Getting there is half the job

Last night I got closer to Lady Gaga than anyone I know. I was in her audience. And let me tell you, this was no small feat.

Initially, when I purchased my ticket two months ago, I was merely excited to be going. Then the thought struck me, that I should try to get credentialed to cover her show. It was in fact, easier to get credentialed to cover President Obama, than it was to cover Lady Gaga. However, having seen that the press box dangles from the ceiling of Rosemont Theatre, I am fine with not having been in it.

That being said, her staff was courteous and as prompt as they could be, never complaining about my near constant pestering.

Even with the ticket, I nearly didn’t go. See, I bought my ticket through a ticket broker, StubHub.com. Students, take note, do not do this. Due to a scheduling snafu, the concert was moved from the Chicago Theatre, a mere 50 feet from an el stop, to Rosemont Theatre, which is near the O’Hare airport and a good half mile from an el stop. Lucky me that it was near an el at all. Some places in Chicago, strange as it may seem, are not.

When the venue change occurred, on Dec. 28, Ticketmaster canceled all the original issued tickets, with the intent of reissuing them to the original ticketholders. Regrettably, I was not an original ticketholder, the person who sold my ticket to me on StubHub had that honor. I received an e-mail from StubHub informing me that my ticket was canceled.

Then ensued a panicked race to find out why, and then to secure another ticket. Instead of offering to issue me a replacement, or offering me the right of first refusal as Ticketmaster did for them, they simply issued a refund. Then, having re-bought their own tickets, they raised the prices and reposted them on StubHub.

I obtained a replacement ticket for 30 dollars more than I paid in the first place, and my original ticket was almost three times the face value.

That’s right, I paid $180 for my ticket. And the shame of it is that there were empty seats. Not just empty seats, but empty rows of seats. A damn shame.

—Rebecca Gibson

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