Advertisement
 |
Go inside 20 of the season's biggest concerts — U2, Metallica, Green Day and more — in our Summer Tour Preview. |
The 2009 summer concert season is loaded with unique ways to score exclusive merchandise, attend catered parties and even get some face-time with your favorite artists... provided you have a couple hundred bucks to spare. The supposedly recession-proof concert industry is being loaded with premium packages, allowing fans with bulging pockets — or slavish devotion — to see famous bands in style. Here are a few of the more extravagant ones:
U2
Official VIP Package: $515 - $555
For U2's upcoming 360° Tour, VIP ticket buyers get dibs on
"preferred seating" — though U2's completely circular stage
implies every seat is special. In addition to an exclusive piece of
VIP merch and the ability to enter a drawing for a backstage tour,
guests are treated to a two-hour pre-show buffet. There will also
be an open bar in case you need to drink away some sorrow after
seeing your bank statement.
Poison
Nothin' But A Good Time Experience: $625
A deluxe ticket to the Poison/Def Leppard/Cheap Trick tour gets you
pretty much everything outside of a shot at love with Bret
Michaels. Ticket-buyers can take a backstage tour before the
performance and watch Poison play from velvet-roped side-stage
seats. This ticket is a rose without a thorn in sight: everyone
goes home with a ton of swag, including a laminate, an autographed
photo, a T-shirt, a Poison coloring book, Poison guitar picks,
Poison drumsticks and even a bandana to cover up that pesky
hairline.
Fleetwood
Mac
5 Star VIP Package: $695.00 - $795.00
Mac fans willing to shell out a few buckinghams can score a seat in
one of the first 10 rows, meet Mick Fleetwood and have pre-show
dinner and drinks. With crowd-free merch access and "hassle-free
entrance," you can truly go your own way, as it were.
Advertisement
Phish
Bonnaroo VIP Tickets: $1,349.50 for two
Seeing a jam band in a dusty farm in Tennessee got a whole lot
classier! VIPs attending the four-day Bonnaroo festival will get
exclusive access to bleachers that provide great sightlines for the
two biggest of its 10 stages. A pre-event dinner should stave off
those early 'Roo munchies... and three VIP lounges could provide
the connections to get them started again. VIPs get better camping
spots and preferred parking but, most importantly special shower
and restroom facilities — which, honestly, if you've been to
a festival, is priceless.
Aerosmith
Wheels Up VIP Package: $1,099 - $1,349
Beyond the best seats in the house (usually in the first two rows),
the most exclusive of Aerosmith's five VIP packages gets the lucky
ticket buyer a meet-and-greet with the Formerly Toxic Twins, Steven
Tyler and Joe Perry. Beyond attending an assuredly decadent
pre-show party, VIPs take home a clusterbomb of Aerosmith merch,
including a photobook, lanyard, laminate, tour pin, T-shirt, decal
set, postcard set and a pen.
No
Doubt
VIP Package: $2,000+ for four
Winning an eBay auction gets the winner four premium seats, four
T-shirts, and a private meet-and-greet/photo snap with all the
members of No Doubt. Why so pricey? Because 60 percent of the
proceeds go to charity, including Doctors Without Borders,
Children's Hospital Of Orange County and Charity: Water. Skank your
way to making the world a better place!
|
|
Go inside 20 of the season's biggest concerts — U2, Metallica, Green Day and more — in our Summer Tour Preview. |
UP NEXT:
All 20 acts in the summer tour preview
SUMMER
TOUR PREVIEW INDEX