Category: Music

November Recap

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11/01 (Fri) – The new Cure album, Songs of a Lost World, was released and I listened to it on Spotify because despite pre-ordering it from Amazon in September, it was not delivered on the release date as promised.

I was apprehensive about a new album, because I have not fallen in love with any new material since Wish (1992), but it’s pretty good. Not an album I would listen to all the time, and devoid of any songs I would add to my “Cure Faves” playlist, but it has a very cohesive sound. If I had to compare it to any of their earlier work I’d say some songs sound like they were written at the same time as Bloodflowers, but the album’s sound flows similar to Faith or Seventeen Seconds. There are no radio hits on this album, but I am looking forward to listening to the instrumental second CD from the deluxe version of the album whenever Amazon feels like sending it to me.

Later that day The Cure streamed a live show on YouTube. They played the new album in it’s entirety and then moved onto songs they always tend to play live, with two encores, totaling three hours. It was amazing! They really do put on a fantastic live show – they always sound good and play for a very long time. I can only hope they choose an outdoor venue for any upcoming tours so I can see them live again (not willing to risk COVID or more damage to my ears at an indoor venue).

11/02 (Sat) – Decided to attend Crabtree Nature Center’s Waterfowl Watch which was a bust. Why are the birds always on the opposite side of the lake from any viewing area? It’s so frustrating! Needless to say we didn’t stay long. We stopped at a nearby park with a pond which was completely empty. The only highlight was stopping at Pita BBQ on the way home to get some delicious food for lunch.

11/04 (Mon) – Saw what I think might have been a juvenile red-headed woodpecker on the suet feeder but it flew off as I approached the window for a closer look.

11/06 (Wed) – Woke up feeling extremely sad and disillusioned over the election results and could barely pull myself out of bed. I naively believed Americans were smarter than this. I thought more than half the country had more integrity and empathy for people. Clearly I was wrong. I should have known better after what happened with the COVID pandemic, but despite my “negative attitude” I’m actually a pretty optimistic person. I really didn’t think people would rather see a convicted felon who is downright idiotic and a compulsive liar in office than a black woman. Look, I’m not a fan of any politician (although I dare say our governor here in Illinois is pretty great), but people really believe Pumpkin Spice Palpatine is the best choice to run this country? I weep for our immediate future and the long-term ramifications of this awful decision. Shame on America.

I ended up drowning my sorrows in a Chicken Big Mac from McDonald’s. I think they are better than the original Big Macs, mostly because I find McDonald’s burgers off putting these days. They changed something in them a year or so ago and now I hate them.

11/07 (Thu) – ABT came over to look at the washing machine that we had purchased in August because during a load it made a horrible loud noise and was shaking quite noticeably during each spin cycle ever since. The technician, David, was very knowledgeable and knew right away it was the shocks. ABT has great service, but the downside to their warranty repairs is having to wait for them to come out to diagnose the issue and then come back once the necessary parts come in. David explained these machines are made with very cheap parts and not to expect a lifespan of 15 years from them like we had with the previous washer. He also recommended I use the highest water level possible to reduce the strain on the new shocks once they are installed. So much for a water-saving efficient machine, am I right?

11/09-11/10 – Weekend Recap

11/10 (Sun) – Picked up a few different Christmas Tree Cake items from our local grocery store.

While the muffins are better than the donuts, I didn’t think either one deserve to be purchased ever again. I cannot find the ice cream anywhere, and after doing a little digging, found out it was a Walmart exclusive but even they don’t seem to have it (or at least their website isn’t indicating it’s available). I’ve been boycotting Walmart since they ignored my feedback a few months ago and will only shop there if I absolutely have to (like to get the ice cream or another pair of my favorite leggings).

11/11 (Mon) – Saw a white-breasted nuthatch for the first time in the backyard.

11/14 (Thu) – Saw a red-bellied woodpecker in the backyard for the first time this season, and the nuthatch came back so I was able to get photos of it.

11/15-11/17 – Extended Weekend Recap

11/15 (Fri) – Fell in love with these horseradish potato chips from Trader Joe’s. They aren’t overly spicy but have just the right consistent flavor to make them addictive.

11/19 (Tue) – The new Cure album was finally delivered. Thanks, Amazon.

