Honeymooner

Wow... that's quite a deal!  If that holds true, then you're in a pretty unique situation and you should get first entry into the Pit and get an ideal spot!  (I'd suggest right at the bottom of the stairs where Lana comes down off the stage... best shot at a selfie!!)  Good luck!

@@VelvetNight Thanks for the awesome write-up! I'm glad you got your selfie with Lana. Now we just need to see it...
 
@@Bae There was plenty of weed smell at my show, too. Courtney Love was teasing us (the crowd) about it, too; at one point, she said "Aren't you guys a little young to be smoking weed?" LOL

I suppose that depends on the venue, but most likely, yes. They did at our venue, at least. But Gold VIP ticket holders had assigned seats, so they got to go in early and sit around... not sure what the point of it was, really.   There may have been other perks that I'm not aware of, since I didn't have Gold VIP.  I thought I heard that they get food brought over to them, too (foo was presumably included in the price, too).  At my venue, one of the security guards came by around 11 AM or noon looking for Gold VIP people.  It wasn't Natalie or anyone else from Live Nation.  But that could be different for you; I have no idea.

Whoops, forgot part of my answer.   When us Silver VIP people were taken inside the parking lot area to wait outside the gate, the Gold VIP people were already there.  They went in the gates about an hour before we did.  What happened after that, though, I have no idea.

Congratulations! Sounds like you had a fun experience, despite the obstacles. Glad to hear you enjoyed the concert, and that you got to give Lana your scrapbook.

He's dating his grandma??? OMG... ewwww.

He's dating his grandma??? OMG... ewwww.

Yeah well... that's because you dünyamızd own.

He's dating his grandma??? OMG... ewwww.

Yeah well... that's because you dünyamızd own.

He's dating his grandma??? OMG... ewwww.

If only you could bring THAT into the pit... that'd be awesome.   I'd pay just to see that!

@@nickloveslana Congratulations on getting your selfie!!  Glad to hear you had a good time.  Those pits can be rough; glad you were able to hold your ground and not get pushed around.  Like you, I had a sore back and legs from standing so long and holding myself in place.  My chest was also sore from being pushed up against the barricade several times.  But it's worth it!!

I heard a new album was coming out... Ultra-somethingorother?

I heard a new album was coming out... Ultra-somethingorother?

I heard a new album was coming out... Ultra-somethingorother?

I heard a new album was coming out... Ultra-somethingorother?

I heard a new album was coming out... Ultra-somethingorother?

I heard a new album was coming out... Ultra-somethingorother?

I heard a new album was coming out... Ultra-somethingorother?

In my case, we got our merch bags shortly before they had us line up to go inside the gate, so I didn't want to take the time to run to my car.  But our merchandise consisted only of what looks like a large bandana with the Endless Summer tour picture on it.  It was wrapped inside a piece of construction paper to protect it.  But it was very light.  I had mine over my shoulder the whole time and didn't even notice it.  The girl next to me had hers around her arm and was letting it dangle down in front of the barricade.  You're not supposed to put anything down on what looks like little shelves on the front side (stage-facing) side of the barricade, but it's OK to let it hang over as long as you're holding onto it somehow.
 
As far as holding onto the barricade goes, it depends on the situation.  When Lana was on stage and not moving around toward the front of the stage too much, the pit was actually pretty calm.  I didn't have to hold on to the barricade, but I was leaning on it with my forearms.  That helped support my phone to take pictures and videos.  But the minute she came farther forward, especially towards my side, the whole pit would shift and surge, and I would grab on to the barricade with one hand.  I was also using my legs to help ground myself in place.  Sometimes both legs and at least one arm was required.  I'm tall enough that at times, I could reach around the front of the barricade and hold onto one of the support rails on the front side, but most of the time, I was just holding onto the top.

I meant to take note of all the songs she sang, but wasn't able to due to the craziness in the pit.  I do know she did NOT sing FMWUTTT.  I'll admit, I don't know some of her older/unreleased material, so I can't confirm YCBTB.  Not sure about UATW either, or if she went straignt from West Coast to Born To Die.  There was a short pause before Born To Die, too.  Also, she stopped West Coast about 30 seconds in due to sound balance problems, which is when she did an a cappella sound check (which was beautiful -- same one she did last year at Hollywood Forever, but I don't know what song it was; she didn't sing as much of it last night as she did at HF).
 
