Childlike concertticket-buying excitement

[username]

I wonder if people here recognize this. Back in 2005/2006/2007 I could easily lose sleep over whether or not I'd get the concert tickets I wanted. It was always really exciting to me when some band would come to Holland and I'd get as giddy about it like a catholic schoolgirl around boys and twice as nervous. Which was lovely. Great times! That childlike excitement is really cool. But since then that's gotten less and less. Maybe because I'd seen most bands that were way high on my list. Maybe because I got used to it. Don't get me wrong, I still loved the concerts just as much. This was purely about the announcements and getting the tickets. It was basically routine and if not then it'd be ok too.

Until last week when they finally announced the Rolling Stones would headline the Dutch Pinkpop festival. I stupidly excited, hilariously nervous about getting tickets, lost sleep over it and didn't think about much else. My coworkers thought it was hilarious. I loved how some of my friends chuckled at the fact that I was planning to be at the store at 6am (tickets went on sale at 10) with a book and a camping chair. And a lot of warm clothes. I loved feeling like this might not even be extreme enough. Turned out it was just right - Last Friday I left a party at around 1:30, got 4 hours of sleep, went to the store (loads of other people there) and got the tickets.

But it's about that level of jumping around and laughing stupidly and telling everybody and thinking about it constantly excitement over the fact a band is coming and wanting tickets. I suppose only the Stones can do that to me. GnR certainly can't anymore. Even the likes of Paul McCartney and Leonard Cohen couldn't. And loads more. And honestly, it was wonderful! I was an absolutely sleep-depraved smelly wreck all day yesterday, but I kept bouncing on adrenalin anyway. Just slept for 11 hours and I'm ok now. I loved it.

So yeah. Do any of you guys still have that? Or have it occasionally?

[droezle]

I had the same feelings years ago when GNR, Metallica or any other band that i like(d) planned to do a show in my region. Over the years it changed to the point that it does not really interest me anymore. I saw the Stones once in the late '90's, saw Metallica like 7 times and Guns N' Roses 4 times. During the past two years I discoverd some bands whose music and concerts I appreciate more. I now look forward to the concert of the band Chain of dogs that takes place next saturday, at Landgraaf.

[highvoltage]

I had the same feelings years ago when GNR, Metallica or any other band that i like(d) planned to do a show in my region. Over the years it changed to the point that it does not really interest me anymore. I saw the Stones once in the late '90's, saw Metallica like 7 times and Guns N' Roses 4 times. During the past two years I discoverd some bands whose music and concerts I appreciate more. I now look forward to the concert of the band Chain of dogs that takes place next saturday, at Landgraaf.

Haven't seen you post in a long time man, hey!

I got really excited seeing GN'R in my hometown last year - I guess because it's not a big place and I never really expected them to tour there. Knowing a bunch of the AU GN'R fans and all being on the front row with them made it feel kind of special too.

Other than that, the most excited I'd been in a looooong time was for NIN/QOTSA the other week. I spent half the show vomiting and had to leave early, so it definitely sucked a lot out of the experience. I haven't really been going to as many gigs these days either, so there's less for me to get excited about.

[droezle]

I had the same feelings years ago when GNR, Metallica or any other band that i like(d) planned to do a show in my region. Over the years it changed to the point that it does not really interest me anymore. I saw the Stones once in the late '90's, saw Metallica like 7 times and Guns N' Roses 4 times. During the past two years I discoverd some bands whose music and concerts I appreciate more. I now look forward to the concert of the band Chain of dogs that takes place next saturday, at Landgraaf.

Haven't seen you post in a long time man, hey!

Hello HV, how are you these days? The reason why i don't post here that often is because i'm done with this incarnation of GNR. I got tired of the disrespect they show towards their fans. That's all i have to say about this. It happens sometimes that I react on a post here, but much less than before.

[highvoltage]

I had the same feelings years ago when GNR, Metallica or any other band that i like(d) planned to do a show in my region. Over the years it changed to the point that it does not really interest me anymore. I saw the Stones once in the late '90's, saw Metallica like 7 times and Guns N' Roses 4 times. During the past two years I discoverd some bands whose music and concerts I appreciate more. I now look forward to the concert of the band Chain of dogs that takes place next saturday, at Landgraaf.

Haven't seen you post in a long time man, hey!

