Week 2 Presales: Questions and Answers

Original Story by U2Songs.Com Staff (2017-01-17)

A limited number of shows have been added to the itinerary of The Joshua Tree Tour 2017. These shows will go to presale for u2.com members tomorrow. This is the second week of presales for concerts on this tour. Ahead of that we hope to answer a few questions.

  • U2.Com should be your first source for information (U2.com help page). The team there will update tour FAQS and dates will be listed there.
  • U2.Com has a list of dates / cities / opening acts at: http://www.u2.com/tour
  • Some people had difficulties finding their way into the presales. http://www.u2.com/tour has all of the links. If you try to go through TM or other sites you may struggle. Best to find the proper link at u2.com.

What shows are being sold?

  • Los Angeles, CA, USA, May 21, 2017
  • Chicago, IL, USA, June 4, 2017
  • East Rutherford, USA, NJ June 29, 2017
  • London, UK, July 9, 2017
  • Rome, Italy, July 16, 2017
  • Paris, France, July 26, 2017
  • Amsterdam, Netherlands, July 30, 2017

Why were these shows added? Will more shows be added?

  • We don’t know why one city was added over others. It’s probably a complicated answer involving routing, taxes, and ticket sales among other considerations. We only know that these seven shows have been added.

Will more shows be added?

  • Anything is possible. U2 has added shows after calling a tour complete, this happened with the addition of Moncton in 2011 as the final show on the tour.
  • However the announcement of the four new dates for Europe contained the following, “Due to overwhelming demand for tickets following this morning’s public onsale, four additional shows have been added to finalise the European leg of The Joshua Tree Tour 2017 this summer.” It does make it sound like no further European dates will be added.
  • The announcement for North America was a little different, “Second and final nights have now been announced for three US cities today.” suggesting that these second shows are the last shows that these cities will get, but not stating that the leg was finalized like the EU announcement.

Where do these go on sale?

  • Presales happen through the local ticket company, in North America that is Ticketmaster.com, in Europe in most cases it is also Ticketmaster, but each country has their own branch.
  • Although the sales take place through Ticketmaster it is best to go to the sale via the links at u2.com/tour.

When do these sales start?

  • We’ve developed a tool to allow you to find out what time in your own time zone each of these start. All you have to do is visit the page here.
  • We’ve recently edited the time zone calculator to list only the shows going on sale for the second week.
  • Times for both Red Hill and Wires Groups are listed.

What’s Red Hill? Wires?

  • There are two presale groups, “Red Hill Group” and “Wires Group”. To be in one of these groups, you have to be a paid subscriber of u2.com.
  • At this time it appears the “Red Hill Group” enters the presale first, and the “Wires Group” will enter a day later. In the past, those who have kept their subscription current have had priority access. While new subscribers, and those who let subscriptions lapse and have just resubscribed generally fall into the second group. At this point it is not known what the cut off between these groups is.
  • “Red Hill” Group is described as “Long Time Subscribers” on the u2.com site.

Why are Wires and Red Hill presales at the same time?

  • A number of show pages on Ticketmaster incorrectly listed the two presales as starting at the same time as they were added. This happened in London yesterday, and New York today. In both cases this has now been corrected. It also happened last week with Vancouver among others.
  • If you see that the listing is still for the same time you should contact someone using the u2.com help pages linked above.
  • Please check the listings again at Ticketmaster, you will find that some have changed even since late today. The New York one was changed late in the day.

I was in last weeks presale can I still enter this one?

  • Your upper limit on tickets for your presale code is four tickets.
  • If you have already bought four tickets with your presale code, you will not be eligible for this presale.
  • Your presale code may work still even if you have reached your limit, and by purchasing more than your four ticket limit you risk having all of your tickets cancelled.
  • If you have not bought four tickets, you should still have room to buy more tickets in the presale. If you bought three before this, you can buy one more. If you bought two before this, you can buy two more, etc. As long as you don’t go over the four ticket limit you should be fine. And yes, you can use those four tickets for multiple cities or dates.

What kind of tickets are available?

  • Tickets for Europe included a mix of Electronic only options (Brussels and Barcelona) and those that will be delivered. Brussels was print at home and bring the day of the concert. In North America all of the shows being offered in presale tomorrow had ticketless entry for the floor.
  • Paperless tickets in North America means your ticket is your credit card that you use to purchase the ticket. At the door the card you used is swiped. You do not get an actual ticket.
  • Limited edition “collectors tickets” were available for Amsterdam, Paris, London and Rome. The London ones were not available in the previous presale. See below for information on what these are. Note: Some of our viewers are reporting that they have had issues with collectors tickets getting scanned properly in the past, so perhaps something to consider when making your decision.

