Elton John tickets snapped up by eager online buyers
Katie May
LETHBRIDGE HERALD
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Sorry seems to be the hardest word - especially when you hear it after spending hours waiting in line for tickets to see one of the biggest musical icons ever to perform in Lethbridge.
Some disappointed fans left the Enmax Centre empty-handed Saturday morning after tickets to Elton John's April 24 concert sold out in 61 minutes - the fastest sell-out the venue has ever seen. Most of the total 6,300 tickets sold went to online buyers and not all of the 120 people who waited in freezing temperatures outside the ticket centre were able to get tickets.
"It was who got there first," said Lana Barlow, sales and marketing manager at Enmax Centre. "Internet sales did take a huge portion."
The Enmax Centre opened up more phone lines and increased its website bandwidth to accommodate a barrage of calls and clicks, Barlow said, but even so the phone lines and the web server still temporarily crashed.
But for those who set up camp to guarantee their spot in spite of chilling winds and, in some cases, a lack of legitimate sick days, the wait was well worth it.
Lethbridge resident Joyce Chambers and five of her friends were the first in line when tickets went on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday, having been camped out the ticket centre since Thursday at 3 p.m., armed with serious-looking schedules divided into shifts for each of them.
"Even if we're not diehard fans, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity," she said. "This is the one way we're actually guaranteed to get some tickets."
The group grooved to an iPod play list of the legendary Sir Elton's greatest hits, declaring "I'm Still Standing" their theme song as they waited for the ticket window to open.
"It's been a lot of fun. You meet everybody else in the lineup out there and you get to be friends and you have a few laughs," Chambers said.
Joe Poirier spent more than 24 hours straight waiting fourth in line, most of that time without even a tent.
"I've got frostbite on both my feet," he said minutes before the ticket windows opened. "I'm actually going to the hospital after this."
He did it as a surprise for his mother, who listens to Elton John's albums "religiously."
"It's her birthday coming up and we just lost my dad recently so I figured this might put a smile on her face," he said. "This is one small sacrifice to make to get her tickets to something she can't afford."
Those still desperate for tickets looked to online classifieds websites including Kijiji.ca, where at least a dozen posts appeared minutes after the show sold out offering tickets for up to $350 each, nearly double the $167 original ticket price. But there were twice as many wanted ads begging for tickets, some to give as birthday and wedding anniversary gifts - willing to pay hundreds more than the face value of the ticket.
The show is set for 8 p.m. Tuesday April 24 at the Enmax Centre. Elton John is also set to play in Red Deer and Grande Prairie the following two nights before jetting off to Germany. Tickets for the Red Deer show sold out completely in 45 minutes, with all of the tickets available at the Red Deer Enmax Centrium going in fewer than 10 minutes.