Kriston Capps
Kriston Capps is a staff writer for CityLab covering housing, architecture, and politics. He previously worked as a senior editor for Architect magazine.
Maybe you, like me, bought some tickets from Ticketmaster between 1999 and 2013. Maybe you, like me, got an email late last month about a class-action lawsuit against Ticketmaster. Something-something-legalese about UPS delivery fees. Maybe you, like me, promptly put it out of mind.
But then on Tuesday morning, maybe you, like me, started hearing some extravagant claims from friends. About tickets—free tickets. Members of the Schlesinger v. Ticketmaster class action were owed scores of tickets each. One particularly happy-go-lucky music-loving friend claimed to be owed 34 tickets—17 pairs to be used by 2020.
As the saying goes: Anything too good to be true about Ticketmaster probably is. Unfortunately, many would-be free-concert-going claimants will find that the tickets won’t get them much. The vouchers are only good for Live Nation venues, and only for specific shows and locations. At this time, just 36 venues are accepting ticket vouchers for shows through the rest of the summer and well into fall, putting redemption out of reach, geographically, for many eligible claimants.
Some fans have special reason to celebrate, however. Devotees of the stylings of Slipknot have ample opportunity to catch them on their summer tour (while supplies last). In fact, a class-action member who earned the maximum-available refund (17 pairs of tickets, like my friend) could potentially follow them from coast to coast—from the Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater in Virginia Beach, Virginia, to the Sleep Train Amphitheatre in Chula Vista, California, with stops in between.
Holy shit: Did you know that Slipknot won a Grammy? Best Metal Performance, 2006, for “Before I Forget,” off of Vol. 3. And Slipknot has been nominated for a Grammy Award 10 times? Not only is Slipknot still a band in 2016, it was nominated for two Grammy Awards in 2016—that’s this year! A Ticketmaster class-action member could see Grammy Award–winning band Slipknot play at 16 different venues this summer.
Beyond fans of Slipknot, the pickings are slim for Ticketmaster claimants. Ticketmaster/Live Nation restricted eligible venues to those in places such as Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, and Alpharetta, Georgia, far from the respective populations of Pittsburgh and Atlanta. It’s a bit like what Slipknot sings on “Wait and Bleed,” their first-ever Grammy Award–nominated song: “I wander out where you can't see/ Inside my shell I wait and bleed.” You know, like being so close to something you desire (free tickets), but so far from ever finding it (a Live Nation venue)?
The other big winners in the Ticketmaster class-action are claimants who live in Indianapolis, where Bob Dylan is playing. Dylan is another Grammy Award–winning artist, like Slipknot. While Indianapolis is hardly the only Live Nation stop on Dylan’s summer-long tour, that’s the single Dylan show that Ticketmaster has deemed eligible for the class-action voucher so far. Other winners include Baby Boomer dads who still love Steely Dan and Gen X dads who still love Blink 182 (minus UFO-hunter Tom DeLonge)—both bands that are playing all the best venues that Live Nation has to offer.
Here’s a list of every venue where Ticketmaster has made shows available so far. Note: The vouchers are good for concerts through 2020 at least, so more venues may appear with shows announced for later than this fall. (Eligible Slipknot appearances are indicated in bold.)
Isleta Amphitheater
Albuquerque, New MexicoVerizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park
Alpharetta, GeorgiaLakewood Amphitheatre
Atlanta, GeorgiaChastain Park Amphitheatre
Atlanta, GeorgiaWhite River Amphitheatre
Auburn, WashingtonJiffy Lube Live
Bristow, VirginiaFirst Niagara Pavilion
Burgettstown, PennsylvaniaBB&T Pavilion (Formerly Susquehanna)
Camden, New JerseyCharlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre
Charlotte, North CarolinaPNC Music Pavilion
Charlotte, North CarolinaFirstMerit Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
Chicago, IllinoisSleep Train Amphitheatre in Chula Vista
Chula Vista, CaliforniaConcord Pavilion
Concord, CaliforniaBlossom Music Center
Cuyahoga Falls, OhioGexa Energy Pavilion
Dallas, TexasDarien Lake Performing Arts Center
Darien Center, New YorkAlpine Valley Music Theatre
Elkhorn, WisconsinPNC Bank Arts Center
Holmdel, New JerseyFarm Bureau Insurance Lawn at White River State Park
Indianapolis, IndianaIrvine Meadows Amphitheatre (formerly Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre)
Irvine, CaliforniaXfinity Center
Mansfield, MassachusettsHollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Maryland Heights, MissouriBayfront Park Amphitheater
Miami, FloridaShoreline Amphitheatre
Mountain View, CaliforniaAscend Amphitheater
Nashville, TennesseeKlipsch Music Center
Noblesville, IndianaAk-Chin Pavilion
Phoenix, ArizonaCoastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek
Raleigh, North CarolinaSan Manuel Amphitheater formerly Glen Helen Pavilion
San Bernardino, CaliforniaSaratoga Performing Arts Center
Saratoga Springs, New YorkThe Pavilion at Montage Mountain
Scranton, PennsylvaniaMIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre at the FL State Fairgrounds
Tampa, FloridaHollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Tinley Park, IllinoisVeterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
Virginia Beach, VirginiaPerfect Vodka Amphitheatre at the S. Florida Fairgrounds
West Palm Beach, FloridaToyota Amphitheatre
Wheatland, California