe we'll just switch seats after we get inside. It's looking like the best option for right now. Either that or i'll cut my own wrist off and hand it to my brother.
posted by Ugh at 8:19 PM on July 20, 2006

If the bands are different colors for different sections, or if only the better seats get wristbands, maybe you could bring some small scissors and some scotch tape, cut the bands, exchange, and then retape them. If you keep the taped side down on the underside of your wrist, they probably won't notice.
posted by gt2 at 9:07 PM on July 20, 2006

If you make a big enough stink about it, you should be fine. It's your BROTHER. Tell them you bought the tickets for him as a present. It's a bit of an arcane policy, to REQUIRE that the ticket buyer be the one who goes to the concert.
posted by antifuse at 2:40 AM on July 21, 2006

The only way you're going to be able to do this is if you call the venue ahead of time and explain the situation. Assuming your brother and you have the same last name, you may be able to work something out. Work your way up the chain of command until you get the answer you want.

This policy is in effect for many (if not all) of the venues on the tour, so I strongly suspect that TW made it a condition of the tour. It's similar to what Springsteen's been doing. I have to do the same thing in Atlanta.

BTW: You're a hell of a brother. My sister would have to have me killed to get my tickets, let alone front row tickets.
posted by donpardo at 4:11 AM on July 21, 2006