A Denver concert venue wanted to take a different approach with ticketing for an upcoming Tame Impala show, but the idea backfired. Now, it wants to cancel fans’ “fraudulent” purchases on the secondary market.
Tame Impala, the psychedelic rock band fronted by Kevin Parker, is visiting the city on October 7 and 8 for shows at the Mission Ballroom on their extended North American tour. The new venue wanted to try a ticket lottery in order to avoid scalpers and bots, Chuck Morris, CEO of AEG Presents Rocky Mountain Region, said earlier this year. He described the lottery as a “random system where everyone gets an equal chance at a ticket.” However, when fans had the chance to vie for tickets this week, the show sold out in seconds.
The Mission Ballroom’s Facebook page became filled with people complaining about how they were unable to obtain tickets, or noting that tickets were now being resold on various secondary sites. Strasburg told The Denver Channel that the lottery system worked “too well” and stopped the lottery. He received numerous complaints about customers not having more control over buying tickets, so the Mission Fair Ticketing Reservation System has been shelved and will be reworked.
The venue posted that it would review orders and cancel “fraudulent purchases” for the Tame Impala shows.
“We recognize that the demand for tickets to Tame Impala’s shows at the Mission Ballroom significantly outstretched availability,” the venue said in a post. “We are currently reviewing all orders & cancelling all fraudulent purchases. We will advise within a few days when those cancelled ticket orders will be made back available to the public.”
Fans are now confused, as they had purchased legitimate tickets from secondary sites, which have no reason to be cancelled. Many are asking the venue how they will determine these “fraudulent purchases,” and are inquiring about the tickets that were marked up directly through AXS’s own resale program.
TicketNews reached out to the Mission Ballroom for clarification.
