Tips About Venues Tips
Read these 8 Tips About Venues Tips tips to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Each tip is approved by our Editors and created by expert writers so great we call them Gurus. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about Tickets tips and hundreds of other topics.
Knicks Game Seating
Jerry Seinfeld may have accepted an obnoxious friend in the Seinfeld episode "Male Unbonding," all for the sake of Knicks tickets. But if Jerry didn't get great seats, he would have thrown his childhood friend past the foul line. If you're looking for the famous "blue seats," they're history--mainly because the blue seats became synonymous with over-zealous fans (like Jerry?)
Court-side seating may be expensive ($400 to $1,000), but the best place to be is behind the benches, especially with the "deep benches" this year. The starting lineup is said to be impressive--you don't want to miss seeing the players up close and personal from seats 14-19! If you can't pop for the primo seats, two things will happen:
- Jerry will dump you (he may anyway even if you have the courtside seats).
- You'll have to settle for the `3th or 14th row from the court behind the Knicks bench.
They're still great seats with a full view of the action. Don't worry about the yada yada yada with Jerry--just get yourself the best deal on the seating charts for the new Knicks season.
Radio City Music Hall Seating
You're going to see a performance by the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes in Madison Square Garden, those long-legged lovelies that are a living advertisement for Hanes and high-heeled shoe manufacturers. You want to sit close enough to enjoy the spectacle, but not so close you accidentally get hit by a stray shoe! And you thought fly balls in Yankee Stadium were a problem.
The Radio City Music Hall Seating Charts show three mezzanine levels and the orchestra pit. Note that the front row, AA, is not the closest row available when orchestra pit seating is available--but when you're considering pit seating versus AA seating, remember those flying high heels.
Be careful when booking online - some online ticket agent sites like the one used for Madison Square Garden will give you a clear diagram of your seats, but won't tell you if the view is obstructed.
However, insiders say that every seat at Radio City Music Hall is a good seat and that there are no columns to block the view. The mezzanines don't loom over the rear orchestra, so if you're in the back, you won't have difficulty seeing those high kicks. The left and right sides of the orchestra pit closer to the stage mean you have to crane your neck--but that makes those fabulous legs look even longer.
Don't take our joshing about flying shoes seriously. The Rockettes are safer than a Yankee Stadium riot or a Gallagher performance.
Yankee Stadium High Seats
You may get vertigo from the latest baseball scores...or is that from the Yankees Tier Box seats? Fans with a fear of heights have found it difficult to sit in the shaded loft aeries of Yankee Stadium. However, at around $50, sections 201-288 are a bargain.
You won't be able to see the action up close but you will be in the shade as well as sheltered from the rain. New York Yankees tickets aren't valuable now, so you'll have plenty of time to conquer your fear of heights and cheer the Yankees on to victory next year.
Get Ready to Wiggle
Afraid of getting fruit salad on your face when you buy tickets to see the kiddie version of the Beatles, the Wiggles, at Madison Square Garden during the day? Worried about those 202-section seats that you bought on eBay without looking at seating charts? Don't worry, mate. The 202 section has a great view. You won't need Captain Feathersword's spyglass to see the guys from down under singing and dancing--you'll even notice Jeff Wiggle sleeping! Although the prices are closer to $69 (you get a free Hot Potato gift bag), it's worth it for prime seating.
While you might get away with just seeing your favorite rock band from a distance, the Wiggles' energy demands to be experienced up close. Plus, you can get group discounts, and babies don't require tickets. You'll have a better chance of getting the seats you want during a 10:30 am matinee, and the kids won;t be snoozing during the performance (you hope they'll be napping after!) So don't worry. Be happy, eat lots of fruit salad, and get ready to wiggle with your little Wiggle!
Sunburn and Sports Seating
Beer, hot dogs, fly balls and (sadly) riots may be part of bleacher or regular seating, but sunburn doesn't have to be. As a rule, avoid certain sections on the seating charts--here is our guide to the sunburn zones:
FENWAY PARK Slather on plenty of sunblock if you're in sections 34-43 (right field bleachers), as well as 86, 87 and 92 (Right Field Box)--they're right near the 1st base line. Plus, right field box seats don't allow you to see that slide to first--they point toward the outfield.