It was kind of cool that she sat down to sing Chelsea Hotel.  I suppose it goes with the more subdued nature of the song.  She did NOT sing National Anthem, or (thank goodness) Carmen.  No Body Electric, either, which was surprising, so Cola was the only representative from Paradise. 
 
Since some people asked, I'll post my personal account of the concert here:
 
I arrived on-site at 8:45 AM.  Parking lots were closed, so I parked almost a mile away and walked down the hill with my chair, umbrella, and backpack.  I was in line right behind a group of people who had arrived at 8 AM (surprising that no one had arrived between them and me).  Everyone was in the same line to start, regardless of the ticket type.  I estimated that I was about #50 in line.  We did not do the number thing, but the line was very calm and everyone was respectful about maintaining their places.  They had portable bathrooms for us, too, although no handwashing station, so I was glad I brought hand wipes and sanitizer.
 
Thanks to @@buster for the tips on what to do, so I had plenty of food and water with me, and the chair was an excellent idea.  We were told later that sometime around 2-3 PM, Natalie from VIP Nation (part of LiveNation) would come around to separate out the VIP people from the regular ticket holders.  The group I was hanging out with had one Silver VIP ticket holder among them.  I had also sold one of my extra VIP tickets to someone else, who arrived around noon or so.
 
Around 3 PM, Natalie came by to find the Silver VIP ticket holders.  After confirming our IDs, she gave us all yellow numbered wristbands.  She said we would be lining up at a separate location at 5 PM to go in at 5:30.  At that point, we no longer needed to stand in the regular line and were basically free to leave or whatever we wanted to do, as long as we were back by 5.  The girl who bought my extra ticket had also parked up the hill like me, so she and I walked back to our cars.  She went to a store to buy some things, and I ran home (I live close by) to drop off my extra food and my chair/umbrella.
 
I got back to the theater around 4:15.  By then, the parking lots were open.  I parked and found where the VIP crowd was, and found my other two silver VIP friends and hung out with them.  Another friend of mine had agreed to buy my other extra VIP ticket (last-minute extra since my wife opted not to go to the show), and arrived around 4:45 and got in line with us.  We were ID-checked again and led inside the gates at about 5:30 or so.  We then had to wait inside for security to tell us to proceed.  Another 30 minutes, and then we were led to the entrance to the pit, where we waited again for another 30 minutes or so.  At about 6:30, we were finally allowed into the pit, and we scrambled for good spots.
 
I managed front-row pit!  I was just to the right of the stair platform.  The original schedule had Courtney Love coming on at 7:30, and Lana at 8:45.  That got pushed back about 45 minutes or so; Courtney was scheduled for 8:15 (she came on closer to 8:30), and Lana at 9:30 (she came out at about 9:45).  Courtney was fun, though I don't know any of her music and it was hard to understand the words.  She did a good cover of Stevie Nicks' "Gold Dust Woman."
 
In the pit, there was an annoying guy behind/next to me.  He was basically behind me and the girl to my left, but he had a hand on the barricade.  He kept trying to push his way up to the barricade, and at one point during Courtney's performance, had somehow managed to get up there and push ME back.  After Courtney was done, though, I muscled my way back up to the front and held on for dear life.  We held our positions waiting for Lana to come out, which she finally did.
 
Every time Lana even got *near* our side of the stage, I could feel the pit crowd surge forward.  It was like being moved by current in the water; sometimes I felt like I was going to be picked up and moved.  I had to hold onto the barricade and really hold my ground to avoid being pushed back.  The annoying guy I mentioned also had smelly hair, which didn't help every time his head got in my face.  My one friend that bought my 2nd extra ticket had to leave about 2/3 of the way through Lana's set, another annoying guy that was behind her got her spot.  (He was annoying because he kept yelling "Lana, fuck me!" and "Lana, take me backstage!"  He was yelling the same thing to Courtney, too.)  But it was all good.  The concert itself was fabulous.
 
As I mentioned, I was just to the right (stage left) of the stairs.  Unfotunately, when Lana came down off the stage, she started going to the left (her right), and when she came back, she stopped 3 people down from me.  When she went back up the stairs, she said she'd be back, but she didn't come back down again, so I didn't get my selfie.   I also was unable to personally hand her the CD some friends of mine and I had made for her, so I gave it to one of the security guys at the end, who put it on the stage with some other stuff people had given them for her.
 
