ID Required For Boss

Tickets for Bruce Springsteen‘s latest tour – a solo acoustic trek through theatres and scaled-down arenas starting April 25th – sold out almost immediately at many of its 14 scheduled venues. In an effort to stem the scalping tide, tour organizers have mounted a plan that will require ticket-holders to prove they were the original buyers.

At several of the theatre shows – in Boston, Upper Darby, Pa., Hollywood and Oakland, Calif. – each ticket buyer must present a government-issued photo ID and the credit card used for the purchase on the day of the show at the box office. They’ll then be fitted with wristbands, which must be presented intact in order to gain entrance.

At the rest of the venues, the will-call-only policy applies to several of the front sections, with the remainder of seats being sold the old-fashioned way.

All shows are limited to two tickets per person, so if a buyer wants to scalp one, he/she will have to sit next to the fan who got gouged. In Hollywood, where The Boss will play a two-night stand, the two-ticket limit applies to both shows combined.

In some markets, tickets will only be available by phone and through Ticketmaster – not through the venue box office.

At press time, the method seemed to be working. Among the more than 1,000 listings for Springsteen tickets on eBay, only a handful offered tickets for the will-call-only shows. Most sellers offered to meet buyers at or near the venue the day of the concert.