The Dillinger Escape Plan ticket crisis speaks to a much bigger problem

After 20 years of being a band, Friday, Dec. 29 will be the Dillinger Escape Plan’s final show, to be held at New York’s Terminal 5 venue. Opening the show are Code Orange and Daughters. Dillinger released a statement about the show’s importance to them recently:

“For me, in terms of shows, New York has always been one city on a short list of them where every Dillinger show felt like a homecoming. Maybe it's the proximity to New Jersey, maybe because we're all East Coast natives, maybe for me it's largely because it was the location of my first show with the band back in 2001, and maybe a lot of it is just the overall energy of the city itself. So many incredible shows, unforgettable memories on and offstage, and familiar faces both backstage and in the crowd. Add to that the fact that geographically it’s the one city that makes the most sense for anyone traveling from the east or west, or up the coast, and this was kind of a no brainer from the beginning.”

Hundreds of fans lamented the impending end of the band’s long career, but also looked forward to being able to take part in the bittersweet, landmark moment. Fans waited at their computers with eyes glued to the clock for the tickets to officially go on sale at 10 a.m. Aug. 11. But what happened at 10:02 a.m. was nothing short of a nightmare for Dillinger lovers.

Within two minutes, there was no chance of attending the special event. All of the tickets had already sold out. Fans went into an uproar on social media, especially on the event’s Facebook page, blaming scalpers for buying out all of the tickets and putting them up for resale at extremely jacked-up prices. What was originally a $28 ticket turned into at least $150 on third-party vendors such as StubHub. Fans furiously blamed AXS and Terminal 5 for allowing this to happen.

After all, at point of purchase, each person was allowed to buy an incredible eight tickets, making it much easier for scalpers to sweep up. Tickets for the show also were available on American Express presale, so anyone hoping to buy a ticket at the normal hour was almost 100 percent out of luck. Additionally, problems with the ticket website interfered. In short, it was a catastrophe.  

After this went down, fans even directed their comments directly at Dillinger, desperately asking that they look into and solve the matter.

A few days went by as frustrated and angry fans waited for an answer. Then, on Aug. 15, another show was announced at Terminal 5 for December 28 — the day before the band’s very last show. While adding a second show allowed screwed-over fans another chance to see Dillinger for the last time in New York, it was not a complete solution. Yes, more fans would now be able to attend a Dillinger show and were relieved by this, but at the same time, they don’t get to see the true final show. This second date was dubbed “The day before the end” by the Dillinger camp. Seriously, how anticlimactic is that?

This incident is not an isolated one, either. The same ticket crisis also happens with other major shows, including those on Broadway. In fact, this major problem has pushed companies such as Ticketmaster to amp up their security. Ticketmaster now offers what is called the “Verified Fan” program, which many events are starting to use. The company says of the method, “Verified Fan makes it easier for fans to get tickets to events they love; our pre-registration process ensures more true fans get access to tickets, while limiting access to bots and scalpers.” While it is mostly large-scale concerts and events that are starting to use the new technology, one wonders if Verified Fan may be the way to go for bands like the Dillinger Escape Plan who have such a dedicated fanbase. Either way, there needs to be some kind of solution to make sure a ticket crisis like this doesn’t happen again. Fans should always have a fair shot at buying tickets, regardless of whether they’re trying to see Bruce Springsteen or an act like, say, Falling In Reverse. While the modern metal, metalcore, hardcore and post-hardcore genres aren’t popular in the mainstream, they still boast millions of fans worldwide. Ours is a scene that should not be counted out or turned sour by those who would seek to ruin it with greed.

What are your thoughts on this? Were you screwed out of a DEP ticket? Sound off in the comments.