Guide to getting seats for big name shows...Pay or Pray
There are precious few ways to get good seats for a show like Madonna. Also keep in mind that face value on some of her tickets is $350!!!
1) Join the fan club of the act you want to see and hope they have a pre-sale for their concert dates in which only members can buy tickets before the general public gets a crack at them(yes, Madonna did this). Even this does not guarantee you a good seat, just a seat. I joined the U2 fanclub and got floor tickets for one show, a friend of mine joined and got balcony seats which were more expensive than the floor seats I got.
2) Camp out at the box office for several days before they go on sale so you can be first in line. I showed up at a ticketmaster outlet once to buy U2 tickets and the shows were sold out in minutes. Only the very first person in line got tickets and they were in the balcony at that, over two hundred people were turned away empty handed some of whom had camped out overnight.
3) Get a job at your local venue or make friends with someone who works there in hopes you will get a chance to buy before the general public
4) Pay a scalper a Kings ransom. My friend and I payed $600US for 2 $45 tickets for the 3rd U2 show we saw last time around, the only upside...we got into the elipse so it was actually worth it!
5) Pray you win a contest on a local radio station.
6) Pray someone who has gone through sheer hell to get seats for the show can't go for some reason and you happen to be the first person they tell.
Otherwise, put in a DVD of your favorite performer, turn up the volume, take out your Bic, and pretend you are at the show.