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Dear Mr. Buffett,

As I am sure you are aware of, there is a terrible problem within the way tickets are sold to your shows. As I write this today, there are many, many unsatisfied ParrotHeads in the world today. Many who are your true fans. Yet this season, they may not get to see you perform.

I understand that you are an extremely busy individual, but I do have to believe that you care about your Phlock. The people who's lives you have all touched in your own special way. Because of this I am starting this petition. I have asked that everyone who reads this sign this petition in their own unique way.

For each signature will come from a follower of your music, your literature and mostly your philosophy of life. Unfortunately, each signature also represents a dissapointed fan and more importantly, a dissatisfied consumer. Each individual is signing this petition in hopes that you will understand their frustration and use your ever present business savvy to find a more ammicable and fair way of offering your event tickets. Please remember that in all business, the customer is always correct and it is the seller's responsibility to ensure that their satisfaction is met.

Sincerly and With Love,
Your Feathered Phlock

I Love you!

i definatly agree...i love the music the lifestyle and the inspiration...i just wish it was easier to get too...theres nothing better then hearing the music that you love the most live...

Mr. B:

I wanted to get a show, any show, that would make the summer better. I don't know if and when the military will call and take away my husband. I just wanted something to look forward too. Unfortunately, what I found was that tickets are not even an option anymore. I am so happy for you that you can still fill a venue in a matter of minutes and show all the little punks how it's done, but what I would rather see is you set up your own ticket company -- the way you set up your record company to avoid their crap! Then you can make all or more of the profit and set it up so that fans get the tickets, not brokers or scalpers. I have seen several suggestions on how this could be done, I especially like the idea of only doing a will call pick up! Those of us who love you want to find a way to see you and put the ticket gougers out of business at the same time. Thank you.

I too want to be heard. We have been faithful followers for years...since I was 16 and SON OF A SAILOR was a new release and we were listening to it on 8 track...many many moons ago. Please do listen to what is to be said regarding tickets sales. We have been shut out 4yrs in a row and refuse to pay $200 for a single lawn seat. For the last 2 years we have turned our lawn into mini Great Woods and have saved driving time, but it's still not the same.
Jimmy are you listening..................?

Unfortunately, I also have to add myself to the list of unhappy and unsatisfied phans. I have not missed a summer show for the last 8 years and this could be my first. Something needs to be done. Jimmy, your phans are suffering while many make a fortune off our misfortunes. Please help the cause.
Shutout in CT!!!!

gowarm wrote:Please remember that in all business, the customer is always correct and it is the seller's responsibility to ensure that their satisfaction is met.

Or he could pack up his guitar and not play at all.... trust me, he doesn't need our money and honestly he doesn't owe us anything.

While I wish there was a better process, I agree with Key Lime. The limited amout of shows makes it difficult, so being creative is an the only way. If every ticket were sold online, (no outlets), limited amout of ticket purchase, it would still be the same. My football tickets have a seat premium attached, (I have to pay $360.00 per ticket just to be able to purchase the ticket) and they are all sold. So I don't have an answer. Great music, great fun, and fan loyalty have a price, sometimes it can take something away from the fun, but that is life.

I agree with all of you....We have been going to see Jimmy the last 20 years. Every year tickets are harder to come by. We had 12 people yesterday trying to get our tickets spread out in Ohio and PA. Guess what- NO LUCK. Were still takin the 48 passenger bus down to Pittsburgh on August 19th and were just going to party in the parking lot. Hope the "BUFFETT MAN " will be singing there again in the parking lot...Had the best time last year in the parking lot and we won't have to pay the $6.50 charge for Star Lakes draft beer. No we won't pay the scalpers their price to get in. So long Jimmy....hopefully you will start playing in larger places or maybe you can start playing 2 nites at a venue like you used to do so we can have a better chance to get tickets. You will be sadly missed this year....

I too am a disappointed fan who got shut out. I arrived at my ticket venue office 7 1/2 hours before the ticket window opened.

I understand the logistics that Mr. Buffett has no control over, so I make 1 and only 1 suggestion. Knock down the ticket limit to 2 per person.

I believe there is too many people buying the max allowed only to try to turn them into profit. If you cut down the ticket limit more of the people who are purchasing for themselves should get tickets. I realize that some people have phamily or phriends they like to enjoy the show with and want to sit together with them but hey, at a JB show any person next to you is a phriend. Besides, for the summer venues offering the lawn seating, it makes no difference about the specifics of your ticket as to whether or not you can sit together, JUST AS LONG AS YOU CAN GET A TICKET!!!

I realize a 2 ticket limit is pretty extreme, but damn it this is an extreme situation!!!!

Signed,



A voice who would like to be heard

Tickets should cost $100 each, minimum.

As a Phellow artist, and part of the Phlock,,
I have been really fortunate to go to your shows....
When I used to make a lot of $$$ i could afford scalpers.. no longer
I am happier not working 3 jobs now..
and that was my choice,, so I am part of the phlock and always will be a
true parrothead..
we feel it is time to let all of us have a fair chance of obtaining tickets,
cut the middle man out (ticketBasterd) -(sic) and have your management company sell the tix...
we know you remember the good old days of printing tickets through
your sponsors,, heck they could even be commemorative, with parrots and tropical designs...
your fans will pay the extra $30 bux for your efforts and we can all make the shows...
just an opinion and I know they all stink.. but we love your tunes buddy..
and it's a real problem getting tix with new 'keets being born every day and the phan base is getting larger... please help us..

