Sat in line all night for Led Zepplin tix about 1978. Bought them at 5:30 am and went home and crashed.
So how was the show?
I did something similar in 1995, to see Dylan in a club. It was general admission, no advance ticket sales… I got there around midafternoon and was about 30th in line. It was cold and drizzly, and the management took pity on those of us who had shown up early and let us into the lounge an hour or so before the doors opened. I ended up center stage about 6 feet from the front. My favorite concert ever!
There’s two different things being discussed in this thread. One is camping out overnight to get tickets for a show. It used to be the thing to do in the days before Ticketmaster, pre-sales and scalpers.
What I think the OP is talking about is queueing up for hours for show to which you already have a ticket - to ensure you get as near the front as possible. Which I generally regard as plain bonkers.
Yesterday I was going to see Jack White at the Olympia in Paris. I had booked my ticket online on a “will call” basis. I turned up at about 1.30pm and was told to come back at 6pm. As I was pondering my next sightseeing move, there were two fairly young French girls asking questions of the guy at the box office. He gestured to one side, and they promptly sat down on the pavement.
Fast forward five hours. I’ve had a leisurely lunch, wandered around the Latin Quarter, seen the Pantheon, popped back to the hotel to change, stopped in a pavement cafe for a light pre-gig salad and a couple of cheeky glasses of wine, and I return to the Olympia. There are barriers out, and right at the front of the line are the two girls who had been there earlier. They had queued all that time. When the doors opened, I have no doubt they got right to the middle front (to stand for another hour before even the support act came on). Whereas I wandered in, got a beer, enjoyed the support band - and still managed to be about five rows from the front. Along with the inevitable folk who waited and then just shoved in.
The thing is, unless you’re right at the very, very front, it all just kind of sorts itself out anyway. One verse and chorus of Hotel Yorba was enough to separate out those who could really stand being in the front six or seven rows, and those who suddenly felt it wasn’t such a good idea any more.
It wasn’t a show, but I did wait nearly 16 hours in line outside a freezing walmart when the Nintendo Wii came out.
It was pretty good. I saw him a year or two after that and it was a better show.
We’d regularly camp out overnight outside of the Jamesway (and later, the video store) that had a TicketMaster inside of it.
Maiden, Priest, Kiss, Bon Jovi…all of them had an overnighter on the sidewalk before getting tickets. A couple of times we didn’t even know what the line was for at first – we’d be driving by, see a bunch of fellow longhairs on line, and pull in to see whose tickets would be going on sale the next morning.
This is what I’m talking about. I’m very thankful that buying tickets online has erased the need to line up for hours to buy tickets, I don’t have that kind of time.
I’m short which is why I like to be in the front row. Some people just want to be as close to the artist as possible which I’m guessing was the case with the girls at the Jack White show. I’ve been at the very front for two shows this year so far- The Heartless Bastards and Garbage. Both times there was at least one person who kept trying to reach out and grab the lead singers. The Heartless Bastards completely ignored those people but the members of Garbage were very gracious, high fiving people and Shirley Manson signed someone’s LP.
In the case of Morrissey fans, people like to jump on stage and ambush him with hugs which he seems to encourage. He also shakes the hands of the grabby people up front. I would never, ever jump on stage, but getting a handshake would be fun. I’m impressed that after 30 years of this he hasn’t been seriously molested by a crazy person or dragged off the stage by a horde of crazed fans.
Bumping this because the concert in question was tonight.
So, how early did you show up and more importantly, did you get in the front row?
Two hours, and that was because the show started two hours late. I can’t think of any group (and that includes the resurrected Beatles) that I’d waste time waiting in. Line for; the ones I’d most want to see wouldn’t draw big crowds, anyway.
When I tell you the one opening night film I got in line for hours and hours ahead of time, you’ll understand why I never bothered to do it again.
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
I was in line for The Phantom Menace. The movie was OK, but the experience of waiting in line with such a huge bunch of geeks was much better. It’s a bonding experience. I mean, some folks leave their homes and sleep in a tent in the middle of nowhere, if you can believe that!
Overnight for George Benson. Got front row center. Tower of Power opened for them. Yes, you may bask in my afterglow now…
I’m impressed that you remembered! I got there at 10AM and was number 25 on the list that the early birds had started- some of them had been waiting since 5AM! These were people who just follow him around though.
I was in the second row- VIP people (aka people who follow Morrissey EVERYWHERE and have become known to him) were let in to get to the barrier before those who’d lined up. I was right behind the woman who runs his website and was trying desperately not to let the crowd push me into her- she’s very tiny and it was clear she’s not a big fan of all the other Morrissey fans- why not watch from somewhere else then? I made it to the barrier during the encore when people were leaping over to reach the stage.
Anyway, it was definitely one of the most intense crowds I’ve ever encountered. Not the best venue either in terms of ventilation- it was very hot and people were passing out. One girl had a seizure- I got kicked in the head as she was passed over everyone to get out of the pit. The woman who runs Morrissey’s website got very upset by a girl next to me tapping her shoulder asking her to let her through- turned out the girl was about to be sick- thankfully security noticed and helped her out.
I stayed out all night for the BeeGees “Spirits” concert back in 1979 or 80. It was a really fun, and exhausting, night.
I stayed out half the night for Journey tix, circa 1982. Totally worth it.
In High School it was a cool thing to do. So I camped out overnight for tickets for KISS, Fleetwood Mac, and Queen. Camping out was better than the concerts. Actually I didn’t go to the KISS concert.
My sister was a huge Manilow fan so she camped out, with my help, for tickets for five days before the show. The next person in line showed up 4 days before the show. So I have front row tickets to Manilow.
Been there, done that. I waited in line for my niece’s favorite band, Green Day, when they played Kansas City’s Municipal Auditorium. I saw the show, but I was fine being up in the cheap seats while she was down in the scrum.
Actually, that’s a bummer that they let VIPs in before the people who lined up at 5 am. Not very fair. Oh well. And you met Julia! If she gets annoyed with other fans, I’m surprised she doesn’t just get a VIP space on the side.
Your tales from the pit reminded me why I’m too old to do that anymore. That was my least favorite part of concerts. You’re enjoying the show and suddenly some asshole lands on your head. Ugh.
I saw Morrissey last week, but I was sitting in the mezzanine in seats with little tables between the armrests, so you could leave your drinks there. Heh. Slightly less intense, but it was a great show. Way better than the last tour.
Actually, I also lined up for Star Wars an hour early, but it was in August, 1977, not 1978. I had been studying for the bar exam continuously for 5 weeks to occur the next morning, and while standing in line I developed a splitting headache, and opted to leave the line and consume several martinis instead at The Bombay Bicycle Club.
It was a good choice.
Spent the night sleeping on the street in Pasadena with a girlfriend, waiting for the Rose Parade. That was 45 years ago!
At most and hour, maybe an hour and a half.