"In all, I stood in line for close to 70 minuets, as over-worked and underpaid staff struggled to get people the tickets they had spent their hard-earned money on."
I honestly don’t know where to start. I guess I should lead with this, I am a Beyonce fan, and not even for the music in particular, but for who she is, what she represents culturally, I understand and respect the weight of that. That’s what makes it difficult to say that this was likely the worst concert experience I’ve ever had; I will clarify immediately however, I only witnessed about 4 total minutes of the show. As far as I know, Beyonce put on an incredible show, the likes of which she has become singularly known for; and in the few minutes I saw, that’s exactly what I got, but for me, that was it.
I’m no stranger to long waits and crappy parking situations, but even with literal blocks of streets shutdown or partitioned off (including shutoff traffic lights) the roads could barely contain the number of cars jamming their ways through. Though it only took about 80-minutes [give or take] to get to the stadium limits, getting into the parking lot took in additional 45-50 minutes. Even with droves of staff in the streets, trying to direct traffic, it was lawless. Regardless, I eventually made it into the lot, Lot A (Gold), which cost me $86… to park… a regular sized vehicle, I’m sure that’s not particular to this concert, but I still find it ridiculous and felt it worth noting, nonetheless.
Upon parking, I headed to the box office, which had a line, but it didn’t seem super long, so I figured it’d be a quick ticket pick-up and into the venue. That is not what happened. After standing in line for about 10 minutes, I and a few others waiting to be helped were notified that will-call tickets were to be picked up at a different box office, on the other side of the stadium. About halfway through my trek to the other side, I listened to the crowd inside go absolutely bonkers as the show began. Stride after stride after stride, I walked, all the while Beyonce was taking the stage. When I finally made it to the correct box office, I was met with a hoard of fans, clustered in barely legible lines; this is where I spent the majority of the concert. In all, I stood in line for close to 70 minuets, as over-worked and underpaid staff struggled to get people the tickets they had spent their hard-earned money on.
By time I finally received my ticket, I was dehydrated, shirt thoroughly sweat through, and heading into a show that was already 90 minutes in. Still, this was Beyonce, and though I wasn’t the happiest of campers by this point, I’d come all this way for a chance to see a generational icon, still in her prime. Unfortunately, by the time I got to where my seat was, which once again, was on the other side of the stadium, it was dark, packed to the brim and burning hot. A kind stadium worker, pointed me in the direction of my section and eventually I found the aisle I was to be in; However, about halfway through shuffling to the seat, I realized all of them were filled, someone had taken my seat, and the only one open was for someone who had just gone to get food; so I sat in the temporary seat for a few minutes before the rightful owner returned, and what I saw was nothing short of amazing. I mean the spectacle, the vastness of it all, I can truly say I have never seen anything like it, and I truly hope I get to see the full thing someday, in whatever iteration it will eventually become. Beyonce, Queen Bey, is as true an icon as this generations has.
Eventually the young lady who’s seat I had commandeered returned, and I shuffled my way down the aisle; when I came to my seat, I did inform the woman sitting in it that it was mine, but she claimed it wasn’t; so, rather than starting a back and forth, arguing, or fumbling in the blaring darkness for further assistance, I finally decided to cut my losses. My mouth was dry, clothes damp with sweat, and quite frankly, I was too pissed and too tired to stay any longer. So, I walked out of the stadium and back to my car, and I drove home, all the way wondering, what could have been.
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