All Dressed Up and Nowhere to Go
Fellow fans,
The unthinkable happened.
A large number of us ’standby’ ticketholders (after being briefed on what we’d encounter at security, being told what we could and could not bring into the studio and generally led to believe we’d get in) were cut and therefore will not be attending the taping of Late Night With Conan O’Brien.
It was all very matter-of-fact. We arrived earlier than the time specified and lined up with the same folks we had stood with this morning during the “On the Street” segment. The NBC staff warmly welcomed us as everyone told their favorite U2 stories. The energy was high; the crowd friendly.
When the announcements were made (they cut us in groups, starting with the folks who had the largest numbers) faces fell, tears were shed and folks quietly dropped out of line to head for the exits. It was very sad because we all knew it meant more to us than some of the ‘confirmed’ ticketholders who just happened to get their tickets for this evening months ago, not knowing who Conan’s guests would be.
To try to see the bright side to all of this, I’ve decided I was meant to get some sleep before tomorrow’s MSG GA line-up, and being at the taping would definitely have deprived me of that.
I also went outside the venue to see if the band had arrived yet (they of course had) and noticed a woman in her eighties clutching a Sharpie and large photos of Bono. She was waiting patiently for an autograph of her rock-and-roll hero.
If she can be a trouper, I can be a trouper. Tomorrow will be a better day.
suesea said,
October 6, 2005 @ 6:44 pm
What a shame! I hope you make it onto the show with your trivia answer at least. And I hope you see a great concert tomorrow.
Creepy Coyote said,
October 6, 2005 @ 10:44 pm
Oh my God… I feel so sorry for you guys. I know if I’d been in the line and got left out at the last minute how terrible I would feel. I guess you’ll always have the story about how you were, if you excuse the pun, faraway, so close!
Best of luck at the shows.
Phil said,
October 7, 2005 @ 5:02 am
Hey T, it could be worse.. you could have been stuck in an IHop. ;^)
ph4117 said,
October 7, 2005 @ 6:51 am
“It was very sad because we all knew it meant more to us than some of the ‘confirmed’ ticketholders who just happened to get their tickets for this evening months ago, not knowing who Conan’s guests would be”
You people crack me up………….I guess the people who had tix to the taping of the show in advance should just give their tix up to you losers? Get a life and stop crying. You people are pathetic……….Go get in line today at 8 am so you can hear the same f%^&ing set list from their last show.
Josh Ziegler said,
October 7, 2005 @ 7:11 am
While I don’t EXACTLY agree with ph4117, I do think you shouldn’t blame the ‘confirmed” ticketholders for you not getting in.
Just because you’re a bigger fan than they are doesn’t give you privilege over them to see a talk show.
nju2fan said,
October 7, 2005 @ 8:43 am
I was also on the standby line and was turned away. What number were you? How many did they allow in? Just curious
Bonomeister said,
October 7, 2005 @ 11:06 am
I think people like ph4117, who read blogs on subjects they clearly are not interested in, just so they can post stupid comments are the types of people that should “get a life.”
I don’t recall it being said that the people who had advanced tix should give them up so that she can get in. It’s just sad that she new that it would mean more to her than to someone who doesn’t even like U2. Is that clear enough for you now or does it still escape your grasp considering your single digit IQ.
U2isABLE said,
October 7, 2005 @ 11:20 am
While I somewhat agree with ph4117’s sentiment about the people who already had tickets - they had first rights to their seats. No one’s denying that. The risk with stand-by is you never know what the magic number will be. For David Letterman’s taping, they usually only hand out 25 stand-by tickets. The fact that Conan’s people handed out over 60 set an expectation that more people would be needed for stand-by. What people didn’t account for was the number of seats needed for VIPs for the taping itself.
I sense T’s frustration with being the next in line but to be told there’s no more room at the inn. I’d be flustered too.
Let’s look at it this way - it’s another lesson in the inner workings of the entertainment industry.
ph4117 said,
October 7, 2005 @ 12:14 pm
Hey bonomeister, how the hell do you know if the people with advance tickets for the show didn’t like U2? Are you a f%^&ing mindreader? I’m a huge U2 fan and don’t tell me that I have no interest. Just face the facts that she was clearly pissed that people had advanced tix and she did not…..That’s the chance you take when you DO NOT HAVE TICKETS…….STOP CRYING.
m2 said,
October 7, 2005 @ 12:24 pm
Look - if you can’t post intelligently without resorting to name-calling and 4-letter words, then don’t post at all. We’re not interested in moderating comments, but it’s easy to do if we’re forced to do it……..
Chase Runnels said,
October 7, 2005 @ 1:28 pm
I think ph4117 is intelligent. I constantly check out @u2 and am somewhat bugged that while I can’t even get to a U2 show (mainly because I don’t have the money to buy a scalpers ticket) I read articles like “all dressed up and nowhere to go”. U2 fans in general are cool AND weird at the same time, and that’s fine. I just share ph4117’s calling pathetic pathetic.
(On “cool AND weird”- It’s obvious that Kelly Eddington at @u2 is a nerd- but she’s also really cool. (and talented) I guess we take after our idol anyway- the boys in U2 aren’t exactly “normal”. Finally, I feel that everyone reading this needs to “get a life”. Myself included.)
4437 said,
October 7, 2005 @ 8:35 pm
Missed the show. Any site out there that is replaying part of the show?
Tassoula said,
October 7, 2005 @ 10:59 pm
To be clear - no part of my original post said that any ‘confirmed’ ticketholders should surrender their tickets for standby folks. I was merely stating that there were more true U2 fans in the standby line.
What was so disappointing was being led to believe we would actually get in. And wasting the better part of the day going to and from the venue.
It was a long day, and since I had posted earlier that I thought I would get in, I felt it only fair to the @U2 readers to tell them what happened since I obviously wouldn’t be blogging the experience. I was sad when I wrote it — I don’t think that makes me a loser.
And by the way - I did get in line at MSG on Friday earlier than 8:00 a.m. if you’re curious. That earned me a beautiful spot up near Edge at the stage rim (in the ellipse). And no - I didn’t see “the same setlist from their last show.” I saw two songs I’ve never seen performed live, met up with friends I haven’t seen since April and had a fantastic time.
I didn’t buy my tickets from scalpers. I bought them the old-fashioned way (through the fan club, legitimately) and I worked a lot of overtime to afford the plane tickets to get to these Eastern cities.
I can’t wait until my next U2 adventure.
U2 Rules! said,
October 9, 2005 @ 1:10 am
I’m glad you enjoyed the show!
Don’t let the bastards grind you down!
Kelly said,
October 10, 2005 @ 1:41 pm
I’m actually more of a geek.