YANKEE STADIUM If you're a bleacher creature, you stay one--you're separate from the rest of the park, which means that like a desert lizard with no shade, you're out of luck if you want to stay out of the sun in sections 37-59. Left field seating will also make you bake and cry out for Gatorade.
WRIGLEY FIELD Sections 246-249 and 143-153 can cause bleacher creatures to look like Ben Grimm, aka The Thing of Fantastic Four fame. Likewise, Terrace Reserved Infield and Outfield (sections 201-242), as will extreme right Field Boxes (sections 131-142) will make you cook faster and harder than a Dodger Dog.
If you can, avoid rioting, catch fly balls, and chow down on beer and hot dogs in the shade. If you're stuck in the sun, bring plenty of sunblock, skip the beer and salty foods (they dehydrate you faster), and wear a hat bigger than a Yankees Cap. Buy "neck coolers" and try not to lose them when the sunburned mob grows restless!
Home Plate Seating
The crack of the bat. The whish of the ball. There is something about sitting near or behind home plate that captures the essence of baseball. While Yankee Stadium insiders say to buy bleacher seats in the outfield for a great deal, measuring Seating Charts by dollar value isn't necessarily the way to get great seats. Here are some home plate home-run rundowns on sitting behind home plate.
YANKEE STADIUM The center seats right behind home plate are 8, 12, 208 and 212. Home plate tickets are sold out for 2005, so buy early--ticket prices for 2006 will be released soon.
WRIGLEY FIELD Sam Snead once hit a golf ball from Home Plate at the home of the Chicago Cubbies. Club boxes 17-24 on the infield are right behind this historic home plate and cost $30 for Value Dates, $50 for Regular Dates and $60 for Prime Dates. Club Boxes, however, are rated the best seats in the house.
FENWAY PARK The most expensive tickets in baseball will get you in to see the champion Red Sox. Home plate box seats in 2005 set you back $85 and the fans aren't as rowdy as the bleacher creatures. You can try Green Monster Seats for great view and a chance to catch a grand slam. The Green Monster Seats vary from $25-$130 and are presumably $130 behind home plate.
Still, it's worth it to watch the home run of this winning team. No matter what you pay for the privilege of sitting behind home plate, it's all part of the magic of the field of dreams.
Alicia Keys Concert Venues
While Grammy winner Alicia Keys can belt out "Unbreakable" in Madison Square Garden, Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park or Wrigley Field, her fans would like to see her in more intimate venues. When you're looking over the seating charts for stadiums and major arenas, don't forget the venues that seat 5,000 or fewer is where you'll get to see Ms. Keys up close.
Ms. Keys has played the 5,000-seat Lecture Hall at the Colorado Convention Center and scaled down to an audience of just over 1,000 people at Lincoln Center. While some singers may need to scream and fill the Superdome, Ms. Keys' powerful voice will suit the acoustics in closer quarters. So don't think you have to buy expensive seats in sold-out concert venues to listen to selections from Ms. Keys' musical diary.
George Carlin Venues
He's wild. He criticized the Vietnam War, and he's been puncturing the English language as well as politics since his 1960s appearances on the Tonight Show. George Carlin is big enough to fill seating charts at Fenway Park, Madison Square Garden, Yankee Stadium and Wrigley Field. But the biggest seating you may find this side of Vegas is the New York Beacon Theater, where George Carlin tapes a live HBO special on November 4.
You can get 2 tickets on the AA row of the orchestra for $300, any many ticket brokers will offer a discount. A center orchestra pick at Caesar's Palace can run you $300-$350, and you probably won't get the thrill of being in the camera's eye. While Carlin's angry delivery suits most acoustics, he has a tendency to sometimes drop volume on his comedy albums, so you have to strain to him discourse on everything from politics to grammar. Get seats up close to the rant.
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| Sheri Ann Richerson |
