S/O What's the best event/performance seat you've gotten?

[asta]

We once had row 15 floor seats for a Springsteen concert. To get to our seats in a roped off area we had to show our IDs, received arm bands and were walked to the seats by security. We got them by calling another city's Ticketmaster number the minute the tickets went on sale. The local lines were busy but the other Ticketmaster put us right thru. Ticketmaster has changed their systems and this no longer works.

 

[mmouse37]

A few times....bought last minute (the day before) tix to Kenny Chesney at Mohegan Sun a few years ago and was so excited to see we were in the front row!!! They put folding chairs in front of the actual first row which made us the first row on the floor. Had no idea before we bought the tix. I actually felt bad for the people who thought they had the first row.

Free Brad Paisley concert in Central Park....got there early and was let into the VIP section. We were first row, standing right up against the stage (no seats). Got some great pics!!!

Garth Brooks last summer at Yankee Stadium. We got a suite with a bunch of people (friend was a season ticket holder). We had indoor/outdoor seating, beer, wine, soft drinks, food, waitress service. Paid less than people in the first row floor seats. While not super close we had a great view and since it was pouring rain that night we could still enjoy ourselves while everyone else had to leave the stadium seats and huddle in the hallways till the storm passed. Concert got a rain delay of 3 hours. Concert was supposed to start at 8:00 and didn't start until 11:00 pm. We were so grateful we were covered and out of the elements. Best money spent.

MJ

 

[Skippy918]

We had 4th row orchestra seats at one of the final Les Miserables performance on Broadway. I don't know how my friend managed to get these tickets but it was a great performance.
I had 5th row seats at an *NSYNC concert. Again, someone else bought the tickets and I was invited.

 

[Julie's Haircut]

I have lots of great seats in lots of venues over the years. The two that I remember the most.

Sports: Boston Garden, April 1995. Bruins vs. NY Rangers. Not a fan of either team, but this was the last season for the Garden and I wanted to visit one final time. First row of the mezzanine near center ice. It appeared that these seats were built cantilevered out from the original front of the balcony. Excellent view almost hanging over the ice. I was sitting right next to former Rangers goalie and then current broadcaster John Davidson. Some Bruin scored a hat trick and the ice was littered with hats, and one woman must have thrown her bra.

Theater: Summer of 1996. My ex and I saw Julie Andrews in the musical Victor/Victoria in New York and had front row seats. Normally I think that's TOO close, and for the most part, it was. But during the second act Mary Poppins wasn't so practically perfect. While singing a song a long wet glob of snot started dripping from her nose. I'm not sure if she was aware. After the song ended the lights went down for the applause and she disappeared from the stage.

I've also sat as close as 4th row at a Blues game, which wasn't as good as you'd think. We couldn't see the puck at all when it was anywhere near us. But, it was a thrill being that close to the action.

Yeah, I've sat very close before, even right up against the ice. But it's only a good view when the action is right in front of you. The worst seat I had was right behind the visitor's bench, this time during my first visit to the new Boston Garden. The Bruins were playing Anaheim and it was tough to see anywhere on the ice. But I got a few close up photos of Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne.

 

[Branflakes]

Front row Depeche Mode/The Cure
Front row INXS 16th B DAY!!
Front row Duran Duran
10th row Michael Jackson
3rd row Metallica
4th row center Garth Brooks
5th row Lion King Broadway. Was AMAZING
5th row center Josh groban TWICE.
A few others here and there.

 

[mnrose]

Embarrassed to say (because it was a concert for my teen daughter), but we had 3rd row seats to Jonas Brothers which I purchased 4 hours before the concert. We sat, literally, in FRONT of the band's local promoter (who later appeared on stage with the band, so I know he was legit in saying he was a promoter). He asked us early on how we got such "great" seats...and when I told him we purchased them 4 hours before the show, his jaw dropped. LOL. Major score for my daughter. For me, not so much.

 

[ronandannette]

My company has a corporate suite in our local arena (called the Saddledome). I'm invited a couple of time per season to NHL games and the occasional concert. The most recent I one attended was James Taylor.