The squirrels chewed the crap out of our oldest squirrel baffle to the point where both the piece that wraps around the pole of the shepherds hook and the baffle part itself (both of which were made of plastic) was compromised, so it kept sliding to the ground. When Joe got home we went to Menards to get a new all metal baffle. The problem? It wouldn’t fit properly on the squared off shepherds hook we had been using, so we ended up getting a new rounded one from Lowes. The problem? The stupid baffle still wouldn’t fit securely to that either! The baffle looked to be the same exact one we had gotten from Menards a few years ago but clearly they did something to it to make it suck. Joe ended up adding some neoprene between the pole and the fastener to get it to grip it tightly enough that it wouldn’t just slip down, so now we have two identical shepherds hooks and two almost identical all metal squirrel baffles to keep those pesky squirrels away from the seed and suet feeders.

In-between Menards and Lowes we got Taco Bell for dinner and it came with this retro looking cup which I thought was cool.

11/21 (Thu) – Sometimes procrastination pays off. Our passports expired four years ago and we had been dragging our feet over going somewhere to apply for new ones. Then the rules were changed and we learned if you were still in possession of your old passport, and it had expired less than five years prior, you could apply online for a renewal and use a photo taken with a mobile phone, so we did just that. We don’t have any international trips planned, but you never know when we might want to move out of the country. ;)

I also ordered a new iPad from Costco. Well, not a new model – I got the 10.9″ 10th Generation model from 2022 as it was on sale for $250 to replace my iPad that has bright spots forming on the screen. I use it primarily to watch YouTube when I walk on the treadmill and play Tsum Tsum, so I didn’t necessarily need the latest and greatest model.

Update: As of 11/30 it still hasn’t been delivered even though the estimate was 11/29. I chatted with Costco who is looking into it. I’m worried because the one I want, the silver, is now showing sold our everywhere. I hope they don’t try to give me a blue one. I already ordered and received a purple case for it which will not look good with the blue since you can see that in the cutouts from the ports and along the screen on the front.

11/22 (Fri) – Our new TV was delivered by Costco.

11/23 (Sat) – We got breakfast for super cheap from Tropical Smoothie Cafe.

Thanks to T-Mobile Tuesday all that was $6.

We had to go inside a bank for the first time in years so I could cash a check my mom randomly sent me; she had made it out to my maiden name for some reason so I needed to show them my marriage certificate.

11/25 (Mon) – A few days prior I got an email from FedEx about a package that was coming, but I didn’t recognize the “sender”, so I was very confused and kept racking my brain trying to figure out what it could be. The package arrived today – it was my free gift for donating to the American Bird Conservancy. This full color coffee table book is really cool!

What I can’t seem to understand is why the shipping companies will often only include the shipper and address of a warehouse or third party instead of the entity responsible for the shipment when you check the tracking details. I would have known right away if it said “American Bird Conservancy” as the shipper, but it had some weird name and address that tied back to a printing company even though American Bird Conservancy was on the outside of the package.

We had something similar happen with a lost package through USPS and to this day I have no idea who the package was from or the contents due to the limited information. USPS even admitted they delivered it to the “wrong business”, but never did a thing about it after claiming they would try to retrieve it.

11/27 (Wed) – David from ABT returned to repair the washing machine. It’s not as bad as before, but it still seems to shake a bit during spin cycles, although it could have always done that since I don’t stand around watching it during the cycles unless I hear something weird.

I might take a video of the shaking and the other parts of the cycles where it makes what to me sound like abnormally loud mechanical noises and ask ABT their opinion on if that is considered normal by GE’s standards. I’ve already been told it’s normal for it to release a small amount of water into the drum hours after a cycle like it’s been doing. I think that’s bullshit and GE just has a poorly designed washing machine, since the old one never did that. I keep the lid open all day after a load anyway, so it shouldn’t cause any mold to form.

David encouraged me to buy the extended warranty with ABT for $200 which will cover an additional four years past the measly 1-year warranty with GE. The machine only cost $550 to begin with, but the repair if not under warranty would have cost a whopping $415! I cannot believe these companies with their cheap parts charging so much to repair stuff that breaks so easily. We truly are living in some shitty capitalistic times. No longer will your appliances live for decades because corporate greed is way too strong.

11/28 (Thu) – Watched the Macy’s Day Thanksgiving parade and National Dog Show, as is tradition, even if both often leave something to be desired.

Also put up the new upside suet feeder we bought from Amazon. We’re hoping this will keep the sparrows away.

It seems like a new tradition now to buy a bird feeder for Black Friday since we had gotten our seed feeder last year during the same time frame. The woodpeckers took to it quickly, and hopefully the chickadees and nuthatches (we have two now) will too.

