Taylor Swift, and her giant video screen self, performed at Soldier Field in Chicago on June 2. (Shanna Madison, Chicago Tribune/TNS/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Riddle me this: What astronomical feature rocketed into orbit in November and is probably never coming back down to Earth?

Answer: Taylor Swift ticket prices.

Swifties who didn't land tickets at face value when they went on sale before Thanksgiving — at least twice as many as the 100,000 or so who did — seem to be out of luck.

Prices for this weekend's Eras Tour tickets in Minneapolis on resale sites such as StubHub and SeatGeek immediately shot up to around $1,000. In the week leading up to Friday and Saturday's U.S. Bank Stadium dates, seats were still hovering in that price range.

However, there are glimmers of hope.

Ticketmaster has been dropping last-minute seats at face value in nearly every city on the tour. It doesn't say when; it's often not until day-of-show. It also doesn't say how many.

Swifties don't need to be warned about putting too much trust in Ticketmaster, but perhaps this tactic will benefit a small number of them in the Twin Cities. Here are some guidelines on how to optimize that slim chance, plus other ideas on trying for last-minute tickets.

1. Check Ticketmaster. Then check it again 8,000 more times. And do so right up until showtime. Neither Ticketmaster nor Swift's handlers are alerting fans with tweets or mass emails when there's a last-minute drop of tickets, although some VerifiedFan registrants in other cities reported receiving ticket offers via email before the show. So keep an eye on your inbox, too. But again, it's a loooooong shot in either case.

2. Monitor fan Twitter accounts. Many fans have been alerting other fans of ticket drops via accounts such as @ErasTourTicks, @concertleaks and @ErasToursResell, the latter of which is also offering fans a way to sell verified tickets to other fans at face value. Problem is: Few fans are selling.

3. There might be a modest drop in prices on resale sites. StubHub and the like did see drops in prices at some — but not many — of the previous tour stops day-of-show, especially among higher-end seats. Example: Floor seats in New Jersey originally listed for $6,000 went down to around $3,500, according to NJ.com. Yeah, what a deal.

4. Consider single seats. Going it alone is often the best hack for getting last-minute deals on ticket resale sites. This doesn't help families, of course, but a parent and a kid going together could arrange a post-show meet-up point — or buy seats apart and essentially just use/squeeze into one of the seats.

5. Ask around. Sure, your tween Swiftie might be horrified at the thought of actually verbally communicating with other fans and their parents. But you never know who at school, T-ball, the gym or wherever might have an extra ticket.

6. DO NOT BUY ON THE STREET. This is one case when Vinny the ticket "broker" standing on the corner simply cannot be trusted. All sales should be done electronically, and through verified/legit sites.

7. Consider another city on the Eras Tour. Smaller markets such as Cincinnati (June 30-July 1) and Kansas City (July 7-8) appear slightly cheaper for resale tickets — maybe enough to cover a hotel and gas for a family, if not plane tickets. Unlike here, prices there could drop a little. Those shows also come with the bonus of being in outdoors stadiums, and not Minneapolis' $1 billion indoor echo chamber.

about the writer

Chris Riemenschneider

Critic / Reporter

Chris Riemenschneider has been covering the Twin Cities music scene since 2001, long enough for Prince to shout him out during "Play That Funky Music (White Boy)." The St. Paul native authored the book "First Avenue: Minnesota's Mainroom" and previously worked as a music critic at the Austin American-Statesman in Texas.