 

[elphaba91]

I go to the theatre a LOT (I went 30 times last year plus 7 concerts). I LOVE sitting up close and make an effort to book seats in the first few rows, preferably the front row. I've only seen 3 shows so far this year but was in the front row for 1 and the second row for the other 2. My sister is also severely to profoundly deaf and so it helps her that she can also lip read from up close. Plus, you often get some fun interaction, like in Cats we had heaps of performers rubbing up against us, etc. and in A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum we had Geoffrey Rush end up in our laps!

However, probably the coolest seats I've sat in were for Xanadu when we sat onstage. This wasn't the production we saw but the set was pretty similar:


It was my third time seeing the show so I had already seen all the action from the front, so it was really cool to see it from a different angle plus feel like we were part of the show. Plus it was the final show, which is always really special to be a part of.

When we booked the tickets we got the final pair of on stage seats, which looked to be on the side. However when we got there we discovered that the seats weren't assigned. After they gave us a quick debriefing and got ready to take us on stage a couple of groups of people pushed to the front, trying to get better seats. They wound up in the seats furthest to the side while we hung back and ended up smack bang front row centre! I think it helped that we had Xanadu tshirts and our best 80s gear on!

 

[arminnie]

1. My first trip to NY - my friend's father had a GM dealership so we got fabulous GM tickets to the Great White Hope (James Earl Jones), Promises, Promises and Hair. All were in the first 3-4 rows. That was almost 50 years ago.

2. Phantom of the Opera (original Broadway production) - I bought tickets from a scalper about an hour before the performance on a rainy/snowy December midweek night at face value. OMG - they were perfect tickets.

3. Sports - I've been able to watch several games in the New Orleans Super Dome in the owner's box.

 

[kimblebee]

I've sat in the owners box a few times for our local AA (AAA?) baseball team.

 

[sasywtch]

2nd row center in Birmingham for Barry Manilow, 2nd row to the right Barry Manilow in Sacrameto(which worked out well since he spent a lot of time on that side), floor seats to a Kings game when my now ex worked for Coca Cola (lots of Disney on Ice type stuff in their suite also) but my favorite would be seats no one else wanted. My friend and I use to go to SF Giants games a lot when they played at Candlestick and we sat front row above the door to where all the players come out/go in. It was also where the SF pitchers warmed up. I was much younger and the players/pitching coaches would say hi and talk to us when we were there. Got lots of signed balls for people. One time there was no one for 3 sections, security kept coming to check our tickets and kept asking us if we wanted to move down. We were good.

edited to add photo. Took this coming back from the restroom before going down to my seat. I was to the left of the blond, just left of the guy who kept filming with his hands up in the air. Glad I didn't sit behind him.

 

[ctinct]

Fourth row center for the recent revival of The Color Purple on Broadway. Amazing. First row for Rent on Broadway won via the lottery many years ago. Not so amazing. Hit by various singer's spit several times.

My worst seat ever was at one of the final performances of Les Miz that a prior poster had a great seat for. I was literally in the next to the last row of the rear mez on the side, and it's a big house. I wanted to see John Owen-jones, though, and it was a last minute buy. Lucky I got a seat at all.

 

[leebee]

1989, Carrier Dome, Syracuse, NY, Rolling Stones Steel Wheels Tour. First show sold out in minutes, so they scheduled a second show and that, too, sold out quickly. On the 11pm news the night before the first show, it was announced that the stage set was somewhat smaller than anticipated so there were a limited number of obstructed view tickets available, and they'd go on sale the next morning. We were at the box office at the Dome at 8am, and got two seats. CENTER SECTION, ROW 20. I know.. not first row, but we went to the Dome expecting to get obstructed view seats, and instead we were close enough to see Jagger sweat!

We also saw Daniel Radcliffe in "How to Succeed in Business..." in Manhattan. We went to the theater the morning of the show for "rush" seats. I think it was $25 a person and we were in the 5th row, slightly off center but not way out to the side. My DD and her BFF were thrilled!