Hello HV, how are you these days? The reason why i don't post here that often is because i'm done with this incarnation of GNR. I got tired of the disrespect they show towards their fans. That's all i have to say about this. It happens sometimes that I react on a post here, but much less than before.

I understand, people move on. It is what it is. Nice to see you around even if it's only every now and then.

[Broskirose]

People buy tickets at stores?

[Axl_morris]

For me I get nervous about be able to get off work. Ticket buying back in 06 was nervous for GNR and even in 2010 if younwere after standing tickets.

Ultimetly for me its work. I planned in going to vegas this year but my mate bummed out on me. So far its download and calling festival....better get them days off!!

[username]

People buy tickets at stores?

I greatly prefer the charm and atmosphere of waiting in front of a store with a group of people (friends and/or strangers). Much more fun than doing it online. I don't do it often though, because it usually means missing a fair bit of sleep and I often have to work afterwards. But for really popular gigs (like this Stones gig) it really boosts your chances if you're early enough. Everybody that I know who tried online failed. The Dutch Ticketmaster systems are really shit anyway. They're often unable to handle the load and people just spend 1 or 2 hours in a queue after which the gig sold out. Or they just crash completely. So for high profile gigs, I'd definitely pick the store. At least their ticket systems don't get into queues and they're stable. Edited March 16, 2014 by username

[MB.]

Really cool you got the tickets. Which days are you going or only Saturday?

I am not going, cause they are last to perform. Unfortunately spending the whole day standing up is not possible for me anymore.

But really nice to hear you managed to get the tickets!

[Powerage5]

I still get that feeling once in a while. Most recently, it was getting tickets to Queen + Adam Lambert, mostly because the presage was such a clusterfuck. I always get that way after getting Stones tickets. The only GN'R shows that got that kind of reaction out of me were The Ritz and Brooklyn Bowl because of how tiny those venues are (And to be fair, BS got my Brooklyn Bowl tickets for me ). Never really get like that with Maiden, probably a combination of having seen them so many times and knowing I'll just about always get the tickets I want through the fan club presale.

[username]

Really cool you got the tickets. Which days are you going or only Saturday?

I am not going, cause they are last to perform. Unfortunately spending the whole day standing up is not possible for me anymore.

But really nice to hear you managed to get the tickets!

My dad isn't going for the same reason as you. And yeah, just Saturday. We're leaving for the US/Canada a few days after Pinkpop, so knowing how tired I get after a whole festival that didn't seem smart.

[downzy]

I have few artists left on my bucket list. There haven't been any new acts in the last 5 years that I'd be excited to see. Maybe Vampire Weekend.

In the past month I finally saw Elton John, and just this past week I saw Billy Joel. I would say that prior to these concerts, I haven't been excited to see a concert since seeing GNR at the Hammerstein Ballroom in 2006 (I've seen GNR 8 times since that show). Billy Joel was great because I was able to get $165 tickets for $29 each on stubhub (just waited until the day of the show). Saved $270. The fact that concerts have become so expensive has had a large effect on how excited I get about them. I'd love to see Aerosmith, but I'm not paying the prices they're charging for their concerts these days. It's just not worth the money.

[username]

I had the same feelings years ago when GNR, Metallica or any other band that i like(d) planned to do a show in my region. Over the years it changed to the point that it does not really interest me anymore. I saw the Stones once in the late '90's, saw Metallica like 7 times and Guns N' Roses 4 times. During the past two years I discoverd some bands whose music and concerts I appreciate more. I now look forward to the concert of the band Chain of dogs that takes place next saturday, at Landgraaf.

Awel, goed dat ge er weer bent. Kunt ge mij vertellen waar het frietkot kan vinden?

Sorry, my Flamish is really terrible. We actually made prank calls (collect) from phone booths to random numbers in Belgium like that. In my defence I was 13. Point in case, good to see you around.

Billy Joel.

Jealous! I SO wish he'd do a European tour! Cool that you caught him!

[Black Sabbath]

For bands I've seen, it's kind of "natural" for me to just get the pre-sale tickets at this point and be excited, but not overly crazy.

That only seems to happen if it's a band I haven't seen yet. I was pretty damn excited when I was able to get tickets for Gn'R the first time. Same goes for NIN.

At this point, the only bands I haven't seen that I'd like to that would put me in the crazy state again would probably be Metallica and Phil Collins.