What pissed you off today?

[jingle.boy]

Nick's wedding was hella fun.

Hell fuckin yeah it was    Best wedding I've been to, and that includes my own! 

The Groom was just ok.

[Adami]

Hell fuckin yeah it was    Best wedding I've been to, and that includes my own! 

The Groom was just ok.

I don't remember a groom.

I do remember a dashing Canadian fella making everyone look bad on the dance floor.





I also remember a lot of long guitar solos.

[ganpondorodf]

Roundabouts, or traffic circles or whatever they're called in America... man, people round my way just don't understand how they work. You don't give way to someone trying to enter when you're already in it! See also: four way stops. Stop trying to be polite and let me out first, there's a damn system!

[cramx3]

Roundabouts, or traffic circles or whatever they're called in America... man, people round my way just don't understand how they work. You don't give way to someone trying to enter when you're already in it! See also: four way stops. Stop trying to be polite and let me out first, there's a damn system!

+1

Roundabouts are quite annoying when you hit a bunch in the row driving in the Netherlands, but I think that's a better solution than lights or 4 way stops.  Too bad us Americans, generally, don't understand how to drive.

[TAC]

We call it a rotary around here. When we went to Ireland, I thought they'd be a huge problem with driving on the opposite side and all, but honestly, they made it easier to navigate the intersections. There was no thought involved, just go with the flow.

[jingle.boy]

I don't remember a groom.

I do remember a dashing Canadian fella making everyone look bad on the dance floor.





I also remember a lot of long guitar solos.

I remember scotch and cigars, and three awesome bald fellas.

And tiny hats.

[wolfking]

Roundabouts, or traffic circles or whatever they're called in America... man, people round my way just don't understand how they work. You don't give way to someone trying to enter when you're already in it! See also: four way stops. Stop trying to be polite and let me out first, there's a damn system!

This sort of thing makes me laugh, happens quite a bit here too.  I'm sitting there waiting for someone who has right away yet they wave me to go through.  "No bitch, learn the road rules, you have right away."  I sit there in principle and make them go through no matter how much they try and wave me through.

[ganpondorodf]

This sort of thing makes me laugh, happens quite a bit here too.  I'm sitting there waiting for someone who has right away yet they wave me to go through.  "No bitch, learn the road rules, you have right away."  I sit there in principle and make them go through no matter how much they try and wave me through.

I try to do the same but usually crack if they are really insisting (and we're the only two at the stop), then speed off with my hands in the air in incredulity 

[wolfking]

I try to do the same but usually crack if they are really insisting (and we're the only two at the stop), then speed off with my hands in the air in incredulity 

   Outstanding!  Yeah, to be fair, there has been a couple of times where the other person has out sat me and I've ended up doing the same thing.

[Grappler]

Roundabouts, or traffic circles or whatever they're called in America... man, people round my way just don't understand how they work. You don't give way to someone trying to enter when you're already in it! See also: four way stops. Stop trying to be polite and let me out first, there's a damn system!

We have the opposite problem - in my county outside of Chicago, they've built a handful of them and people don't understand them at all.  They think they're merging onto a highway, so they go as fast as they can to try and race someone else from getting into the roundabout first, rather than slow down as they approach in case they have to yield.  I always slow down when I see someone approaching from the left - I'll let them go first, rather than enter at my own slower speed. 

What I truly hate is when people stay glued to the bumpers of the car ahead of them as they enter, so you have a train of 4-5 cars all entering from one side, preventing others on the right from entering at an orderly flow.

[El Barto]

We don't have them down South (and I think of them as roundabouts), but I've come to appreciate them when I come across them. As Cram said, they're a big improvement over 4 way stops (and probably cause even less confusion).

As for people trying to wave me in ahead of my turn, it's amazing how annoying somebody can be when they're just trying to be courteous. When I approach an intersection I know who's where on all four sides, and who should be going when. Comes with being both observant and highly aggressive. I'll actually time my stop to make sure I'm quite obviously the first or last to arrive. Seems like that should make things easier, but it damn sure does not.

One of life's great annoyances is people who simply cannot enter an intersection unless all other cars have come to a complete stop. I don't blindly assume that oncoming traffic is going to stop, that would be foolish, but once they've already begun stopping, made eye contact, and perhaps even waved me through, I do trust that they're not going to suddenly stomp on it to T-bone me like some idiot criminals from a bad episode of CHiPs.

