Heck, that’s what I do almost every Thursday at Nectar’s. Trivia night starts at 7, goes till…I dunno, past 9, and then the band starts right after, and if you get there after 9 there is often a cover. The downside is that since I didn’t pay the cover, I get no bracelet/hand stamp, so if I leave, I would have to pay to get back in. But usually when I leave it’s because I don’t like the band, so have no intention of coming back. 
Is there a name for someone who feels a need to keep bringing that up?
Well, I’m explaining my point of view, which was, succinctly, an affirmative answer to a question put to the group. So yes, there’s a name for it: exposition.
Update: I did actually call the venue before posting this thread, but I did not ask the right question (or the right person), apparently. They did charge people coming in to watch the football game if they came after 7:00pm according to the manager, so he figures only 30 or so people got to watch the concert for free. I still have a problem with this: 1. Possibly 30 people got a free concert that I paid $40 for, and 2. This venue is right downtown - a whole bunch of people would have come directly from work to watch the game well before 7 (and a bunch of those would have been young punks who would have stayed for a concert). I guess any number of those would have gone home after the game, but, pardon my French, this was still a clusterfuck. The lesson I’ve learned from this place is to come early and pay nothing (and bring a book so I don’t have to be bored for three hours watching football). Got it.
Okay, now I’ve read the thread. I don’t feel so cheesed off any more; life does go on. I still think this was handled badly.
I don’t, never have, and never will pay a $40 cover charge to sit in a bar. Your point about being a baby might be right, Happy, but the rest of your argument is garbage. For the record, $40 to see a band in a large bar is an average price in Calgary, and we did buy the tickets at Ticketmaster (the band was K-os - he was quite good, but waaaaaay too loud). This bar was a former movie theatre, too, and was not a bad venue for live music.
I don’t completely believe the bar manager that I talked to, either, but I’m not willing to pursue it further. I was mad, I’ve vented, I’ve got some opinions, I’m getting over it.
I’d write a letter. A nice letter. Why not? You were unhappy, right?
Smart upper mgt will send you a freebie or a discount.
What part about the rest of my argument is garbage, if you don’t mind my asking?
You asked if there was legal recourse and I answered “likely not,” and gave reasons.
Then you asked the “babyish” question and I said “yes.”
Which part of my argument is garbage? I’m not angry with you- you can get riled as you see fit- it’s just my contention that your anger has no rational basis, and I’d like to see where you think that basis lies.
I can understand the OP’s sense of being ripped off. Part of what’s being paid for is the chance at the best seats. So if these aren’t available then part of the $40 should be returned. What if I showed up at 7:30 and waited because I really wanted to sit up front?
And being human it kind of ruins the mood to have it thrown in your face that you got the short end of the stick. If I buy a car for $25,000 and then find out that everyone else paid $20,000 I’d be angry. Legal recourse? OF course not. But angry enough to start a thread? Definitely.
Having said that I like DrDeth’s idea. If you do it, make it real brief and emphasize how you didn’t get a good seat.
Lots of places here are.
Basically here, a bar is anything that serves booze and is primarily an area to gather and drink. There may or may not be good food from a kitchen, live bands or karaoke. Some nights there might be better bands, which you pay cover or prebuy tickets for. This could be a pub, a lounge, a sports bar, or the dive on the corner (The Saskatchewan pub, King Henry’s, BP’s Lounge, The Unicorn or Flames Central, Ming’s).
A club is anywhere that serves booze, generally no food (or if there is some, it’s a small concession/fast food in the corner run by a little Chinese lady… that place closed though and I never encountered it anywhere else here) where you primarily go to dance, get drunk and drag that guy you think is kinda hot off to the corner or home (Tantra, The Whiskey, Roadhouse, Cowboys).
Depending on the location/size of it, there might even be a bit of both (eg Tantra can be booked for occasions… such as receptions, parties etc and does have a kitchen though afaik generally doesn’t serve food when it primarily acts as a club… being right downtown this makes them more money, they can get business for lunch and then entice the party folk at night).
I’ve been to a bar where during the day is all ages and has lots of games (video games, bowling, pool) and after 10 is adults only full bar/club.
During the day, Flames Central acts as a full service restaurant as well as sports bar. It is a renovated theatre, so unless they completely gutted the inside there is a decent sized stage and acoustics in there (I haven’t been in there in… god, 9 years… after it was a theatre, when it was just a club and would host bands and before it’s recent incarnation so I don’t know what it looks like inside currently). I can see them putting down as part of a business plan to make it a sports bar (geared specifically for the Flames)/band bar/lunch hot spot (it’s a very central location to many office buildings).
To make money and survive downtown (which can be dead at night) you have to either be good at the one thing you do, or make yourself many things to many people.
I was a bar guy for many years and have paid plenty of bar charges, but I’d be pissed off too, because (1)it’s $40 and (2) the rules weren’t clear. If it were $10, then no big deal, but for two people, that’s a chunk of change, or if I knew that you had to come at 6:55, then I would have showed up then or paid the fee, but this is a bit steep.
I think that Happy is harsh here.
I have an idea; I think the parties that would be interested in how this was handled would be Ticketmaster and the band’s management, both of which I presume got screwed by the bar as well. I don’t know nearly enough about how the business of live music works, but I can only imagine that there were contracts involved all around, and people seeing the show for free wasn’t part of any of them.
I’ll send a couple of emails, cc’ing the bar involved, and then I’ll let it go. 
Ticketmaster would be pissed.
The way the bar is operating it is quite possible that Ticketmaster sells advance tickets to an event, then the people who bought the tickets arrive and are turned away because the venue has reached capacity. If people then started to call Ticketmaster and make noise they’d be worried about allegations of fraud for selling tickets that do not guarantee entry to the event you paid to see.
Happy I do understand what you’re saying. If you show up to to eat onion rings and no one tells you a (non-ticket holder to leave), then it’s not your fault if a ticket holder can’t get in because the bar is full. But it’s also not at all “babyish” for a ticket holder to be seriously miffed at the venue for being so stupid. When they started selling advance tickets through Ticketmaster, they went from “pub” to “concert venue” and they have to play by those rules.
There are hundred of bars here in Toronto that seem to be able to manage that transition. The OP’s is failing miserably at it.
Okay, next question - how do you contact Ticketmaster (there is no feedback option on their website)? It appears that they are owned by IAC, so do you figure that is to whom I should send the email?
Did you see that Norman Schwarzkopf is on the board of directors? I’d be thrilled if you got a personal response out of him. 
You could call Ticketmaster’s corporate number and ask to whom you should address such a concern. They’ll either transfer your call to somene or provide you with a name. If you google Ticketmaster Canada Ltd. and “corporate” you’ll probably get some contact information for their corporate offices rather than the “ordering tickets” line.
Both emails away. I don’t imagine I’ll get any resolution from this except (hopefully) making trouble for people who deserve it.