Who's going to Alpine Valley - June 26th 2010

[Barefoot Gypsy]

WOW......... I am glad to see I am not the only one feeling ripped off by the nice $20.00 fee. What a load of crap!!! Haven't been to Alpine in 20 years and even tho I loved the shoe and liked being back on the lawn for a change.....I don't see ever going back. Had no access to a computer after friday night. Did not get in line too early bcuz of all I read before hand. Was in the line at 1. Traffic was already horrible. At 2:45 as I TURNED INTO the gate I see the freaking $20.00 sign. I am thinking at this point you must be joking if after sitting here for almost 2 hours and only minutes from 3 you are seriously going to charge me $20.00?!?!?!?!? Of course I tried to argue my point as politely as I could and was basically told too bad so sad. I guess if I was thinking quicker I could have refused to move further or pulled off the to the side and got back in line in 10 minutes. I am sorry but I do not in any way find this fair. Alpine knows by now that people come far and wide to JB shows. They know what the parking will be like. If they decide to be idiotic and not open gates until 3 fine. But if you decide to do us a "favor" and let us in early.... AFTER we already paid venue fees and parking...... I am sorry I don't see where they have the right to do so with no warning at all. Then we got parked in the blue lot5. Almost a half hour walk to get in. SERIOUSLY? So you charge us $20 more to park and then park us that far away? Looked like they actually parked cars arriving after 3 closer for no extra money. I am sorry but there is no excuse. Yeah, it is there place and all that good stuff. Bottom line is they ripped us off and had us by the hairs. Really what are you going to do when you turn in and already sat for 2 hours waiting? And like someone else said, I would love to know where that money goes. I am guessing Jimmy don't get any of it. Not that he is hurting for money but seems they were just being greedy jerks because they could. Really nice way to treat people coming to your place in a time when money is tight for all of us already.

Sadly, I walked the lot for 2 hours trying to find BN people and looking for Candyman. Didnt find any. People to the right of us were not very social. People to the left were nice but like me normally go to Chicago and they were disappointed. So the tailgate was a great time to just basically drink and watch people walk by.

Concert was fantastic! I loved the show, I loved being among the other "lawn people" again.

Alpine Valley treatment of us.....

[pooj]

Our bus was "parked" in a low area of the blue lot.....essentially we sank where we stopped. The gal parking us was yelling at us to get our bus moved up so they could jam another one in behind us! Same story with the bus next to us.
Fortunately we put our backs into it after packing up the tailgate before heading into the show and were able to push our bus out.

All of this while higher ground in the yellow lot remained empty? Seriously, what kind of planning goes into this? It sure was "Under the Big Top" this year with the circus parking this year. $100 extra bus parking fee?????? I bet it couldn't be applied to towing charges?

[CheeseHead in Paradise!]

Sorry to hear that, Barefoot Gypsy.

I agree with everyone's comments regarding Alpine's early entry fee. By not giving us any prior notice of their intentions, it was nothing less than highway robbery (pardon the pun).

We were also disappointed by the surprise cover charge for those of us on the BN VIP List Friday night at Hemmingway's. We were told at the door that the VIP List only guaranteed our admission. It's not that we couldn't afford the $10 cover charge, it was just a little awkward and embarressing. Admittedly, the entertainment (Whaleshark, Ilo, South of Disorder) were all way more than worth the price of admission. I just wish I hadn't been misled about it, that's all.

The tailgating in the lots was a blast. The concert was AWESOME! Our seats and Jimmy's set list couldn't have been better! It was easily one of my favorite shows in many years! All in all, it wasn't a bad way to spend a summer weekend in Wisconsin!

Now it's back to work and I am sooooo draggin' this morning

[bonefish]

This is the first I've heard of the $20 parking fee. That's obviously just another way for AV or Live Nation to pad the revenue a little bit. What
As for getting stuck in lines, that's a lesson I learned years ago. If you have a 2 hour drive from (Chicago for example) and you want to be in the lot tailgating by 2 PM, subtract about 2 hours from when you want to leave b/c inevitably, you're going to get stuck in traffic, etc. trying to get in. I'd much rather get there early and spend more time tailgating than sitting in a line of traffic stressing out that I'm missing out on tailgating time.

[FinsUPtechguy]

Wow......so what an amazing weekend.

