Chicago 2014

[boatlesspirate]

Wow- Good Pavilion seats were still available on Tuesday morning.

[coralreefer]

Tickets aren't moving at all. I just wanted to see what was available, and was able to pull 4 together in sec 101 row X close to 102, not the far end Pairs were available in 101 W!

[msu#1]

I'm sure after last year people are just waiting for comerica to be announced

[parrothappy]

It is the morning of the concert at Tinley Park and I was poking around Live Nation to see what were left for tickets in the pavilion. The seats still held by the venue in the pavilion (not resale seats) must number 800 or more. Only a few years ago Jimmy could sell out two shows in Chicago with relatively little problem. So what is the issue? Is it because there is no decent large outdoor venue left in Chicago? Does the lack of decent, venue-endorsed tailgating make a difference in Chicago? Are the ticket prices beyond what the demand will support? Is Alpine Valley siphoning off a large number of Chicago area fans (the seats still controlled by Alpine Valley as of this morning are substantially less than what is available at Tinley)? Are Radio Margaritaville and Margaritaville TV making people think twice about spending the money for tickets because the concerts cost nothing over the airwaves? Do the set lists affect the concertgoers decision to attend or not? You are pretty much guaranteed that the set list will vary little so are the days of people going to multiple show pretty much over? Would a single show at Wrigley sell better?

Personally, the ticket prices have forced my wife and I to make a choice to see only one of Jimmy's shows a year and Alpine Valley wins hands down even though we spend the night in Wisconsin instead of driving home from the show (we could and have driven home from East Troy after many shows in the past, it is just a personal decision). If we attend a Tinley Park show we always drive home afterwards. How much of a boost to ticket sales to a Chicago concert would be realized if Alpine Valley were to be closed to concerts as some people speculate?



What are your thoughts and would Jimmy still tour and not play a show in Chicago?

[MikeJW]

Any update on what kind of crowd there was last night? Were there empty seats on the lawn too?

[parrotheadGVSU]

From my view the lawn was only about 80% full. I was in the front row for the 3rd consecutive year and walked out after the show was 3/4 done. The security in the front row were treating everyone like prisoners. It was unfathomable. In my previous 2 years we were allowed to walk up to the railing and have a blast but if we were not standing directly in front of our seat we were instructed to move back. I bought 10 seats to a tune of 10K and while the rest of my group had an OK time it was nowhere near as much fun as our last trip to Tinley back in 2012. We had 100 gallons of water in our swimming pool in the parking lot and were instructed to dump it "or else we will let the air out for you" and the delight the security officers had at popping every beach ball that came within 10 feet of them was enough to make me want to cry. After about 2-3 songs JB's body guard let us approach the railing which was awesome and brought my wife to tears of excitement but 3 songs later they "changed their minds" and made us go back to our seats.

I worked my tail off to pay for this experience for my wife/inlaws/sister/parents and best friend and disappointment is the only feeling I was left with. I remember back in my high school days I would scrape nickels together to buy a lawn seat and after this B.S. I just might have to go back if I ever go back. J.B. and I locked eyes more than once while I was sulking in my chair while being watched by no less than 7 security guards in front of my 10 seat stretch and I do not doubt he recognized my disappointment. I totally understand safety for JB and his band as well as that of the fans but treating us like captive prisoners in the front row was excessive.

Jimmy seemed to be going through the motions and didn't seem like he was having any fun which further helped me leave my chair and head for the parking lot.

The tailgate however was the best ever. We ignored the warning from security about our swimming pool and we had plenty of water to splash in for the entire afternoon. It was great to meet up and tailgate with friends we had met over the past several years. Our tailgate was 5 cars and 14 people deep and we picked up another few to add to the convoy next year....if the next 11 months help me get over this feeling.

I'm sure there are those who had a blast and I guarantee I would have if not for the security forces in full effect. I've been a lurker on this site ever since 2000 and felt that I had to post my feelings and review as a way to vent and hopefully help get over this terrible experience. People speak of getting to meet their favorite singer/athlete etc. but I always had the feeling that it's best to leave something up to the imagination as perhaps the takeaway from meeting that person to no fault of either party may tarnish the history of "what if". I felt like JB's security forced the Tinley folks to keep the front row under control. For God's sake, how much harm can people with graying hair, fake knees, new hips, and happy drunks in $1K seats do in the event they got over the fence and through the body guards??

[parrotheadGVSU]

From my view the lawn was only about 80% full. I was in the front row for the 3rd consecutive year and walked out after the show was 3/4 done. The security in the front row were treating everyone like prisoners. It was unfathomable. In my previous 2 years we were allowed to walk up to the railing and have a blast but if we were not standing directly in front of our seat we were instructed to move back. I bought 10 seats to a tune of 10K and while the rest of my group had an OK time it was nowhere near as much fun as our last trip to Tinley back in 2012. We had 100 gallons of water in our swimming pool in the parking lot and were instructed to dump it "or else we will let the air out for you" and the delight the security officers had at popping every beach ball that came within 10 feet of them was enough to make me want to cry. After about 2-3 songs JB's body guard let us approach the railing which was awesome and brought my wife to tears of excitement but 3 songs later they "changed their minds" and made us go back to our seats.

I worked my tail off to pay for this experience for my wife/inlaws/sister/parents and best friend and disappointment is the only feeling I was left with. I remember back in my high school days I would scrape nickels together to buy a lawn seat and after this B.S. I just might have to go back if I ever go back. J.B. and I locked eyes more than once while I was sulking in my chair while being watched by no less than 7 security guards in front of my 10 seat stretch and I do not doubt he recognized my disappointment. I totally understand safety for JB and his band as well as that of the fans but treating us like captive prisoners in the front row was excessive.