[cramx3]

This sort of thing makes me laugh, happens quite a bit here too.  I'm sitting there waiting for someone who has right away yet they wave me to go through.  "No bitch, learn the road rules, you have right away."  I sit there in principle and make them go through no matter how much they try and wave me through.

As annoying as it is, I'm not playing games with the road idiots.  If they wave me on, I'm going even if it makes no sense.  Of course I'll still check the angles and make sure it's safe and no one else is assuming proper protocol from the other directions.  Got to watch out for that person waving you to turn right into another vehicle

When I approach an intersection I know who's where on all four sides, and who should be going when. Comes with being both observant and highly aggressive. I'll actually time my stop to make sure I'm quite obviously the first or last to arrive. Seems like that should make things easier, but it damn sure does not.

ha, actually did that this morning at my local 4 way stop.  Saw a car from each direction and just slowed down before hitting the stop sign to obviously be the last one and it worked well today.

[hefdaddy42]

I remember scotch and cigars, and three awesome bald fellas.

And tiny hats.

Your memory serves you well.

[jingle.boy]

Your memory serves you well.

And a dildo in a knitted hat. 

[Adami]

And a dildo in a knitted hat. 

I have it on good authority that Jackie has that in every rider she has. She won’t show without it.

[chknptpie]

RE: idiot drivers... I can not stand people who don't understand how to merge. Take this location for instance:
https://www.google.com/maps/@33.3366734,-111.893832,350m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu

Going south there are people on a frontage road merging with people coming off the freeway - all headed towards a stop light. People will literally STOP in either lane. I've seen people stop on the front road waiting for a break in the freeway offramp or even worse, drivers coming off the freeway stopping. It creates unsafe driving to just stop when the expected process is to slow and merge.

[jingle.boy]

RE: idiot drivers... I can not stand people who don't understand how to merge. Take this location for instance:
https://www.google.com/maps/@33.3366734,-111.893832,350m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu

Going south there are people on a frontage road merging with people coming off the freeway - all headed towards a stop light. People will literally STOP in either lane. I've seen people stop on the front road waiting for a break in the freeway offramp or even worse, drivers coming off the freeway stopping. It creates unsafe driving to just stop when the expected process is to slow and merge.

Lol... I know that area all too well!  Spent many drives on that exact ramp on the way to the office when I was in AZ.  And yeah, that merging and lane swapping was a bit of a gong show at morning and afternoon rush hours.  I purposefully would try to come into the office before 8, or after 9:30 or 10, and leave around 6 to avoid that nightmare.  Fortunately, I was often coming from the south, and not need to hit that area.

[Chino]

Tickets went on sale today for a guy named Andrea Bocelli. The concert is in December.   

My mom mentioned she wanted to go, so I thought I'd buy her tickets for Mothers' Day. I waited for tickets to go on sale and I was 90th in the queue. I was let in at 10:01, and by that time, more than half of the tickets for the show were unavailable. Floor seats were $1000 per, and the shittiest nosebleed seats were still commanding a whopping $247 each (cheapest seat available). Keep in mind, these are not resale or scalping prices. This is what the primary market is being asked to pay.



What gives? Who the hell is this guy? How can his act cost more than a viewing of Turandot at The Met in NYC? (Turandot is arguably the most lavish opera there is, and one that requires a small army of people, both on and off stage, to pull off).

Needless to say, my mom will be getting something else for Mothers' Day.

[Stadler]

Well, Bocelli is one of the greatest singers who ever lived, so there's that.

But I've always questioned whether it really IS the "primary market" or not; it's really hard to tell how that works, and if you look at that seat plan there's ZERO rhyme or reason as to what seats are gone and what remain.  For the same price, why would you buy tickets five rows further back if you were given the opportunity to move up?  Makes no sense.

I do not trust the ticketing algorithms for the bigger shows.

[cramx3]

Well, Bocelli is one of the greatest singers who ever lived, so there's that.

Yup, this is expected actually.

But it's also a sign of the times. Concert tickets are outrageous for the top acts like this.  It's the same with trying to see Aerosmith.  My local show was $250 face value for the worst seat in the house. No thanks.

[Chino]

Well, Bocelli is one of the greatest singers who ever lived, so there's that.

I saw Clay Aiken at the Big E for free.   

I kid, I kid. But still... $900+ for the 30th row seems absolutely insane to me. I can't think of any other artist, or band, that has come close to that. I've seen seats sell for that much in the first few rows for certain acts, but the entire floor commanding that price is something else. I've never seen anything like it.