Update – Still haven’t seen any chickadees on it, but a nuthatch was spotted on it and a red-bellied woodpecker ate from it too.

We weren’t planning on hosting Thanksgiving this year but Joe’s daughter reached out two weeks beforehand asking if we were and offered to bring a side dish (which ended up being a Hello Fresh carrot dish which had an interesting ginger flavor we liked). We decided to go ahead since the only difference would be the size of the turkey we needed; I wanted to make all the traditional sides regardless of who was coming over. Joe’s son, E, could not make it due to his work schedule, and his daughter’s SO, J, was busy with his family, so it was just K and us. She arrived a bit before 4 and we had dinner where I tried this new Canada Dry Cranberry Ginger Ale.

It was ok, but not something I’d ever buy again.

After dinner we chatted and played a game called Mantis she and her SO had brought over last year.

We bought our own copy shortly after. It’s really addictive and we played for hours. We were having so much fun, K didn’t leave until almost 12:30 am. By that point I was absolutely freezing. It’s one thing to have the thermostat set to 68 degrees when you’re already in bed, it’s an entirely different thing when you’re still walking around the house. It took me a long time to warm up once in bed, even with the help of a heating pad. I didn’t fall asleep until 1:30 am and felt like I was hungover the next day.

11/29 & 11/30 (Fri & Sat) – We really didn’t do much except make a quick run to the library and eat Thanksgiving leftovers. It was a very chill couple of days.

Notable movies this month:

Trap (2024) – As soon as I saw the preview for this movie, I knew it was going to be good, and other than a couple of WTF scenes, it was. I was really impressed with Josh Hartnett’s acting.

Bernie (2011) – Starring Jack Black, this movie was based on a true story of a guy who strikes up a friendship with a wealthy widow and things turn sour in the end. What was fascinating was all the support Bernie had from the community despite what he did.

It’s What’s Inside (2024) – Wow, this one took a very strange but gripping turn. When I don’t look at my phone during a movie, I know it’s a good one.

Strange Darling (2023) – This was one of those movies that kept you guessing over and over again.

Inside Man (2006) – Who doesn’t love a bank heist? This one took an even more interesting turn than most; don’t let the release year dissuade you.

Jackpot! (2024) – Starring Awkwafina and John Cena, an unlikely duo, this was just pure fun. Not every movie needs to win awards to be entertaining and this was thoroughly funny and enjoyable. Hard to find a good comedy these days.

Thanksgiving (2023) – A horror movie that was a bit too gory for me, but kept me engaged even if I guessed the killer pretty quickly.

A Very Cure Halloween

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I was watching a YouTube video the other day that was sponsored by Opera, the web browser.

I admit, I completely forgot it existed, but decided to download it this morning to see whether I prefer it to Google Chrome. So far, I do. I really like the left-hand sidebar in Opera where your chats and music live, instead of having to keep open tabs for them. As far as performance, time will tell whether it hogs more resources than Chrome did.

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I had a really nice Halloween afternoon – I edited a backlog of photos while listening to The Cure on the BBC Sounds radio app. They were streaming them in celebration of their new album being released November 1st.

The first show I listened to was pre-recorded recently and included songs from the upcoming album.

Tracklist from the BBC 2 Radio set:

1. Alone
2. Pictures of You
3. A Fragile Thing
4. High
5. A Night Like This
6. Lovesong
7. The Walk
8. In Between Days
9. Just Like Heaven
10. From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea
11. Endsong

The second show was a live stream of them playing at a small venue in the UK.

Tracklist from the BBC 6 Live set (which is listed incorrectly on the BBC website):

1. Plainsong
2. Last Dance
3. I Can Never Say Goodbye
4. Burn
5. And Nothing Is Forever
6. At Night
7. A Forest
8. All I Ever Am
9. Prayers for Rain
10. Disintegration

They sounded amazing, as usual, and it was a wonderful listening experience.

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We got about the same amount of trick-or-treaters this year as past years, definitely no more than twenty total kids, most of them between 5 and 7 pm, with one boy coming around 7:20. I ended up closing the door at 7:30 because technically the official hours are until 7. The neighbor across the street brought her two boys this time (they didn’t show up last year) and I had made a treat bag for them. I just gave loose candy to the rest of the kids, but next year maybe I’ll make bags for everyone. I usually do, but just didn’t feel like it this year.

We got the big bag of Swedish Fish, Sour Patch Kids, and mini Oreos since we like them all and knew we’d have leftovers.

I think the uneven distribution with the Oreos is partially responsible for me not making the treat bags.

