OT- TicketMaster VIP Package

[DaveMcM]

Don't know if anyone will have any suggestions regarding this but I figured it's worth a try.

 

My son plays guitar. Two of his all time favorite guitarists are Joe Satriani and Steve Vai. As it turns out they are touring together this year and coming through Cincinnati in April. I purchased platinum seating (2nd row almost center) through TicketMaster this past December. This was going to be a birthday present but I ending up telling him about it today. In showing him the tickets I noticed that there is a VIP Package (Q&A meet-n-greet) available for hardly any more money. I'm 99% sure that did exist in December or I would have bought those.  I called Ticketmaster and  they said I would have to submit for a refund for my current tickets and purchase new tickets under the VIP Package. The thing is, the VIP seating is 7 or 8 rows back and not nearly as good as the ones I've already purchased. I asked if I could just pay more for the VIP extras but keep my existing seats. She just reiterated what she had already said.

 

I know it's a stretch, but if anyone has any ideas of how to talk to someone at TicketMaster who may be able to get this done I would be extremely grateful. My son is self taught and very talented but also very shy. My hope is taking to see a couple of his heroes in person may help break him out of his shell and if he actually got to meet them it would be incredible.

 

Thanks for reading through this,

 

Dave

[D. Gauss]

Keep your seats.  F ticketmaster, too!  They'll only mess things up.

You have some time. If it were me, I'd reach out to either his management, the venue/promoter, or even Vai himself (you'd be surprised who you can reach on FB and what's left of Twitter.  You're not asking for something for free, so that ups your odds considerably.  Worse comes to worse, you stand outside the venue and say "hi" to him on the way in or out of soundcheck. It's not like there's gonna be a Beatle mob there.  good luck!

[The Real MC]

I stopped patronizing TicketBastard since 1987 when I learned they charged a $5 shipping and handling fee for a 7x2inch embossed colored card stock.  Today their ticket charges are outrageous.

[Mark Zeger]

5 hours ago, D. Gauss said:

Keep your seats.  F ticketmaster, too!  They'll only mess things up.

You have some time. If it were me, I'd reach out to either his management, the venue/promoter, or even Vai himself (you'd be surprised who you can reach on FB and what's left of Twitter.  You're not asking for something for free, so that ups your odds considerably.  Worse comes to worse, you stand outside the venue and say "hi" to him on the way in or out of soundcheck. It's not like there's gonna be a Beatle mob there.  good luck!

This ^ all day

 

My oldest daughter was a trumpet performance major in college. When a highly esteemed, British trumpet player announced a performance near her, I got my daughter tickets as a gift and, with 1 email, arranged a lesson with the artist. If you or your son reached out to Satriani and/or Vai, I’d would be shocked if they didn’t agree to meet him. Not sure asking for a lesson is pushing things.

 

[Joe Muscara]

How old is your son, @DaveMcM?

[Docbop]

Guys like Vai are usually pretty cool about meeting fans informally.   Try to get ahold of them through their social media and tell them your son is a HUGE fan and if he would autograph your son's guitar.    They might say yes and tell you a time to meet them in their hotel lobby and say hello and sign the guitar.   

[DaveMcM]

10 hours ago, Joe Muscara said:

How old is your son, @DaveMcM?

He is 20.

 

[DaveMcM]

Guys, thank you for the responses. I’ll take the advice and try to reach out to them and see what happens.

 

Thanks again.

[stoken6]

On 2/2/2024 at 8:01 PM, D. Gauss said:

Worse comes to worse, you stand outside the venue and say "hi" to him on the way in or out of soundcheck

Warning OT - but this is probably the best thread to add my story on this subject.

 

My daughter is a musical theatre obsessive. I took her to see Newsies here in London, and she asked if we could stay behind at the stage door after the show to meet the cast. I was reluctant - it would be late, and we would still have to travel back home afterwards. Equally, I didn't want to disappoint her (she'd made a poster of the show to give to the cast, for example).

 

Anyway we're walking from the tube (subway) station to the theat[re][er] venue and she taps my arm. "Dad, those two guys behind you are in the cast!". She's too shy to say anything, but I'm not. "Hey! Hi folks, excuse me! Yes you! You're in the show right? My daughter is your biggest fan!". Anyway Ryan Kopel (playing Davey) was gracious enough to talk to her for a few minutes before the show, and accept the poster - and Michael Ahomka-Lindsay (Jack Kelly) said hello as well. 

 

My little girl was walking through the clouds for the next two hours, and couldn't stop buzzing all evening. 

 

Best part - when the show was over, we saw what was easily the thick end of 100 people waiting outside the stage door. We went straight home, mission accomplished.

 

Cheers, Mike.