Rush tickets

For some shows in the Theatre District, theatres sell tickets for the day of performance for their respective shows at very low prices. To get such tickets, you might have to go to the theatre's box office early in the morning (depending on the popularity of the show and traffic of the ticket buyers).

I have seen a handful of shows in Broadway by buying rush tickets. I have seen Chicago: The Musical, Cabaret, and Putting it Together by buying tickets when I wanted to see the shows as opposed to making advanced reservations.

For some of these shows, a few seats at a specific section in said theatre will be reserved for an occasion. Cabaret has the rear mezzanine row available for Monday-Thursday performances, Chicago: The Musical has the front row to the back of the orchestra (standing room), and Putting it Together has seats available from the rear mezzanine (if you ask the box office folks in the Ethel Barrymore Theatre) to anything else that is available (if you have the "student tickets" coupon in one half-hour before the show).

For years I have wanted to see Rush in concert. For drummers, it is almost like a Muslim visiting Mecca, something that has to be done once in a lifetime. I have had several chances to see Rush, but unfortunately I have been foiled every time. Now I know how the bad guy feels like at the end of a Scooby Doo episode.

The first time I had the chance to go, I was working at a college radio station (WRPS, Radio Potsdam, NY). We had tickets to give away, and the station manager miscounted how many he had. It turned out he had two left over, so he told me to use them. Unfortunately, my car was busy having an engine installed, so I had no way of travelling to the show. I asked a pal of mine to drive, and I'd give him the other ticket. He said he couldn't go because his girlfriend would freak. Since I didn't want to waste them, I gave them to another mutual friend. That friend ended up trading them to the first pal of mine for a case of beer, and he took his girlfriend. Crap!

The second time, I was in the military. I had tickets to see Rush in California, and two days before the concert I had to go to replace a dork for five days on a ship... a ship that was sitting off the San Diego coast for those five days. I ended up eating the cost of those tickets.

The third time I had the chance, I was leaving for Thailand to teach electronics and computer networking, with the flight leaving the morning of the concert. Luckily I didn't bother getting the tickets.

If Neil Peart ever reads this, I haven't made my trip to Drumming Mecca yet, but it's not for lack of trying. You're welcome to stop by for some coffee (real Italian espresso) and a spot behind my drum kit.