Scalpers are evil creatures with hearts consumed by blackness

OK, the fact that scalpers are bad people may not be a big revelation, but allow me to vent about my personal experience with them yesterday. Radiohead is playing two nights at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley at the end of June. Of all the bands that I like that are still actively touring and that I've never seen live, they're definitely at the top of the list. Tickets for the two shows went on sale yesterday morning at 10:00, so I was dutifully sitting in front of the computer at 9:58 logged onto the Ticketmaster website. As soon as the tickets went on sale, I tried to buy a couple. However, I got put in a line while the website processed the orders, and by the time I got to the front of the line, both shows were sold out. This was at 10:05. By 10:30 tickets were selling on eBay for as much as $150. (Face value was $43 + Ticketbastard fees.)

As much as I want to see Radiohead, I don't want to pay that much for any concert, especially if most of that money goes to some asshole who probably doesn't even like the band. I guess I'll have to wait until next summer when they have an album to tour behind and will undoubtedly play somewhere like Shoreline (blech). Yes, I'm certainly not the first to say that the system for allocating concert tickets is broken, but this is the first time in a while I've been directly victimized by it. It really bothers me that the market is so easily distorted by people who act as middlemen in a transaction that doesn't need them. I heard that the World Cup is requiring ticketholders to show photo identification. I don't know if something like that is really practical, but I do think something ought to be done.

Needless to say, I was pretty upset by this unfortunate turn of events. So much so that I forgot to pack my hat when we went to our sea kayaking class yesterday. So I can blame my sunburned forehead on scalpers, too. But a trip to REI to buy new sandals, a lunch at Viks, and an afternoon paddling in the bay at least mildly relieved my frustration. I guess I'll just have to content myself with listening to Kid A on my home stereo and ranting on my blog.