[Metro]

Just last week I saw someone go the wrong direction in a roundabout. There’s signs with arrows pointing which way traffic is supposed to flow. How do you fuck up that badly?

At that same roundabout, I’ve also seen someone drive straight ahead and crash into the bushes in the median.

[TheHoveringSojourn808]

Just last week I saw someone go the wrong direction in a roundabout. There’s signs with arrows pointing which way traffic is supposed to flow. How do you fuck up that badly?

At that same roundabout, I’ve also seen someone drive straight ahead and crash into the bushes in the median.

Sounds like a nightmare to remember

[cramx3]

I saw Clay Aiken at the Big E for free.   

I kid, I kid. But still... $900+ for the 30th row seems absolutely insane to me. I can't think of any other artist, or band, that has come close to that. I've seen seats sell for that much in the first few rows for certain acts, but the entire floor commanding that price is something else. I've never seen anything like it.

You aren't looking hard enough!  seriously, just go search some of the biggest names touring and you'll see.  I don't know who can afford this, but people pay it! It's incredible to me that people will fork that much money for a concert, and this is coming from someone who LOVES concerts.  I guess I can see a scenario where I will pay serious money to see a show, but that's like "Iron maidens final show" type of thing.  Not a typical tour. 

I've gone to 5 shows this year for $50 and under.  I'd rather just stack up and see more small shows than fork out something insane for one night. 

[El Barto]

Yup, this is expected actually.

But it's also a sign of the times. Concert tickets are outrageous for the top acts like this.  It's the same with trying to see Aerosmith.  My local show was $250 face value for the worst seat in the house. No thanks.

$99 for seats behind the stage. Your on point, though. Even down here that's one stupidly expensive show. I have to wonder who's actually buying these things. "OhmygodiftheyplayCryingI'lljustdie!"

Tickets went on sale today for a guy named Andrea Bocelli. The concert is in December.   

My mom mentioned she wanted to go, so I thought I'd buy her tickets for Mothers' Day. I waited for tickets to go on sale and I was 90th in the queue. I was let in at 10:01, and by that time, more than half of the tickets for the show were unavailable. Floor seats were $1000 per, and the shittiest nosebleed seats were still commanding a whopping $247 each (cheapest seat available). Keep in mind, these are not resale or scalping prices. This is what the primary market is being asked to pay.

Same as Cram. Your point is valid, that's a stupidly expensive ticket, but there are plenty of $119 tickets in the nosebleeds, and that's after TT&L.

[Chino]

Not arguing or saying you're wrong, I'm just genuinely curious. What acts today can get that kind of money show after show? Outside of Taylor Swift, a few one-off reunion shows, or something crazy unique like a residency at The Sphere in Vegas, who else can charge $900+ for every floor seat in the house? With the exception of maybe a half dozen bands/acts. I've all but given up on seeing concerts. I haven't done a whole lot of ticket shopping these last few years.

[El Barto]

Well, Bocelli is one of the greatest singers who ever lived, so there's that.

But I've always questioned whether it really IS the "primary market" or not; it's really hard to tell how that works, and if you look at that seat plan there's ZERO rhyme or reason as to what seats are gone and what remain.  For the same price, why would you buy tickets five rows further back if you were given the opportunity to move up?  Makes no sense.

I do not trust the ticketing algorithms for the bigger shows.

There's some truth to this. If I were one of the people in charge of making this thing fair every ticket would have a face value, known in advance of the on-sale date. That's something that never happens anymore. In part because of dynamic "in demand" pricing, and in part because they simply don't want to scare people off. Anybody who adds tickets to their cart and then freaks out at paying 33% in TT&L is just naive; we all know the story. Finding out that the base price of the ticket is $249 while you're on the clock and people are fighting for the few remaining tickets is just plain wrong.

That said, I've learned the game very well. I know how it works and I know how to do alright (or make another plan). I'd like it if concerts were cheaper, but that's simply not going to happen.

[Chino]

Same as Cram. Your point is valid, that's a stupidly expensive ticket, but there are plenty of $119 tickets in the nosebleeds, and that's after TT&L.

To the specific show I mentioned? They must've opened up more seats as the day has gone on, because at 10AM, $247 was the cheapest seat in the venue (you can see that on the slider under the price filter).