Jimmy seemed to be going through the motions and didn't seem like he was having any fun which further helped me leave my chair and head for the parking lot.

The tailgate however was the best ever. We ignored the warning from security about our swimming pool and we had plenty of water to splash in for the entire afternoon. It was great to meet up and tailgate with friends we had met over the past several years. Our tailgate was 5 cars and 14 people deep and we picked up another few to add to the convoy next year....if the next 11 months help me get over this feeling.

I'm sure there are those who had a blast and I guarantee I would have if not for the security forces in full effect. I've been a lurker on this site ever since 2000 and felt that I had to post my feelings and review as a way to vent and hopefully help get over this terrible experience. People speak of getting to meet their favorite singer/athlete etc. but I always had the feeling that it's best to leave something up to the imagination as perhaps the takeaway from meeting that person to no fault of either party may tarnish the history of "what if". I felt like JB's security forced the Tinley folks to keep the front row under control. For God's sake, how much harm can people with graying hair, fake knees, new hips, and happy drunks in $1K seats do in the event they got over the fence and through the body guards??

[weirdo0521]

It is the morning of the concert at Tinley Park and I was poking around Live Nation to see what were left for tickets in the pavilion. The seats still held by the venue in the pavilion (not resale seats) must number 800 or more. Only a few years ago Jimmy could sell out two shows in Chicago with relatively little problem. So what is the issue? Is it because there is no decent large outdoor venue left in Chicago? Does the lack of decent, venue-endorsed tailgating make a difference in Chicago? Are the ticket prices beyond what the demand will support? Is Alpine Valley siphoning off a large number of Chicago area fans (the seats still controlled by Alpine Valley as of this morning are substantially less than what is available at Tinley)? Are Radio Margaritaville and Margaritaville TV making people think twice about spending the money for tickets because the concerts cost nothing over the airwaves? Do the set lists affect the concertgoers decision to attend or not? You are pretty much guaranteed that the set list will vary little so are the days of people going to multiple show pretty much over? Would a single show at Wrigley sell better?

Personally, the ticket prices have forced my wife and I to make a choice to see only one of Jimmy's shows a year and Alpine Valley wins hands down even though we spend the night in Wisconsin instead of driving home from the show (we could and have driven home from East Troy after many shows in the past, it is just a personal decision). If we attend a Tinley Park show we always drive home afterwards. How much of a boost to ticket sales to a Chicago concert would be realized if Alpine Valley were to be closed to concerts as some people speculate?



What are your thoughts and would Jimmy still tour and not play a show in Chicago?

My take....Ticket costs...Radio Margaritaville playing every concert allowing people to realize there is not much difference from one show to another,...the bulk of Jimmy's fans reaching a certain age with plenty of shows already under their belts...all these things combined I think are the difference.

I bet is was about 80% full on Saturday. Personally I loved it, lines were shorter and it sets a different tone for the whole atmosphere. I hadn't been to a show in a few years. Probably the longest gap between shows in 25 years. It was great to see it live again, had a great time, and pleasantly surprised to have very few issues with the venue. That being said, I don't feel the need to go to Detroit and catch him again.

I have a hard time believing that he would leave the Chicago area off a Summer Tour.

[LIPH]

snipped to save space

I bought 10 seats to a tune of 10K ...

There's your problem right there. I'd stay home before I paid that much. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, is worth that much to me. I've seen Buffett well over 100 times going back 25 years and I don't think I've spent a total of $10,000 on tickets. But whatever blows your dress up.

[HokiePirate2Late]

I got two free tickets from a Live Nation contact the Wednesday before the show. I was about 15 rows from the back of the 204 dead center section and we had about 10 people in the entire row. The row behind us had 4 total and that seemed to be the trend looking forward for the 200 sections. Lawn, as stated before, was about 75-80% full.

The lots seemed to be a bit younger around my spot. A lot of 22 year old 1st/2nd timers. It seemed most were there only to get blacked out drunk. I'm all for a good time but these guys seemed to get silly drunk which was confirmed when a few were already passed out in their chairs when we left before the "encore". I'll continue to go to his Chicago shows but we don't go big for these. Alpine is so much more of a good time and I can't wait for my group of 15 to set up shop there.

[rmissbrook]

I must have been at a different concert! I was in Row N of Section 105 for which I paid about $100. Seats all around us were all taken. Everybody was having a good time. I thought Jimmy was really stoked by the audience reactions. I loved that he did several "oldies". I had a great time and so did the two Buffett Virgins I brought with me. They were amazed by how many people were on the lawn and so was I considering we had a heavy rainfall right before the concert and it was really wet on the lawn. Let's not over analyze things,

[parrotheadGVSU]

--UPDATE--

My sister made a few phone calls last week the director of HR from First Midwest called her back to discuss some of the issues and disappointments we experienced. In short, LiveNation / First Midwest normally staffs the front row area with 10 security guards. JB requested 35. They had to hire or add 25 extra people which the HR lady used as an explanation for their less than kind attitudes. At one point during the show JB looked at us and said "Don't blame me blame OSHA" but I find his comment to contradict what the HR person from the venue stated. Perhaps Jimmy wanted to have enough people around to catch him in case he fell off the stage again. All in all I still feel like I did when I realized Santa Claus was more imaginary than reality. What a bummer. You never know what underlying circumstances surround the real situation. I'm sure there is a logical explanation for why JB wanted 35 people up in the front section and I am not deserving of an explanation from him but as a lifelong parrothead I cannot help but feel deflated and disappointed that my man would pull that kind of BS.