I was worried I’d have a big group of kids where some would get three types of treats and then others would get only two. I hate the idea of disappointing anyone.

Weekend Recap (09/28-09/29)

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Saturday (09/28) we had planned to go out to St. Charles to visit a few birding spots but the weather decided to ruin those plans so instead we took advantage of a T-Mobile Tuesday offer and got free food from Tropical Smoothie Cafe for breakfast. We got a mocha madness smoothie (free), acai bowl (free), and the cali breakfast flatbread (paid), all of which we split and enjoyed.

Their food is really good but I wish they had smaller sized smoothies which cost less than $8+. The one size smoothies are huge and I would order from them more if they were half the size and price.

Later that afternoon when the rain let up we stopped at the library on the way to our town’s Harvest Fest. This fest is rather small without much to do for adults, but we knew the Girl Scouts would have a bake sale booth. I was really looking forward to some zucchini bread but they didn’t have any this year; I guess I’ll have to make my own soon. We picked up a few items including some really yummy “monster” cookies that were a mixture of oats, peanut butter, and chocolate.

Sunday (09/29) we went on a bird walk at Danada Forest Preserve with the DuPage Birding Club. We weren’t seeing many migrating birds so our guide, Robert (who looked a lot like Hal Sparks), decided to cut the walk short and said we were welcome to follow him over to the nearby Hidden Lake Forest Preserve where people had spotted a Sage Thrasher, a bird that should not be in this area at all, not even during migration. Its territory is in the western states, so people had been flocking to the area to get a chance to see it. I had heard about it prior to Robert bringing it up, but figured there was no way I’d know where to look, so hadn’t intended on trying to find it. But knowing he had coordinates from eBird (which I still can’t seem to figure out), I was excited to take a look.

When we got there we all ended up in the wrong parking lot (on the left instead of the right) but one of the guys in our group got in touch with Robert to find out where he was and we walked over toward the other parking lot. Sure enough, there was a group of people gathered staring at a bush near a bridge where the bird had been spotted. Then to my amazement it came out so we could all get a very good look at it. It was almost as if it knew it was a celebrity and was coming out to greet its fans, and we were the Paparazzi! I got so many good photos I’m still working on them, but I’ve included this one.

After that excitement we headed to the arboretum for a quick look around. It had starting misting out, though, so we headed over to Lisle Community Park to check out this year’s Barkapalooza. Wow, there were so many dogs there between the rescue organizations and people bringing their pets.

The sponsor, West Suburban Humane Society, had a huge bake sale where we got some really yummy treats.

Note: We tried almost everything and it was all so good, especially the rice krispie treat which was my favorite. The only one I didn’t love was the cranberry bread.

We really love Barkapalooza – it’s where I got one of my favorite photos with Wookie in 2018 – so it was disappointing that it was raining more and ruining our ability to hang out longer.

On the way home we stopped at Trader Joes.

We’ve always loved TJs but prior to rejoining the arboretum wouldn’t go there often, but now that it’s on the way home we’ve been stopping quite frequently. The granola is something we picked up last time we were there and I fell in love with it and wanted to get more before it was gone. I’m pretty sure it’s seasonal. We also got the fish nuggets a week or two ago and tried them on Saturday. I was pleasantly surprised how good they were (I’m not really a lover of fish) so we had to get more. They’re a quick meal made in the air fryer.

When we got home Sofi Tukker was still live streaming on Twitch so we turned that on while we ate lunch and beyond. I want to say they streamed two hours, possibly longer. The more I listen to their new album, the more I love it. Even though we have Spotify, I plan to buy the album on CD as well which I always do for my favorite bands.

The chickadees also came by to visit the feeder briefly, so it was an awesome afternoon!

July Recap

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We didn’t do too much this month thanks to the crazy hot weather most of the time, but the things we did do were pretty significant:

07/11 (Thu) – Saw Strangelove, The Depeche Mode Experience at Addison’s free concert in the park.

We sat as far back from the stage as possible and even then I felt my ears were being blasted. My phone’s decibel meter was registering the sound as being in ear-damaging territory. I was getting ready to suggest to Joe that we leave when I suddenly remembered putting high fidelity concert earplugs in my fanny pack about a week before. Not even sure why I did it. I believe at the time I was thinking it probably would be a good idea to always have some ear protection easily accessible because of my sensitive ears.

