Bob Dylan Tries New Ticket Selling Model At San Francisco Show

Always the innovator, Bob Dylan has decided to sell tickets for one of his upcoming West Coast shows in a slightly different way than most ticket sellers nowadays. The tickets for the August 25th show at Warfield will be sold on the day of for cash only, in order to do away with surcharges and credit card fees. Attendees won’t be allowed to line up until noon, the doors open at 5:30 p.m., and the show goes on 8 p.m., at which time every one with a ticket must enter. Many artists have tried similar tactics in order to discourage scalpers, however this method seems pretty straightforward. The only issues, as many online have noted, is the security requirements will be heavy, as one commenter on the Consequence of Sound notes, “A couple of thousand people, each holding $60 cash in one of the worst areas of San Francisco seems like it could be a bad idea. Hopefully they’ll have a ton of security out there.” While this method may seem pretty standard to the older generation (remember this was how tickets used to be sold pre-internet), the younger crowds may be a bit annoyed, especially if they’re employed. I’ve seen Thom Yorke’s offshoot band, Atoms For Peace, do a similar tactic at their NYC shows at Roseland Ballroom. The result was a lot of unhappy people standing in line in the rain all day to not get in, but that’s the way things used to be. Either way, I’m sure a lot of artists and promoters will be keeping an eye on how this tactic works this week for future endeavors. What do you think? Should artists sell tickets this way to discourage scalpers and lower surcharges? Or should they continue to do it online so everyone can have a chance to get a ticket? More Bob Dylan Tour dates are below, I’ll be at the Seattle show if you want to hang: 08/21 – Monterey, CA @ Monterey Fairgrounds 08/22 – Lake Tahoe, NV @ Harveys Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena 08/24 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater 08/25 – San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield 08/27 – Bend, OR @ Les Schwab Amphitheater 08/28 – Troutdale, OR @ Edgefield 08/29 – Troutdale, OR @ Edgefield 08/31 – Missoula, MT @ Orgen Park @ Allegiance Field 09/01 – Post Falls, ID @ Greyhound Park 09/03 – Yakima, WA @ Yakima County Stadium 09/04 – Seattle, WA @ Memorial Stadium (Bumbershoot) Recommended Listening:

• String Quartet Tribute to Bob Dylan