Respectfully,
all the best to you and yours Bubba,
james & nora & our 'keets

I agree with YNONINO in principle. Use the following price structure: Lower Pavillion $150, Upper Pavillion $100, Lawn $50. This would curtail demand for tickets and reduce the incentive (potential profit) for ticket resellers.

Tickets for Great Woods should follow a Vegas price structure ($200 - $75)

The abundance of ticket reselling is the result of tickets being underpriced. Billy Joel and Elton John have found a price scheme that effectively combats the problem. Jimmy and other high demand artists should follow their lead.

I'm glad to see that there are a few who have responded to my petition. I'm glad most were positive responses. I'm comitted to keep this thing going until I get every last BN'er to sign and do so in a positive manner Key Lime. I have plans to print this petition and send it to the appropriate avenues in hopes of making a small wave for a better ticket selling process.

In case any are interested, I am not disgruntled. I did manage to get tickets for 2 to both shows I wanted to see this year through TicketMaster. Still, there have been years that I have been shutout also and I would like to see nothing more than a more ammicable way of ticket distribution in the future.

Remember, we do have one thing on our side and that is I believe our target, unlike many others, truly do care about us and do not see us ad merely a way to increase their empire. Let yourself be heard in a positive tone. Let's band together and try to change the system we currently live in.

gowarm wrote: Let's band together and try to change the system we currently live in.

What are you proposing for a more amicable system? And keep in mind, your system needs to be equal in efficiency to the current system (love it or hate it, it distributes 45-60,000 tickets in under 20 minutes to people all over the country) and, apparently, needs to be more fair to fans while eliminating brokers. Plus, it also has to work within the confines of the realities of the music business, ie most of the venues Jimmy plays are owned by Clearchannel and/or have exclusive agreements with Ticketmaster for the distribution of tickets.

My point is that Jimmy is in the last 10 years of playing venues this size. He has many other interests. Why would he want to spend the considerable time and the money it would take to go against the very nature of the concert business these days?

This has been going on for years, nothing will ever be done about it..

We too were shutout for Great Woods. We had 10 people trying and could not get 1 single ticket. This is our first time in 5 years that we were shutout. Another friend who goes every year with 2 bus loads (usually the first 2 buses in the lot) could only manage 8 tickets for Thursday out of all his friend trying.

What made it worse was that at 10:01 I was in to Ticketmaster online. My section (12) rows and seats came up. I was floored!! But, then when I clicked to process them, the dreaded area message came up that there was a problem. What was freaky, when I went back to the main page (now 10:03) it told me tickets were not on sale yet??? For the rest of the time I tried, I got messages that there were say 15 minutes processing time...it would drop to 8...4...2...1 and then jump back to 7, how the hell does that happen??? Finally the "there was an error processing your order" message came up. This happened over and over and over.

Whose bright idea was it to sell Buffett and Justin Timberlake/Christina A. tickets at the same time? Between us Parrotheads and the Justin teeny bobbers...Ticketmaster could not handle it.

I think JB should consider adding a 3rd show and sell it by lottery.

Limiting the amount of tickets per person, would only make the brokers "contract" more people to snatch them up for them. This would drive up the brokers cost, and in essence, drive up the cost of tickets even higher. The brokers (on a whole) are making more money then Jimmy and the Band are, that is where the problem is. I would have no problem paying twice the price for a ticket, if I new that the profits where going to someone (or some cause) that would continually increase the level of entertainment provided.

not that this will make anyone happy, but there are venues that print out the max tix until they are gone...if you want 2 you get 8...kinda like the soup nazi...you only want 2 tickets...no tickets for you...it makes their line move as fast as possible since they have one line to get your tickets and another to pay once you get them....more people get tickets at these outlets but less get them at others as a result, it also makes scalpers out of people who normally wouldn't be...

the 'problem' has many layers to get through before it is solved. I admit that there are many scalpers that buy seats, but I think the main issue is there are phans that will come great distances to see shows...any show on saturday I consider...if its 100 or 1000 miles away...there may only be 20,000 seats for a show and 50,000 people who want them...then 2000 of these seats may be sold to scalpers, 1000 season ticket holders, another 2000 for PH clubs, corona, seagram's, and band members (and in vegas high rollers)...now you have 14,000 seats for 50,000 fans...I think there is a misperception of how many people really want tickets to these shows....

i don't really think the answer is more shows either...U2 tried this a few years back and people went to see them 4 nights in a row...sure if all the shows go onsale at the same time that distributes ticket sales, but what if I am first in line and say give me 8 for all 4 shows...they will go just as fast.

Think positive. We've been shut out from Great Woods the last 4 years when it come to the day of the sale, but we always get tickets. I have not missed a show in 12 years.

Example. I was shut out Saturday, came to work today and a guy I work with got 8 tix. He sold me two at face value as long as I cover his cost at my parking lot party (margaritas and DJ cost all day). It was a no brainer.

This time it was easy, There have been years that I didn't have tix till August. Just keep working at it!