I bought them back in April 2019 but got sick shortly thereafter so never had an opportunity to use them. They felt weird at first, but were pretty comfortable after awhile. I could still hear the music perfectly fine and no extra tinnitus after the concert. I consider that a win! I don’t think I’d risk attending an indoor concert, though, but would feel ok outdoors with these ear plugs. Wish I had been aware of them years ago and maybe my ears wouldn’t be damaged now. I haven’t attend many concerts compared to a lot of people, but I do remember having tinnitus after them which didn’t go away until I went to sleep.

Anyway, the venue was way more crowded than we were expecting, but I’m glad we decided to check it out anyway because the band sounded just like Depeche Mode and played many of our favorite songs. This one family sitting in front of us was annoying, though, letting their kids run around everywhere which was rather distracting, but overall it was still a nice night out. Weather was perfect too. We don’t really go out like that much so it was a nice experience.

What’s funny is if it hadn’t been for us trying to find the second location of this little seasonal garden called Murphy’s Farm a week beforehand, we wouldn’t have even known about the concert. We went to the farm’s usual location and it was empty, so we decided to try and find their main location which we had never visited. It was closed too (apparently they only operate in the spring), but there were signs on the main street nearby advertising the free concert.

07/13 (Sat) – Adopted a dog – a Schnoodle named Olive

This is her sleeping on my lap.

Spoiler alert – it didn’t work out thanks to my broken right ear. :(

07/21 (Sun) After more than a month of eating through the food in the freezer, it was finally empty enough for a big Trader Joe’s trip. Look at all that yummy food!

07/24 (Wed) – Found this bat wreath at Home Goods. I didn’t need another Halloween decoration, but it was too cool to pass up.

07/26 (Fri) – Joe took the day off work so we went to Peck Farm Park to visit their butterfly tent. Afterwards we went to another park to walk around, then stopped for a little snack at Andy’s Custard. Joe had seen an advertisement for a key lime pie custard mixer, so we shared a medium which was delicious, but pricey (nearly $9). We grabbed some lunch on the way home and then decided to go swimming in our complex’s pool. It’s literally been years since we were last there, but we arrived shortly after they opened so it was pretty empty and peaceful. We spent about an hour there. I was a little concerned about getting burned, which would be ironic, since we just had our annual skin checks at the dermatologist the day before, because the sunscreen we have for the pool expired years ago. Luckily it still worked, but I did buy some new sunscreen a few days later.

07/27 (Sat) – Went to a shelter to meet a dog named Penelope we were interested in. She was being fostered, so we had to arrange a time for the foster to meet us at the shelter. She was listed as a Yorkie, but we quickly found out from the foster mom she was part Dachshund, which the shelter should have listed since they themselves had rescued this dog’s mom too! So they knew what she was mixed with and still didn’t disclose it. Had we known, we wouldn’t have wasted anyone’s time. As soon as I put the dog on my lap there was white fur all over my pants. So aggravating! We are specifically looking for a small non-shedding dog similar to Wookie, but these places often don’t list enough information for us to determine if they are a good fit before having to meet with them which is such a waste of time and effort for everyone involved.

This shelter does some pretty annoying things in general –

1) They neglect to post any photos of some of the dogs even after being asked to do so. Everyone has a phone with a camera these days so there’s no excuse for not being able to a single photo of a dog, if not several.

2) They put a general message about coming to the shelter to meet the dog even when the dog is being fostered and isn’t at the actual shelter. If you don’t notice the small section that lists the location as Foster Home, you will end up visiting the shelter for nothing.

3) They don’t disclose any information about the temperament of the dog even when it’s been with them or in a foster home for weeks. At that point they should have information about it. Why not post what they know to help people decide ahead of time if they even want to meet the dog? When I’m on Petfinder and Adopt-A-Pet I will often see a dog that is listed as having separation anxiety, for example, so I know to skip past them. It saves everyone time, not to mention reduces the chance of someone having to bring a dog back, so I don’t get why this shelter doesn’t care about giving out as much information as possible. People should have an idea of what they are getting into when adopting a dog. Do people just go blindly into a shelter, pick a dog based on looks, and take it home? That seems like a recipe for disaster.

If it wasn’t for the fact that they seem to get more of the breeds we’re looking for than the other rescues in the area, I wouldn’t bother with them anymore. It sucks to have to drive a half hour to the shelter just to quickly learn something about the dog that, had they listed it, we wouldn’t have pursued. They currently have another dog on their site listed as a Yorkie but no photos or a description even though it’s been posted for weeks. It’s so aggravating!