First want to thank Steve. You have an awesome bar, and thanks so much for setting up the bands, parties, bus, and tailgate. Travelling for shows can be hard when you can't take your tent and grill on the airplane , but it was great. Friday we got the bar at 4 and did not leave till 2am, and was up Saturday and back at the bar by 11am! Met some great people...some on here and some not.

Also, since I posted about it on here...my girlfriend told me when we were leaving yesterday that she "Was hooked" and whenever Jimmy returns to Wisconsin the two of us will be there! Whew, big test passed!

I have been to a lot of venues, and Alpine Valley moved up right toward the top of the list. I was shocked by the amount of buses and RV's in the lot compared to what I normally see on the East Coast. The energy during the whole show was great from both Jimmy and the crowd.

Just a quick comment about the people complaining about the early entrance fee. I know they started doing the same thing at Nissan Pavilion in Virginia a few years back. I know I was happy to pay it because at least they gave us the opportunity to get in, as long as we paid to help staff the lot. They also never publicize it on purpose, but I do get that gripe. To staff a lot for us in not cheap, and it's better then wasting 20 bucks in gas sitting on the road!

Anyway, until next year Wisconsin...FINS UP!

[jkortum]

I agree!!!...Well said!!!!
I'll pay $20 to get in 3 - 4 hours earlier!!!!

I'm glad you had a great time in cheeseland!!!!!!

Wow......so what an amazing weekend.

First want to thank Steve. You have an awesome bar, and thanks so much for setting up the bands, parties, bus, and tailgate. Travelling for shows can be hard when you can't take your tent and grill on the airplane , but it was great. Friday we got the bar at 4 and did not leave till 2am, and was up Saturday and back at the bar by 11am! Met some great people...some on here and some not.

Also, since I posted about it on here...my girlfriend told me when we were leaving yesterday that she "Was hooked" and whenever Jimmy returns to Wisconsin the two of us will be there! Whew, big test passed!

I have been to a lot of venues, and Alpine Valley moved up right toward the top of the list. I was shocked by the amount of buses and RV's in the lot compared to what I normally see on the East Coast. The energy during the whole show was great from both Jimmy and the crowd.

Just a quick comment about the people complaining about the early entrance fee. I know they started doing the same thing at Nissan Pavilion in Virginia a few years back. I know I was happy to pay it because at least they gave us the opportunity to get in, as long as we paid to help staff the lot. They also never publicize it on purpose, but I do get that gripe. To staff a lot for us in not cheap, and it's better then wasting 20 bucks in gas sitting on the road!

Anyway, until next year Wisconsin...FINS UP!

[Patriotic Phlocker]

I too was initially mad about the early entry fee but after some reflection it wasn't that I had to pay it. It was that if I had known about it, I would have gotten in line long before 1:00. To get my monies worth!!! Initally I thought that Live Nation or Alpine was killing the Alpine tailgate as there wasn't nearly as many people there as last year, but in retrospect, I like some of the changes. Portajons were ok to use at 6:00 pm, not near as much trash and crap laying around but not near as much festivities either.

P.S. Was it just me or is the crowd getting younger? I am 39 and felt rather old at the show. Had all these youngsters running back and forth to the bathroom during the show. I think a couple of them went at least five times. They must not of figured out how to slow the drinking down by six so you don't have to go during the show.....Rookies

[Patriotic Phlocker]

And another thing....Steve thanks for the party at Hemingway's. The Pirate's Blood was good but tore my stomach up. People have sometimes said that I am full of it but after Friday night I can honestly say "not anymore!"

[kwoodfan1]

Surprised at the reaction to the early entry fee. $20 seems like a small price for a few extra hours of tailgate. Ticks me off that I listened to the warnings and came later than normal. If they decide to go with the no entry before 3pm next year, we will all be begging to hand over $20 to get in early.

[Richard]

I can say that I had a blast! First time in Alpine Valley and enjoyed it. I didn't think traffic was too bad, either going in or coming out. I have sat for hours before at other venues. Also, I guess I timed it perfectly to avoid the early entry fee. It probably took 30 minutes from where we stopped on the interstate to get into the parking lot but we pulled in at like 3:03. I guess we picked good by turning into the first spot we found which took us into the yellow lot. Good tailgating and nice short walk to get in.