Other than that, the concert was really good.  I liked the covers she performed, and the fact that she sang some previuosly unreleased songs.  Courtney Love was fun, too.
 
I'm glad I got to experience the whole arriving early and getting into the pit thing, but would I do it again?  No.  Not even for Lana.   Once was definitely enough.  My lower back is not the best, and by the time it was over, it was *really* sore from standing so much.  My feet were hurting, too, and my chest/abs were hurting from being pushed up against the barricade so much.  It was worth the discomfort one, but I wouldn't do it again.  Hopefully, I'll have an opportunity to meet Lana someday, but time will tell.

Thanks @@VelvetNight!  (How many times have you changed your username now? LOL)  I did manage to get some rest last night.  For the record, smelly-hair guy wasn't the one yelling "Fuck me"; that was the guy on the other side of me.
 
BTW, turns out that my friend had to leave because she had a kidney transplant several years ago and has to take transplant meds every day at 11 PM.  Since she didn't have them with her, nor did she have any water in the pit, she had to leave to go take her meds.  But at least she got to see most of the show.
 
Another thing I forgot to mention:  @ got a shout-out from Courtney Love!  He had hoped to get center pit, but was way off to the left side.  He had a sign meant for Lana that said he was missing his Prom AND his dad's graduation from SDSU to attend the concert.  Apparently, Courtney saw the sign after she tossed a rose out to someone in that direction, and a person right next to him caught it.  She then said something like "Don't be an asshole, give it to the guy who missed his prom and his dad's graduation!"  So way to go, WCL.

I meant to take note of all the songs she sang, but wasn't able to due to the craziness in the pit.  I do know she did NOT sing FMWUTTT.  I'll admit, I don't know some of her older/unreleased material, so I can't confirm YCBTB.  Not sure about UATW either, or if she went straignt from West Coast to Born To Die.  There was a short pause before Born To Die, too.  Also, she stopped West Coast about 30 seconds in due to sound balance problems, which is when she did an a cappella sound check (which was beautiful -- same one she did last year at Hollywood Forever, but I don't know what song it was; she didn't sing as much of it last night as she did at HF).
 
It was kind of cool that she sat down to sing Chelsea Hotel.  I suppose it goes with the more subdued nature of the song.  She did NOT sing National Anthem, or (thank goodness) Carmen.  No Body Electric, either, which was surprising, so Cola was the only representative from Paradise. 
 
Since some people asked, I'll post my personal account of the concert here:
 
I arrived on-site at 8:45 AM.  Parking lots were closed, so I parked almost a mile away and walked down the hill with my chair, umbrella, and backpack.  I was in line right behind a group of people who had arrived at 8 AM (surprising that no one had arrived between them and me).  Everyone was in the same line to start, regardless of the ticket type.  I estimated that I was about #50 in line.  We did not do the number thing, but the line was very calm and everyone was respectful about maintaining their places.  They had portable bathrooms for us, too, although no handwashing station, so I was glad I brought hand wipes and sanitizer.
 
Thanks to @@buster for the tips on what to do, so I had plenty of food and water with me, and the chair was an excellent idea.  We were told later that sometime around 2-3 PM, Natalie from VIP Nation (part of LiveNation) would come around to separate out the VIP people from the regular ticket holders.  The group I was hanging out with had one Silver VIP ticket holder among them.  I had also sold one of my extra VIP tickets to someone else, who arrived around noon or so.
 
Around 3 PM, Natalie came by to find the Silver VIP ticket holders.  After confirming our IDs, she gave us all yellow numbered wristbands.  She said we would be lining up at a separate location at 5 PM to go in at 5:30.  At that point, we no longer needed to stand in the regular line and were basically free to leave or whatever we wanted to do, as long as we were back by 5.  The girl who bought my extra ticket had also parked up the hill like me, so she and I walked back to our cars.  She went to a store to buy some things, and I ran home (I live close by) to drop off my extra food and my chair/umbrella.
 
I got back to the theater around 4:15.  By then, the parking lots were open.  I parked and found where the VIP crowd was, and found my other two silver VIP friends and hung out with them.  Another friend of mine had agreed to buy my other extra VIP ticket (last-minute extra since my wife opted not to go to the show), and arrived around 4:45 and got in line with us.  We were ID-checked again and led inside the gates at about 5:30 or so.  We then had to wait inside for security to tell us to proceed.  Another 30 minutes, and then we were led to the entrance to the pit, where we waited again for another 30 minutes or so.  At about 6:30, we were finally allowed into the pit, and we scrambled for good spots.
 