 

[Lilacs4Me]

Courtside seats to a WNBA game.

A few rows up almost right behind home plate for a Detroit Tigers game. That was the day I was interviewed by the local news on my feelings of the Lions losing Barry Sanders to an early retirement.

A few times we got Suite tickets for Detroit Pistons or Red Wings games.

 

[Sabeking]

Seventh row to see Alabama! It was my 13th birthday.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I go to the theatre a LOT (I went 30 times last year plus 7 concerts). I LOVE sitting up close and make an effort to book seats in the first few rows, preferably the front row. I've only seen 3 shows so far this year but was in the front row for 1 and the second row for the other 2. My sister is also severely to profoundly deaf and so it helps her that she can also lip read from up close. Plus, you often get some fun interaction, like in Cats we had heaps of performers rubbing up against us, etc. and in A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum we had Geoffrey Rush end up in our laps!

However, probably the coolest seats I've sat in were for Xanadu when we sat onstage. This wasn't the production we saw but the set was pretty similar:
View attachment 228862

It was my third time seeing the show so I had already seen all the action from the front, so it was really cool to see it from a different angle plus feel like we were part of the show. Plus it was the final show, which is always really special to be a part of.

When we booked the tickets we got the final pair of on stage seats, which looked to be on the side. However when we got there we discovered that the seats weren't assigned. After they gave us a quick debriefing and got ready to take us on stage a couple of groups of people pushed to the front, trying to get better seats. They wound up in the seats furthest to the side while we hung back and ended up smack bang front row centre! I think it helped that we had Xanadu tshirts and our best 80s gear on!

It's funny you mention the interaction. We've not had anyone wind up in our laps, but DW & I went to see one of our favorite local bands last night & got a table right by the stage. DW got her phone out to record a song & the singer came over to play up to her. Was really cute & funny .

The singer also made the brides to be from 3 different bachelorette parties join her on stage for Edge of 17, and she did massive shots of tequila with each of them.

 

[smokeyblue]

I decided to go to a Bryan Adams concert a few weeks before the show. I am assuming I lucked out and got some released fan club tickets because I ended up 3 rows from the stage and they were ridiculously cheap! I tried to get tickets to see him again two years ago, same venue same location and the tickets were at least 4 times as much as I'd paid maybe 8 years prior.

A year and a half ago I got to go to the Sprint Cup Championship weekend at Homestead. I got to watch from a suite that was between the NBC broadcasting suite and the Penske Racing suite. I rode in the elevator with Roger Penske and Helio Castroneves. Also had hot passes and passes to the champions lane celebration. It was awesome. Definitely an opportunity of a lifetime.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

Pit right up against the stage for Bon Jovi and then again for Fall Out Boy.

 

[PigletsPal2]

Our best seats were fifth row center of the Orchestra at the Palace Theater in London for Les Miserables back in the late '80's, when the show was really in its heyday. Whenever we had high-ranking gov't officials in town, they wanted to see Les Miz, so I'd call the producer's office (Cameron MacIntosh), identify myself as Mrs. So-and-So from the US Embassy, explain about our big-wigs, and ask if we could buy the producer's tickets for whatever night, if he wasn't using them. MacIntosh's assistant "T" was always very helpful, and after about the third or fourth call, she gave us a couple of the tickets for free, although we always made it clear that we weren't asking for them for free. "Hi, T, it's Colleen..." "Hi Colleen, how many and for what date?" We always sent her a little sumpin-sumpin from the commissary or BX that she couldn't get on the economy as a thank-you.

Also got great seats in London for Phantom of the Opera - first row center of the Dress Circle (I forget what theater). The falling chandelier came within three feet of our heads!

I miss those days!

Queen Colleen

 

[PigletsPal2]

Oh, yeah, another. Seat itself was pretty gooc, but sitting next to me was Michael Caine, and next seat down was Roger Moore for "Forbidden Broadway" show in London for DH's birthday in 1989.

Queen Colleen