Be it known that by consensus of the Tentville Committee of Halawa, there will be no mad dashing, no fence jumping, no neighbor pushing and no every-fan-for-him-or-herself-ing when the line for those hoping to purchase tickets to Bruno Mars’ second November concert officially forms this morning.
Last week some 36,000 tickets to Mars’ Nov. 10 concert, which were made available exclusively to Hawaii residents for the first two days of sale, sold out within a couple of hours, leaving thousands of local fans who were unable to secure tickets fuming. Many blamed the snafu on bots that circumvented residency requirements to gobble up blocks of tickets within the first few minutes of sale.
Despite assurances from Ticketmaster that lining up at the Aloha Stadium box office was no guarantee of a ticket, dozens of people had camped out outside Aloha Stadium days early in hopes of improving their chances. And while many did indeed get tickets, hundreds of others were turned away. Promoter Live Nation announced afterward that another show would be added on Nov. 11 and that tickets would be available to the general public without the Hawaii resident stipulation. Ticketmaster now says on its website that ticket sales are restricted during the first
48 hours to Hawaii residents.
With the addition of the second show, many of those who struck out the first time put their faith in physical presence over online arcana. By
5 p.m. Thursday there were more than 100 prospective ticket buyers camped out along Salt Lake Boulevard in advance of the start of ticket sales on Saturday at 10 a.m. When the main gate to the stadium opens at 7:45 a.m. this morning, those in line outside the stadium will then relocate to a designated area inside the lower concourse.
As stadium officials already have warned, the official line inside the stadium will be determined on a first-come, first-served basis, not based on the order of the line outside. Last week that meant that some people who arrived later than others to the outside line were able to get a better spot in the inside line simply by outrunning the people before them.
Thus, the people in line Thursday took it upon themselves to try to ensure a measure of equity and civility come daybreak.
“We had a meeting with representatives from everyone in line,” said Russell Tripp, 28, of Kalihi. “We just all got together, like an actual committee, to make sure that everybody agreed to keep the order (of the outside line). That way we can all pack up and walk in instead of racing. It’s a lot, lot safer.”
Tripp, 30-year-old Stan Bartolome of Aiea and another friend, who asked not to be identified, were among the first to arrive Tuesday evening. All agreed that even five days of camping out for tickets was better than another vain attempt at obtaining tickets online.
Mele Maikai-Stowers, 48, agreed. She and friends Napua and Gary Germano joined the line Tuesday a few hours after Bartolome and his friends.
Like many in line, Maikai-Stowers said her efforts to buy tickets online last week went for naught, despite the fact that she and her family simultaneously used eight different devices to try to get through.
“Every time we tried to get a seat, we’d get a message saying, ‘Another fan beat you to this seat,’” she said.
Maikai-Stowers and Napua Germano said they were willing to wait in line for days to get tickets for their children and grandchildren.
“Living in Hawaii, it’s hard to do things as a family,” Maikai-Stowers said. “Waiting here is worth it because we’re going to be able to be all together as a family that night.”
“And,” Germano added, “if we don’t get the tickets, it’s not the end of the world.”
Maikai-Stowers said that she’s confident that people in line, many of whom have become fast friends, will honor their agreement not to rush the gate tomorrow.
Others are not so sure.
Earlier in the day, two latecomers attempted to set up camp at the front of the line and were confronted by people who had arrived earlier. Some in line also worried about people arriving just before the gates open and racing past those who had been waiting outside.
One would-be ticket buyer, who paid $600 for two tickets via secondary market the last time Mars played Honolulu, in 2014, said he was wary of people in line who were holding spots for others in order to buy extra tickets for resale.
“There are people at the front who are trying to get tickets who don’t even want to go to the show,” he said. “If they keep adding people (to the line), I’m going to jump the fence and outrun everybody.”