Garth Brooks may have had “friends in low places,” but on Saturday, a lot of his fans were probably wishing they had some highly placed acquaintances.
Some 15,322 tickets to the country superstar’s highly anticipated July 12 show went on sale at 10 a.m. and were snapped up in 58 seconds – the fastest sellout in the Calgary Stampede’s 100-year history.
“It was ridiculous,” said Calgarian Kara Coady.
“We had probably eight computers going. I was on two, my husband was on two and two of our friends were each on two . . . It was 10: 01 a.m. according to my laptop, and I couldn’t get a single seat.”
Country music fans vented on social media.
Indeed, by mid-morning, “Garth Brooks” was trending Canada-wide on Twitter.
Fan frustration was mostly directed at online resale sites. Prices for single tickets on StubHub, for example, ranged from $275 to $4,500 a piece – much higher than their original $62 cost.
That had music lovers like D.J. McMillan of Calgary crying foul about rampant ticket scalping.
“It just seems kind of corrupt. How could they (resale sites) have that many tickets for sale at, like, 10: 01 a.m.?” McMillan said. “They say it’s first-come, firstserved, but is it really?”
Country music artist Craig Moritz spent much of the day speaking out against ticket scalping on his Facebook fan page and Twitter feed. He believes concerts should be affordable to the public but online ticket services are getting in the way.
Ideally, he’d like to see music fans physically line up for tickets.
“It’s not convenient for everyone, but it’s fair,” he said.
Like many Calgarians, Moritz hopes the country music legend will consider a second concert date in the city.
But in an e-mail, Brooks’ publicist Nancy Seltzer told the Herald that a second show at the Dome isn’t possible.
Stampede officials aren’t surprised the tickets went so quickly.
“We’re happy it sold out but we knew it was going to be hugely popular . . . . This is one of the biggest shows we’ve ever had,” publicity manager Jennifer Booth said.
The Calgary Stampede wanted to ensure everyone had an equal opportunity to buy tickets, which is why they were only available through Ticketmaster’s online and telephone services, she said.
There were no pre-sales or fan-club purchases, she added. Ticket purchases were also limited to six per person.
The last time Brooks performed a public show in Calgary was August 1996, when he sold out the Saddledome for a three-night run.
But if there was a lot of disappointment in Calgary on Saturday, those who did manage to snag tickets were elated. Alison Espetveidt tried for six tickets but ended up getting only one.
She said she’s grateful. “I’m a huge fan,” Espetveidt said.
“When I was younger, a friend and I had a fake radio show, where one of us would pretend to interview the other one . . . . One of us would always be Garth Brooks, and one of us would be the radio host.”
Jeannie Stewart – whose birthday and wedding anniversary just happen to coincide with Garth Brooks’ Calgary concert – also managed to get tickets.
She and her husband will be sitting on opposite sides of the Saddledome. But Stewart doesn’t mind – she missed out on seeing Brooks in Calgary sixteen years ago.
“I knew it was going to be tough (to get tickets). I mean, it’s Garth Brooks.” Stewart said.
“I remember 1996, and sitting on the living room floor watching my Garth Brooks Live VHS tape and crying for three nights straight because I never got tickets then.”
Ticketmaster could not be reached for comment Saturday.
Garth Brooks is the No. 2 bestselling solo artist of all time.
He has been semi-retired from touring for a decade, although he does have an ongoing show at Wynn in Las Vegas.
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