[El Barto]

Not arguing or saying you're wrong, I'm just genuinely curious. What acts today can get that kind of money show after show? Outside of Taylor Swift, a few one-off reunion shows, or something crazy unique like a residency at The Sphere in Vegas, who else can charge $900+ for every floor seat in the house? With the exception of maybe a half dozen bands/acts. I've all but given up on seeing concerts. I haven't done a whole lot of ticket shopping these last few years.

Any artist that's gong to sell out the venue he's playing. It really is that simple. Until artists adopt the Garth Brooks model and just play as many dates as it takes to not sell out, this will continue to happen. Bocelli will absolutely sell out the Garden. Very quickly, I suspect. He knows it. The scalpers know it. Live Nation knows it.

[El Barto]

To the specific show I mentioned? They must've opened up more seats as the day has gone on, because at 10AM, $247 was the cheapest seat in the venue (you can see that on the slider under the price filter).

My bad. I'm getting my yankee chums mixed up.    You're looking at Mohegan Sun, and yeah, they're going to scalp you. Most of that's simply the venue. Both Boston Garden and MSG had much more normally priced tickets available. Still stupidly expensive for uppers, but nothing like what the Red Man's gouging you for.

[Chino]

My bad. I'm getting my yankee chums mixed up.    You're looking at Mohegan Sun, and yeah, they're going to scalp you. Most of that's simply the venue. Both Boston Garden and MSG had much more normally priced tickets available. Still stupidly expensive for uppers, but nothing like what the Red Man's gouging you for.

 

I actually reached out to the venue to complain. Not so much about the prices, but more to voice my frustration that half the venue was already unavailable when I was only the 90th person in line. The response I got said Mohegan has absolutely no control over the price of the tickets. Andrea's people basically pay a flat-fee for the venue, and then his people set the prices. 

They dodged the topic of available tickets entirely. My guess is that there's an agreement between the venue and the talent where Mohegan gets 'X' number of seats to give away and comp. If that's the case, maybe Andrea's people have to jack up the prices of the remaining 60% that they're allowed to sell.

[cramx3]

My bad. I'm getting my yankee chums mixed up.    You're looking at Mohegan Sun, and yeah, they're going to scalp you. Most of that's simply the venue. Both Boston Garden and MSG had much more normally priced tickets available. Still stupidly expensive for uppers, but nothing like what the Red Man's gouging you for.

I didn't look myself, but would have thought MSG would be more expensive than CT, but I guess that could be a casino thing.  MSG concerts seem to be more expensive than alternatives usually.

I actually reached out to the venue to complain. Not so much about the prices, but more to voice my frustration that half the venue was already unavailable when I was only the 90th person in line. The response I got said Mohegan has absolutely no control over the price of the tickets. Andrea's people basically pay a flat-fee for the venue, and then his people set the prices. 

They dodged the topic of available tickets entirely. My guess is that's there's an agreement between the venue and the talent where Mohegan gets 'X' number of seats to give away and comp. If that's the case, maybe Andrea's people have to jack up the prices of the remaining 60% that they're allowed to sell.

Is this part of a pre-sale?  Usually there's like multiple different pre-sale codes with different seats allocated to the codes.  So you are never going to see all the tickets available during the presales, from my experience.  You'll have to wait until the full sale, but then you risk the seats being completely unavailable and/or paying a higher price.  I've noticed some pre-sale prices to be cheaper than normal sale.

[Chino]

I didn't see anything that indicated it was a presale. There wasn't any code or special access. The public just had to wait until 10:00 this morning for the "buy tickets" button to become active.

[cramx3]

I didn't see anything that indicated it was a presale. There wasn't any code or special access. The public just had to wait until 10:00 this morning for the "buy tickets" button to become active.

Ah so if it was public, then I'd guess all those other seats were sold during the presale then. 

[El Barto]

It's a well known fact that at the original on-sale time only a small percentage of tickets are sold. This was a big scandal 15 years go whenever some other blond haired tart was selling out stadiums. Citibank gets a bunch of them. The promoter gets a bunch of them. The artist gets a bunch of them. Any sponsors get a bunch of them. The venue gets a bunch of them (in this case casino comps). Of the tickets that are left for the public, which could be as low as 33%, half of them will be "platinum" tickets. More still will be sold as part of packages. If there's a presale some will be sold then and some will be held back for the regular sale.

This only further drives up demand since the supply is artificially limited. And as much as people bitch about bots grabbing tickets for the scalpers, in truth it's all of those holdbacks that get resold for beau coup dollaros.