What is the stage set up like?

  • A full map of European Venues is here, no other venues seem to have the stage oriented the other way (not all of these shows are being sold tomorrow):

  • For those in the North American market we are keeping a guide to the layouts at each field here (not all of these shows are being sold tomorrow):

Where do I find out more info about the tour?

Why The Joshua Tree?

  • There are a number of articles being written about this tour which address some of this:
  • Irish Times article by Brian Boyd
  • Rolling Stone article by Andy Greene with an interview with The Edge
  • Adam Clayton appeared on RTE with Ryan Turbridy this morning to discuss the tour. Audio available at the link. (Look for the Adam Clayton mention)

Will they play the entire album?

  • Adam said they want to play every track off of the album.
  • He said until they get it rehearsed they will not know if it is sequential or in pieces.
  • He also said “There will be other material in the show, because The Joshua Tree album was 45 minutes. I would imagine there will be some songs that existed on the Songs of Innocence show which lead us up to the Joshua Tree, and then i think that will be performed at some point in the show, and then there will be something after it to herald the future and where we are going with Songs of Experience.”

How do I find my Presale code?

  • Go to the http://www.u2.com/tour page. Right before the dates start, you will see a “YOUR UNIQUE PRESALE ACCESS CODE IS:” followed by a string of numbers and letters.
  • Codes are now appearing on the site.
  • You can also find your code on the http://www.u2.com/profile page. It also lists on that page what group you belong to. “Red Hill” or “Wires”

What is the configuration for the Tour?

  • The tour will have a General Admission floor for Europe and North America. A Live Nation press release states “Tickets will be general admission on the floor and reserved seating in the stands.”
  • A special Red Zone will be to one side of the catwalk.
  • In most venues the seats directly behind the stage are greyed out, and do not appear that they will be sold. This suggests that the view may be blocked from those seats.
  • Listings for Croke Park also list “Gold Hot Tickets”, “Silver Hot Tickets” and “VIP Travel Packages” see below for more information.

What are these Silver and Gold packages? “Silver and Gold”? Get it?

  • From Ticketmaster Belgium: Gold Hot Ticket Package includes a top priced seated ticket to see U2 live. A commemorative U2 tour laminate and lanyard. Merchandise item designed exclusively for package purchasers and designated check-In with our on-site event staff. For Belgium these are listed at 310.00 EUR.
  • From Ticketmaster: Silver Hot Ticket Package includes a seated ticket in second price level to see U2 live. A commemorative U2 tour laminate and lanyard. Merchandise item designed exclusively for package purchasers and designated check-In with our on-site event staff. For Belgium these are listed at 215.00 EUR.
  • From Ticketmaster: VIP Party Package includes: One top priced seated ticket to see U2 live. Pre-show party in venue close to the stadium. Pre-show dinner in informal setting with complimentary drinks. Cloakroom (pre-show only). Commemorative U2 tour laminate and lanyard. Merchandise item designed exclusively for package purchasers. Designated check-in with our on-site event staff. Private toilet and exclusive bar (pre-show only) and a reserved parking ticket for surrounding parking lots (1 per 2 persons). These packages for Belgium are listed at 465.00 EUR.
  • All pricing is without delivery fees and payment fees according to the Ticketmaster Belgium site.

What is this Fan Club Bundle I See on Ticketmaster?

  • It appears that as in past years, Ticketmaster will allow you to purchase a fan club membership on the second day of the presale and immediately enter into the presale. This gets you in at the same time as a Wires membership. It is not yet know if these will be offered this week.
  • This is being listed as a Fan Club Bundle as you buy your fan club membership (yearly subscription to u2.com) and your tickets all at one time.

What is a Collector Ticket?

  • Advertisements are now appearing on Ticketmaster in Ireland advertising a Collector Ticket.
  • This is an add on when you buy your ticket. For an additional 5.95 Euro you can add on a special “Collector Ticket” which will allow you access through the barcode on the ticket.
  • The following image was included with the advertisement but mentions the artwork may change:

The video announcement of the tour can be viewed on YouTube.

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