Tickets $225, Merch $80, Front Row for Duran Duran - Priceless

I bought tickets for Duran Duran in Cary the day they went on sale. Had row G tickets on my browser, but lost them and ended up with row P instead. I wasn't happy but at least I was going to the show.
Fast forward two months and I was browsing Ticketmaster to see what seats were available. Only lawn seats were showing up, so I felt OK about what I had - at least I wouldn't have to arrive early and sit on the grass. I kept browsing every few days and the same lawn seats were the best available.
Then on Tuesday, the day before the show, I checked again. Row B in Section 3 came up. Second row, dead center. I searched three times - those seats came up every time. It was fate. I called the LMGC and he said to go for it. I lost the tickets because of waiting too long, and the best available was row M. The LMGC encouraged me not to give up, and on the third try after that, row B appeared again. My credit card info was in the browser faster than you could say "Nick Rhodes" and I had my great seats.
The next problem became getting rid of the first set of tickets. A posting on craigslist generated some interest and I was able to get rid of the tickets for about half of what I paid for them. Not what I wanted to get, but at least I didn't eat the total cost.
The first and only time I'd seen DD before Wednesday was in July 1987. Tshirts were $20 and programs were $15 - now they were $40 each.
What shocked me the most were the DD fans - some of the women looked like they'd saved their black lace fingerless gloves since 1985. I saw a few vintage Duran fedoras, a DD license plate from '84, and tons of old DD buttons, the kind we used to wear on our jean jackets.
It was an experience being down front, in the crush of folks against the barricade. The LMGC was about six feet back, in the relative safety of the seats, watching after my swag, purse, and shoes. At times, I couldn't hear Simon singing for all the "girls" around me. When Roger offered his drumsticks into the crowd at the end of the show, you'd have thought the girls were all 13 again, not in their 30s and 40s.
My camera stayed on through the two hour plus show, and I got 195 pictures and video clips.