I did get hassled about my hat though. First the security lady said it was too tall because it had a margarita glass on top. Then the manager came over and said the glass was fine but I needed to remove the parrot hanging off one side. He really told me that they didn't allow birds but the shark on top was fine. So I took it off and put it in my pocket and went back through the line. She wouldn't let me in again until I made him come up and say he ok'd it. Then before I got through, another guy came up and checked the glass to make sure it was plastic. Never seen anything like it.

[finsupnorth]

I just wish they would have told us about the early entry. Not so much the fee, but the fact that they were going to do it. Thank you soooooo much Kortums for calling me to tell me about it.. or our bus would have been waiting and waiting and waiting.. bummed we didnt hang out at Hemingway's, but our bus was happy we got in right around 12:30. Yes, they charged an extra $50.00, but nobody on my bus seemed to mind the extra $1 we all collected. Yes, they tried packing us in of course...but since this was not my first rodeo, I immediately jumped off the bus to tell the teenager WHERE we were going to let the next bus park... LOL - works every year....they will try to take advantage if you dont act like you know what is going on..

Anyway, dont mean to toot my own horn, but our group ran smoothly....I knew over-organizing and triple checking every detail would pay off we all had a blast... Got in, got set up, had all of our food hot and ready to go and let the festivities begin. Made some great new friends and reconnected with many more. We even brought home the same amount of people we took...I think they were all the same ones... LOL -- Never a bad time, no matter what!

Thank you to EVERYONE in our group for your help and thank you to ALL of our other friends who came by to visit us as well.... and unless your name is JKortum, everyone is welcome to join us next year... Jim, you dont have a choice...see you on the bus next year!

[Bicycle Bill]

Surprised at the reaction to the early entry fee. $20 seems like a small price for a few extra hours of tailgate. Ticks me off that I listened to the warnings and came later than normal. If they decide to go with the no entry before 3pm next year, we will all be begging to hand over $20 to get in early.

Y'know, that just might be their plan.....   I mean, $20.00 times how many cars???
K-CHINGG!!!

-"BB"-

[finsupnorth]

As for Friday..once again, Steve, Thank You for everything!!!!! You are great!

You never told Tully (??SP) you were going to throw out a blow-up Margaritaville bottle as a prize though... my sister in law got it and blew it up, then they told her she stole it..LOL -- I fixed it You have good staff looking out for ya at least

I bet I know who did steal it though...the guy who tried taking Kerry's from her... It was quite comical...I ran across the bar, jumped over the speakers and met him outside for a chat...dumb kids need to learn not to mess with real parrotheads and steal things.

anyway, thank you again Steve for a great time

[finsupnorth]

Crazy Ticket Story

On ticket day, we bought 6 pavilion and Karen bought 4 pavilion. Turned out we ended up with 2 extra.... We gave everyone in our group their tickets back in March and then sold the 2 extra. Sold them to a friend, who then gave them to someone else....

well, from that set of 4, our friends in Kansas City got 2. Friday morning, they are driving up here and say to Eric, "You have our tickets right?" - Eric told them, NO, we gave them to you in March.... They had NO recollection of this at all and just assumed we had them the entire time... So, we have to call ticketmaster to get them reprinted, cuz those boneheads had no idea where they were. Karen, James and I spend 3 hours on Friday trying to get tickets reprinted either at an outlet or at a copy shop since we were not near a printer of our own. Ticketmaster tells us 1 million different things, with the end result being that we have to get them at will call at the venue with photo id, same credit card, etc. OK, guess we will do that...

So, Karen graciously takes care of it at will call Saturday.... we get the tickets, but they HAVE to reprint all 4 - making all the old ones invalid... GREAT! What do we do now? We dont want those other 2 tickets to be invalid, but we have NO CLUE who those people are...

SO, we set off in a drunken stupper to look for 2 people we have never met in a crowd of 50,000 other drunk people...looking for people who have no idea they even need new tickets...

We finally find the friend I gave the tickets to…who in turn had no idea where the 2 he gave them to were….

In the meantime, these 2 people decide to go in early – discover their tickets are invalid… I am sure they were MIGHTY upset! So, they go back and find the guy that they bought the tickets from…. LUCKILY – he had them!!! Since we made every effort we could to get those tickets in the right hands…. So, in the end, I am sure they were just relieved they got the mess figured out.

The best part, is that the bonehead friends of ours, obviously, would be sitting next to these 2 others….and had to explain the situation. They were okay with it all once they figured out the entire story and I think were just grateful we went out of our way to get them the right tickets… hopefully the boneheads bought them lots of beers…

LOL – glad our bonehead friends aren’t on Buffettnews, but if you do read this Larry and Stacy – REMEMBER tickets next time!!!!!

