Yeah, that's the (free) ticket!

Just while I'm reminiscing about the New Kids On The Block's summer tour (seen previous post), I thought I'd share one last tale...
See this ticket to the New Kids' June 16th show in Saratoga? Know how much it cost me? Get this: nothing! In fact, I got it directly (well, almost) from New Kid Donnie Wahlberg himself!

Throughout the tour, Donnie used his Twitter page to message us fans and tell us where we could score free tickets the day of the New Kids' shows. Donnie would give us a time and place to meet, and he'd send one of the guys' managers armed with stacks of free tickets.

For that June 16th show, Donnie sent out this tweet, telling us 200 free tickets would be up for grabs at the Wilton Mall, just across town from the concert venue. A loyal fan with time on my hands, I drove to the mall (even though I'd already bought a great seat near the stage) where I eventually ran into four or five more New Kids supporters. At the appointed time, Donnie's rep showed up with fistfuls of tickets, giving us as many as we needed. I only asked for one, as a souvenir of the scavenger hunt.

Sure, the tickets were probably unsold and it was an easy way to get more people in the building and buy concessions, etc. Still, it was some pretty cool interaction with our favorite group and a great story to share!