U2 R00lz
Ok, so maybe the word “R00lz” only works when you’re talking about Motley Crue or a good hack. But I think it fits. On a tip from a friend this morning, I went up the road to try to get U2 tickets at our local T*cketm*ster shop. They had two shows scheduled for Croke Park, the big stadium-like arena for some of the larger shows. U2 recently announced a third show for the end of June, but it wasn’t clear when tickets were going to come out. Suddenly, they started selling at 9am this morning. You can only get two seats per person, the total price being a whopping €164.00 for seats.
I got to the shop just a bit past 10am, and there was a really long queue going from inside the shop out the door and up along the sidewalk. It took just over half an hour from when I arrived to when I reached the stairs that took you upstairs to where they were actually selling the tickets. Kind of like your entry to heaven or something.
At first, you could get tickets for two places: either down on the ground in the pitch, or up in the seats. By the time I was 25 people away from the steps, the pitch had sold out and you could only get seats. (S’ok, those were my goal anyway.) While waiting and chatting with the folks around me, I noticed something really entertaining on the shelves. Only in Ireland would you see a commemorative DVD for Pope John Paul II placed right next to a copy of The Exorcist.
As I left, a couple of friends also in line told me the people at the shop had made a big mistake. When they went outside to announce that only the seats were available for €164 for two, they omitted the last part. What they heard on the sidewalk was “only the €164 tickets are left”. They thought the price had suddenly changed, and that was the cost of a single seat. A good number of people immediately left really angry. A minute or two later, the embarrassed employee tried to clarify what he meant. But the folks fuming their way home were out of earshot by then.
Oops.
My friends in line got their tickets, and E and I have ours. We didn’t expect to be able to go, and now even if we might need opera glasses to see anything we’re certainly looking forward to it!