And they all lived happily ever after………………….every now and then …………..

[RumLover]

I just wish they would have told us about the early entry. Not so much the fee, but the fact that they were going to do it. Thank you soooooo much Kortums for calling me to tell me about it.. or our bus would have been waiting and waiting and waiting.. bummed we didnt hang out at Hemingway's, but our bus was happy we got in right around 12:30. Yes, they charged an extra $50.00, but nobody on my bus seemed to mind the extra $1 we all collected. Yes, they tried packing us in of course...but since this was not my first rodeo, I immediately jumped off the bus to tell the teenager WHERE we were going to let the next bus park... LOL - works every year....they will try to take advantage if you dont act like you know what is going on..

Anyway, dont mean to toot my own horn, but our group ran smoothly....I knew over-organizing and triple checking every detail would pay off we all had a blast... Got in, got set up, had all of our food hot and ready to go and let the festivities begin. Made some great new friends and reconnected with many more. We even brought home the same amount of people we took...I think they were all the same ones... LOL -- Never a bad time, no matter what!

Thank you to EVERYONE in our group for your help and thank you to ALL of our other friends who came by to visit us as well.... and unless your name is JKortum, everyone is welcome to join us next year... Jim, you dont have a choice...see you on the bus next year!

LOL!!! Too funny!!!

Glad we could help you out considering everything you've done for us!!!
We do have to thank my friends friend.....if she hadn't called us we wouldn't have known that they were already in at 11:30!!!

Great time as usual..........and thank you sooooooo much to the Tiki Gods for the awesome weather

[prairie parrothead]

another great show and beautiful weather!

Did anyone happen to take any video of the screen during CILCIA? my wife and I were featured on there with a caption that said '25 years babeeeee'..... sure would love to have a copy!

[looking4OPH]

another great show and beautiful weather!

Did anyone happen to take any video of the screen during CILCIA? my wife and I were featured on there with a caption that said '25 years babeeeee'..... sure would love to have a copy!

If you check the Concert Trading area, you'll soon probably find the video posted from the Ustream broadcast on the internet. I remember seeing your caption during the show and have seen the CILCIA video and it was on it.

[jkortum]

Hey Jolena.. We are thinking about taking the bus next year.. Got any room?

Great to see you again.. Love ya!!!!

Oh!! You better stop by if you come to Minnesota again!!!!!

Thank you to EVERYONE in our group for your help and thank you to ALL of our other friends who came by to visit us as well.... and unless your name is JKortum, everyone is welcome to join us next year... Jim, you dont have a choice...see you on the bus next year!

[gumbo gal]

WOW!!! What a weekend!! Great tunes, friends, boat drinks, and weather!!

I am pleased to report I did not suffer any injuries at Alpine! (unlike the St. Louis show )

Here's a link to my pictures I took during the show! Enjoy!

http://photo2.walgreens.com/walgreens/t ... walgreens/

hope everyone made it home OK. Back to work and reality tomorrow for me oh well. I got a JB habit to support.

is it Alpine 2011 yet?!?

[iacubsfan2]

My first Jimmy show at Alpine was August of 1990
First let me say it was a great time again , weather was great , show was great, band was tight as always

BUT, in my opinion, if Alpine , or really Live Nation , keeps this up, I believe it will only be a matter of time and Jimmy will not be playing Alpine anymore.

The crowd was noticeably smaller than last year, to me not a good sign, and I believe they are not only pricing this show out of reach but also beginning to be too big of fun suckers up there.

I go to Wisconsin , partially because it IS the fun state , however I felt the security was over zealous in many respects.
I am 52 and have been at this a long time, but I was very surprised at the arrests, yes several, that I saw in the parking lots.
Now I fully realize there are laws to abide by BUT, Jimmy did pretty much invent and built his entire persona on the care free have a good time atmosphere that I felt the local authorities were doing their best to squash.

Maybe it was the person I got as I tried to get in the arena, but I tell you it was no less invasive than trying to board an airplane in todays world. We had to empty pockets, were frisked front , back and sides.
I really have never experienced this before to this degree, and by the way we had nothing to hide LOL

We did manage to have a great time, don't get me wrong. I just believe the aspect of why I go to see JB is changing.
I love his music and love the great time it brings, it just felt different to me.