I managed front-row pit!  I was just to the right of the stair platform.  The original schedule had Courtney Love coming on at 7:30, and Lana at 8:45.  That got pushed back about 45 minutes or so; Courtney was scheduled for 8:15 (she came on closer to 8:30), and Lana at 9:30 (she came out at about 9:45).  Courtney was fun, though I don't know any of her music and it was hard to understand the words.  She did a good cover of Stevie Nicks' "Gold Dust Woman."
 
In the pit, there was an annoying guy behind/next to me.  He was basically behind me and the girl to my left, but he had a hand on the barricade.  He kept trying to push his way up to the barricade, and at one point during Courtney's performance, had somehow managed to get up there and push ME back.  After Courtney was done, though, I muscled my way back up to the front and held on for dear life.  We held our positions waiting for Lana to come out, which she finally did.
 
Every time Lana even got *near* our side of the stage, I could feel the pit crowd surge forward.  It was like being moved by current in the water; sometimes I felt like I was going to be picked up and moved.  I had to hold onto the barricade and really hold my ground to avoid being pushed back.  The annoying guy I mentioned also had smelly hair, which didn't help every time his head got in my face.  My one friend that bought my 2nd extra ticket had to leave about 2/3 of the way through Lana's set, another annoying guy that was behind her got her spot.  (He was annoying because he kept yelling "Lana, fuck me!" and "Lana, take me backstage!"  He was yelling the same thing to Courtney, too.)  But it was all good.  The concert itself was fabulous.
 
As I mentioned, I was just to the right (stage left) of the stairs.  Unfotunately, when Lana came down off the stage, she started going to the left (her right), and when she came back, she stopped 3 people down from me.  When she went back up the stairs, she said she'd be back, but she didn't come back down again, so I didn't get my selfie.   I also was unable to personally hand her the CD some friends of mine and I had made for her, so I gave it to one of the security guys at the end, who put it on the stage with some other stuff people had given them for her.
 
Other than that, the concert was really good.  I liked the covers she performed, and the fact that she sang some previuosly unreleased songs.  Courtney Love was fun, too.
 
I'm glad I got to experience the whole arriving early and getting into the pit thing, but would I do it again?  No.  Not even for Lana.   Once was definitely enough.  My lower back is not the best, and by the time it was over, it was *really* sore from standing so much.  My feet were hurting, too, and my chest/abs were hurting from being pushed up against the barricade so much.  It was worth the discomfort one, but I wouldn't do it again.  Hopefully, I'll have an opportunity to meet Lana someday, but time will tell.

Could be, I didn't see the pictures.  Maybe it depends on the venue, and how much security there is (or isn't) around the entrances and whatnot.  In our case, we could see where the tour buses and equipment trucks were, but it was fenced off from quite a distance and there was security all around, so there was no way people would've been able to get anywhere near Lana before or after the show.

I meant to take note of all the songs she sang, but wasn't able to due to the craziness in the pit.  I do know she did NOT sing FMWUTTT.  I'll admit, I don't know some of her older/unreleased material, so I can't confirm YCBTB.  Not sure about UATW either, or if she went straignt from West Coast to Born To Die.  There was a short pause before Born To Die, too.  Also, she stopped West Coast about 30 seconds in due to sound balance problems, which is when she did an a cappella sound check (which was beautiful -- same one she did last year at Hollywood Forever, but I don't know what song it was; she didn't sing as much of it last night as she did at HF).
 
It was kind of cool that she sat down to sing Chelsea Hotel.  I suppose it goes with the more subdued nature of the song.  She did NOT sing National Anthem, or (thank goodness) Carmen.  No Body Electric, either, which was surprising, so Cola was the only representative from Paradise. 
 
Since some people asked, I'll post my personal account of the concert here:
 
I arrived on-site at 8:45 AM.  Parking lots were closed, so I parked almost a mile away and walked down the hill with my chair, umbrella, and backpack.  I was in line right behind a group of people who had arrived at 8 AM (surprising that no one had arrived between them and me).  Everyone was in the same line to start, regardless of the ticket type.  I estimated that I was about #50 in line.  We did not do the number thing, but the line was very calm and everyone was respectful about maintaining their places.  They had portable bathrooms for us, too, although no handwashing station, so I was glad I brought hand wipes and sanitizer.
 
