Benson Boone is a current rising star in pop music. He has ties to Utah, makes it his home right now, and as such has a huge following here. He is wildly popular all over the world just now, but he is especially beloved in our neck of the woods. Malia discovered his music last year just as he was breaking into the big time and has been a fan ever since. He had several concerts here last year, and although Malia really wanted to go, we weren’t able to get tickets. So, when Boone announced his latest concert tour, tickets to the show were the prize to be won. And let me tell you, it feels like we won a prize by actually getting tickets. Let me explain why.
As previously mentioned, Malia missed out on two Boone concerts last year. She really, really wanted to get to one and she hadn’t asked for anything else all year, so Kevin and I felt like it was really important to make this experience happen for her. We told her that was the plan, and she was completely fine with it being her birthday present. I signed up for the Benson Boone email list and everything so that I would be able to get tickets during the pre-sale instead of waiting until they went on sale to the general public. At the appointed hour, I was sitting at the computer, all logged in to the appropriate account, with all my payment info saved in advance in order to expedite the purchasing process. And as the clock ticked down to the moment the sale went live, I was ready to go. At least I thought so.
I have purchased tickets for high demand concerts and theater productions in the past. I have experienced the “click it or lose it” situations where you have to commit to a seat quickly, getting your selections into your cart before being given a 5-10 minute window to complete your purchase before the tickets are re-released to other customers. There have been some pretty tense ones, times when it was a bit tricky to get what we wanted in the right price range, needing to juggle between different performance dates and times in order to get them into the cart. With the purchase window counting down in big numbers at the top of the screen, even the shorter of the grace periods could be stressful as I worked to complete the purchase process and seal the deal.
But none of those other experiences compared in any way to the insanity of attempting to purchase tickets to the Benson Boone concert. Due to his popularity here and what I can only assume is fondness for the area, he added a second show, so I had two nights to pick from. Either date worked for us so it was all about which one we could get tickets to. Like I said, I had saved my payment info in advance to speed up the whole process, but I was completely flabbergasted by how crazy fast the sale went.
Kevin and I had talked about a price point before the sale started so I had an idea of what I was looking for, but within just a few seconds of when the sale started, those cheaper tickets were already gone. These tickets were important enough to Malia that I felt like I needed to do whatever I could to get some for her, so with Kev’s support, I started clicking on anything that was available regardless of price or seating location. But just as quickly as I would click on seats and hit “add to cart,”, the sale was moving faster, and a “those tickets are not available” dialogue box would pop up. So, without pausing to think, I’d click something else with the same result. A couple of times I got tickets in my cart and immediately hit the payment button only to have that aggravating “those tickets are not available” message pop up again. That wonderful 5-minute checkout countdown was not a factor for this sale, and it definitely complicated matters! My frustration with the whole experience was quickly growing as I kept frantically clicking add to cart, attempting to check out, and having no luck. At one point I got a text message from the bank saying that there was suspected fraudulent activity on my card and I had to pause to respond to the message letting them know it was actually me. And let me say that was exactly what I didn’t need at that moment! Luckily that issue was resolved quickly and I was able to turn my focus back to the sale.
Less than 10 minutes after the sale started, both shows were completely sold out. That’s 20,000 seats x 2. And I sat there, certain that I had failed in my quest and had to figure out how to tell my teenager that despite my best efforts, her hopes had been crushed once again. Then I opened my email and discovered that I had not one, but two purchase confirmation emails in my inbox. Somehow, in all the melee, I had managed to complete not just one, but two ticket purchases. I had never gotten a purchase confirmation page, so I honestly did not know I had been successful. I opened each email and discovered that not only were the seats good ones, but they were really good ones. And all the seats were ones that had a VIP package including early entrance into the arena, early access to merchandise sales, and a special VIP merch package. I’ll admit that at that point I actually cried with relief. Not only had I survived the craziest online sale I have ever seen, but I’d successfully acquired amazing tickets. And I knew that Malia was going to be thrilled beyond all measure.
With the tickets successfully purchased, I called Kevin again to let him know how things had worked out. The price tag was much higher than we had planned, and we discussed what to do with the four tickets, two each in two different locations. Originally, our plan had been to buy three tickets-one for Malia, one for a friend who had already been selected and who was also pinning some grand hopes on our ability to purchase tickets, and a parent. When the cheaper tickets disappeared, I switched to searching for seats in twos knowing that our cost was going to be higher than anticipated. So, we talked about keeping the tickets in the more desirable location and selling the other set. We didn’t make any decisions at that point, which was probably good because when we talked things over with Malia after school that afternoon, she had an emotional breakdown at the thought of not being able to attend with a friend. Yes, I know parents are boring, and yes, I knew she had already been discussing the concert with her friend, and as we had five months to figure out what to do, we decided to think about the whole thing for a bit and decide later how to proceed.
In the end, we decided to keep the tickets, sending Malia and a friend to the better seats and having Kevin use one of the tickets for the less desirable seats to gain entrance as a chaperone. And it ended up being a good thing we wanted more than two seats, because it turns out that those VIP package tickets are not eligible for resale or transfer of any kind. But that also meant that Malia would end up with more than one special merchandise package. And based on the outcome of the ticket buying experience, Malia was absolutely fine with these tickets being both her birthday and Christmas presents for this year.
After waiting for months and months, the big day finally arrived. The concert was last night. And Malia was so, so, so excited. We’re talking giggly and giddy and all things teenage girlish. Morgan, her Boone buddy and a friend who lives down the street and whose family we have known since both girls were just babies, was equally hyped up. Those expensive VIP perks meant they were in the door at 6:00 p.m., thirty minutes in advance of all the standard ticket holders. It meant the line to purchase Boone merch (a hoodie, of course) was super short. It meant that the girls came home with a nice tour logo emblazoned tote bag, a compact wallet and Chapstick holder with the tour name printed on it, and a deck of cards with Benson Boone’s abs on the back. And since the show didn’t actually start until 8 p.m. and Benson Boone didn’t come on until 9:15, they had plenty of time for the anticipation to hype them up even more.
Being in the same building as a favorite celebrity can be a heady thing for a teenager, and in all her excitement, Malia shared one of those fabulously funny comments of hers that I love so much. I laughed when Kevin shared it with our family group chat. As they walked the concourse before they could get into the arena, Malia proclaimed, “Benson Boone is in the building. I can feel the mustache…” 🤣
Kevin tells me that the post-concert giddiness was even more impressive than the pre-concert giddiness. Those two girls just giggled all the way home. And even this morning, Malia was still aglow. She was telling me stories and sharing Boone quotes and showing me videos. This is one of those events that she will remember forever. When she is all grown up and has a daughter of her own, she will tell her about the super exciting time she got to see Benson Boone in concert. And her daughter might tease her just a bit, the same way that Malia makes fun of me for my teenage swooning over New Kids on the Block… 😂
As a side note on this whole crazy experience, having two separate fairly large purchases within just a minute or two on an online ticket selling platform certainly explains the security alert for my credit card that happened mid-sale. And while I was extraordinarily frustrated in the moment, it is nice to know that my bank is doing its job. And FYI-Boone ended up adding a third concert here. Not surprisingly, that one sold out as well.