07/28 (Sun) – Visited my friend, K. She was dog-sitting two Schnauzers who were cuter and had softer fur than other Schnauzers I’ve seen. Apparently the owners get all their dogs from the same breeder so they have good genes. Surprisingly, their high pitch barks didn’t bother my ear, which I was expecting after our experience with Olive (who was half Schnauzer, which I was told is a breed with a very high-pitched bark).

Later in the afternoon we were invited to visit K’s brother’s house. They recently got a new puppy – a Maltese Shih Tzu mix. She is adorable! K’s parents were there with their poodle too, who we hadn’t met before but came right up to us and was friendly. K said she’s never like that, so that made me feel special. In fact, K said she is a lot like Wookie was – very standoffish with other people and dogs. She still was that way with the puppy but I’m sure will warm up to her with more exposure. We were invited to stay for dinner but decided not to accept, then regretted that later. Oh well, hopefully we’ll have another opportunity soon. I love K’s family, whom we’ve met before at K’s birthday parties. They are warm and welcoming. I wish they were my family!

Anyway, that was July. I don’t know why the universe is hating on me right now when it comes to finding a dog, but it sucks. I miss Wookie so damn much and I don’t expect a new dog to ever replace her, but I do think it will heal my heart a little.

Notable movies and series this month:

The Beekeeper starring Jason Statham (DVD) – Borrowed this from the library. Was pretty entertaining, and had some funny parts, but I feel like they had some bee-related missed opportunities.

Mike & Molly (Max) – Back when this series first aired I was in my Melissa McCarthy hater era, but I’ve since gotten over that. Glad I did, because this show is good!

Young Sheldon (Max) – I never had a single desire to watch this show, but we just finished re-watching The Big Bang Theory, so we decided it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try, and we both like it much more than we anticipated. Every character is interesting, and I didn’t realize the actress who plays Sheldon’s mom is the real-life daughter of the actress who plays his mom in TBBT. How cool is that?

The Cure vs Ticketmaster

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March 15th was presale day for the upcoming Cure tour. It was announced rather last minute considering the tour stars in May.

The Chicago concert is June 10th at the United Center (last time we saw them was June 10, 2016).

I registered simply out of curiosity – wanted to see what tickets would cost – but got wait-listed. Thank goodness I wasn’t actually planning on going! Besides risking my ears, I didn’t want to chance catching COVID. Unless they play an outdoor venue, I won’t be seeing them live again and I’ve made peace with that. I’m not happy about it, but it’s also not worth it to my health to see them again if I can’t do so in a safe environment.

Robert Smith has gone to battle against Ticketmaster but they are so shady they keep screwing things up and I don’t think it’s unintentional. They want to make artists regret trying to help fans get tickets at reasonable prices. The whole process from what I’ve read has been a shitshow. Some fans got access to tickets at multiple venues whereas some got no chance at all and it was very unfair.

Here’s an example of what went down:

Fan #1 put their first and only pick as Chicago.

Fan #2 chose Minneapolis as their first pick and Chicago as their second.

Fan #2 was sent a code to get tickets at Minneapolis and bought a few. A little while later they were sent another code to get tickets at Chicago.

Meanwhile Fan #1 never got a code at all!

How is that fair?

There’s a girl I know who sees them at every venue possible and I’m sure registered for the max venue picks (five, I believe) and got zero chances to get tickets. Now her only option is to either buy resale from the states where it’s allowed (Illinois unfortunately being one of them) or get a ticket through the official fan exchange.

Because the only way to buy/sell tickets in most states is through this official fan exchange, if someone bought four tickets and they are not able to go, then the other three ticket holders can’t go either because the person who bought the tickets has to show ID & credit card to get into the venue. There’s no way for them to list them for sale on the fan exchange and ensure those three people are the ones to buy them either.

Someone suggested people should only buy tickets for themselves but how does that make sense if you want to go with other people? There’s no way for multiple people to buy seats next to one another which is why one person buys them.

Ticketmaster has also cancelled legit tickets claiming the person violated their terms of service when they did absolutely nothing. They didn’t list their tickets for sale because they were planning on attending. Tell me that isn’t also intentional on TM’s part. I do not trust that company one bit.

I wish we all had the fortitude to refuse to buy concert tickets at all until things change. The fact that Ticketmaster is also a large reseller creates a conflict of interest. They have the incentive to not let fans buy tickets at face value and funnel them directly to the resale site at much higher prices. It’s criminal, and if the government doesn’t step in it’s going to continue to happen because there will always be people who will willingly fork over obscene amounts of money to see their favorite band live.

In any case, this seems appropriate today.