Thanks to @@buster for the tips on what to do, so I had plenty of food and water with me, and the chair was an excellent idea.  We were told later that sometime around 2-3 PM, Natalie from VIP Nation (part of LiveNation) would come around to separate out the VIP people from the regular ticket holders.  The group I was hanging out with had one Silver VIP ticket holder among them.  I had also sold one of my extra VIP tickets to someone else, who arrived around noon or so.
 
Around 3 PM, Natalie came by to find the Silver VIP ticket holders.  After confirming our IDs, she gave us all yellow numbered wristbands.  She said we would be lining up at a separate location at 5 PM to go in at 5:30.  At that point, we no longer needed to stand in the regular line and were basically free to leave or whatever we wanted to do, as long as we were back by 5.  The girl who bought my extra ticket had also parked up the hill like me, so she and I walked back to our cars.  She went to a store to buy some things, and I ran home (I live close by) to drop off my extra food and my chair/umbrella.
 
I got back to the theater around 4:15.  By then, the parking lots were open.  I parked and found where the VIP crowd was, and found my other two silver VIP friends and hung out with them.  Another friend of mine had agreed to buy my other extra VIP ticket (last-minute extra since my wife opted not to go to the show), and arrived around 4:45 and got in line with us.  We were ID-checked again and led inside the gates at about 5:30 or so.  We then had to wait inside for security to tell us to proceed.  Another 30 minutes, and then we were led to the entrance to the pit, where we waited again for another 30 minutes or so.  At about 6:30, we were finally allowed into the pit, and we scrambled for good spots.
 
I managed front-row pit!  I was just to the right of the stair platform.  The original schedule had Courtney Love coming on at 7:30, and Lana at 8:45.  That got pushed back about 45 minutes or so; Courtney was scheduled for 8:15 (she came on closer to 8:30), and Lana at 9:30 (she came out at about 9:45).  Courtney was fun, though I don't know any of her music and it was hard to understand the words.  She did a good cover of Stevie Nicks' "Gold Dust Woman."
 
In the pit, there was an annoying guy behind/next to me.  He was basically behind me and the girl to my left, but he had a hand on the barricade.  He kept trying to push his way up to the barricade, and at one point during Courtney's performance, had somehow managed to get up there and push ME back.  After Courtney was done, though, I muscled my way back up to the front and held on for dear life.  We held our positions waiting for Lana to come out, which she finally did.
 
Every time Lana even got *near* our side of the stage, I could feel the pit crowd surge forward.  It was like being moved by current in the water; sometimes I felt like I was going to be picked up and moved.  I had to hold onto the barricade and really hold my ground to avoid being pushed back.  The annoying guy I mentioned also had smelly hair, which didn't help every time his head got in my face.  My one friend that bought my 2nd extra ticket had to leave about 2/3 of the way through Lana's set, another annoying guy that was behind her got her spot.  (He was annoying because he kept yelling "Lana, fuck me!" and "Lana, take me backstage!"  He was yelling the same thing to Courtney, too.)  But it was all good.  The concert itself was fabulous.
 
As I mentioned, I was just to the right (stage left) of the stairs.  Unfotunately, when Lana came down off the stage, she started going to the left (her right), and when she came back, she stopped 3 people down from me.  When she went back up the stairs, she said she'd be back, but she didn't come back down again, so I didn't get my selfie.   I also was unable to personally hand her the CD some friends of mine and I had made for her, so I gave it to one of the security guys at the end, who put it on the stage with some other stuff people had given them for her.
 
Other than that, the concert was really good.  I liked the covers she performed, and the fact that she sang some previuosly unreleased songs.  Courtney Love was fun, too.
 
I'm glad I got to experience the whole arriving early and getting into the pit thing, but would I do it again?  No.  Not even for Lana.   Once was definitely enough.  My lower back is not the best, and by the time it was over, it was *really* sore from standing so much.  My feet were hurting, too, and my chest/abs were hurting from being pushed up against the barricade so much.  It was worth the discomfort one, but I wouldn't do it again.  Hopefully, I'll have an opportunity to meet Lana someday, but time will tell.