Darren Fujii used to rock his newborn son to sleep by singing Bruce Springsteen songs. Now that Evan is 11, it was time for his first big-boy Springsteen experience — one of those marathon concerts. But finding tickets to a show that wouldn't disrupt the youngster's school schedule in Perham, Minn., wasn't easy.
Fujii settled on a Saturday in Kansas City last month. That meant long car rides, two different hotels and $1,100 for a pair of seats close to the stage.
After the road trip, Dad asked Evan to rate the experience on a 1-to-10 scale.
"A 10 absolutely!" Evan said.
"Even with the 18 ½ hours we spent in the car driving there and back?" Dad asked.
"Oh, yeah."
Fujii has since hustled to score tickets in multiple cities.
Getting tickets to Springsteen's in-demand World Tour 2023, which comes to St. Paul on Sunday, has been more challenging, expensive and frustrating than ever. Not only is there a verified fan process for preregistering to buy tickets, but there is the "dynamic pricing" policy of Ticketmaster — the price fluctuates as the demand goes up. Tickets spiked to a reported $5,000 in some cases. These new systems are causing high anxiety for eager fans.