The Concert Story

The following is a story from back when I was in college:

One Saturday night my college roommate and I decided to go to a concert with a group of friends. It was at another campus which we had to drive an hour to get to. There were about 6 or 7 of us total; some of which had tickets already, but others, including myself, had to buy tickets when we got there.

So we arrived at the venue about an hour early. We go to the ticket window to get our tickets, but when we ask them, they are all sold out! So now what? We drove to this place, half the group has tickets to get in, but the others do not. The options now were either wait outside for a few hours and do nothing or find a way to get in.

One of the girls in our group knew one of the bands and thought she might be able to get us in. Since she had a ticket, she was able to go in and talk to the band. She came back out and told us they could open up the back and let us sneak in.

Understand, we wanted to buy tickets, but at this point, we were willing to find another way to get in. So we go to the back door, knock, and sure enough someone opens it for us. We were all excited! We marched on in with smiles on our faces. The door was behind the stage and led out to the main floor. So we walk out onto the floor, only trouble is it was completely empty. We stood out like a sore thumb, as group of kids that just randomly emerging from behind the stage.

Needless to say we were confronted by security immediately. They asked to see our tickets and since we didn't have them, they promptly escorted us out the front door. Strike one. But we didn't give up. We put our thinking caps on and tried to come up with another solution.

Someone came up with a good idea. Since we had a few tickets, those with ticket stubs would all go in. Once inside, they would all give their ticket stubs to one person who would then walk them out and distribute them to those of us who needed them. Good idea, but their was one more barrier.

They stamped your hand when you went in the first time so if you left and came back, you had to show your stamp. We needed the stamp to get in. Luckily it was a simple design, just a block letter with black ink. With a quick trial, we figured out you could color over it with black ink, then press it against someone else's hand to make a light copy. Then you could darken the new copy in with the ink pen. We did this and it looked good!

So with our homemade stamps and recycled ticket stubs, we approached the doors. Feeling nervous, but trying to act as normal as possible, we walked up, showed the ticket stub and the stamp and before we knew it, we were in!

By this time the place was packed, so even though there was a slight chance of being noticed, we blended into the crowd. We got to enjoy the concert and we all had a great time!

What we did was not necessarily right and I certainly do not recommend it, but at the time, given the circumstances it seemed like it was ok. We gladly would have paid to get in, but because they were sold out, there was not much else we could do. Also, the place was standing room only so we weren't taking anyone's seat. Yes, it was a bit crowded, but that's how concerts are. All in all it was an adventure filled night that involved suspense, creativity, and live music from one of our favorite bands!