Dark Horse Tour
I purchased tickets to see Nickelback, Shinedown, Breaking Benjamin and Sick Puppies in Spokane this May. That, to me, is a pretty solid lineup.
It’ll be my second time seeing Nickelback, Shinedown, and Breaking Benjamin. I’ve seen Sick Puppies three times.
I bring this up for 3 reasons.
Number 1. Every one of these bands puts on a great show. Nickelback and Shinedown have a great veteran vibe and know how to work up a crowd. We caught Nickelback last year in Spokane and Shinedown on their own tour at the Showbox Sodo in Seattle. ((On a side note, there is NO better way to watch a show in a medium sized venue then the SoDo)). Nickelback had Breaking Benjamin (as well as Papa Roach and Three Days Grace) on tour. The Shinedown show included Sick Puppies (along with Adelita’s Way and Cavo). The first Sick Puppies show we caught was on the 3 Doors Down tour (with Staind and Hinder).
So, I’m really happy to be going to see these bands again.
Secondly. I went ahead and opted for VIP tickets this time. Partly because the show is around the time of our wedding anniversary so the little extras, early entry, and the better seats sounded like a good anniversary type gift for my wife.
But also, and this is number 3, because the lady (Live Nation employee) that I spoke to on the phone about tickets seemed to be completely lost with regards to me buying something from her.
I’m aware of the ticket purchasing issues with Ticketmaster. I’ve heard the stories about unfair fees, jacked up ticket prices, and whatnot. But I’ll say this for Ticketmaster. When I’ve wanted to purchase at ticket, and I’ve purchased alot of tickets, they seem to completely understand the concept of giving me a ticket to a given seat in exchange for my money. Not so, it seems with this Live Nation employee that I ran into. In the course of a 15 minute phone call, I was put on hold no less then 4 times so that the person at the other end of my phone call could check with another person. First that there was a Spokane show. Then that there were tickets available for the show. Then that there were still VIP tickets available that weren’t special pre-sale tickets. Lastly over which of the 3 types of VIP tickets were available.
Finally, I put her on hold (hung up) and puchased the tickets over the internet. It was actually cheaper. I can assume that there is some sort of extra fee for the “privledge” of speaking to a live person on the phone.
If this is an example of Ticketmaster’s competition. I think they’re safe.
Ticket buying drama aside, I have high hopes that I’ll enjoy the show. It being part of an Anniversay gift, I’m planning to spend the night at the Davenport and do the whole limo to the show and back deal.
Don’t tell the wife.
-dr