Dead & Company Sphere Opening Night Photos | Mike Hardaker Mountain Weekly News
Las Vegas, Nevada – Fans of the Grateful Dead music and specifically Dead & Company’s take on these classic tunes are headed to Sphere this summer to celebrate almost 60 years of psychedelic rock and roll from one of the greatest American music acts ever, in a venue that feels like it was made for this type of music.
However, with all the excitement came the fleecing of the fans at the hands of a company called Vibee. Vibee which is owned by Live Nation Entertainment also runs Ticketmaster.
For years music fans have had trouble buying concerts tickets during pre-sales only to see the same tickets on the second-hand market instantly after the on sale. Was Live Nation and Ticketmaster allowing re-sellers the ability to purchase tickets before the events? Sure, seems to be the case and one of the reasons the DOJ is currently suing Live Nation Entertainment.
Dead and Company 2005 Dates for Las Vegas Sphere
MARCH 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, 29
APRIL 17, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26
MAY 9, 10, 11, 15, 16, 17
Buyer Beware: Avoid Vibee’s Inflated Packages
Looking for Dead & Company tickets but got burned by Vibee’s high prices? You’re not alone. The Department of Justice (DOJ) is currently suing Live Nation Entertainment, which owns both Ticketmaster and Vibee, for allegedly giving resellers an unfair advantage [DOJ lawsuit against Ticketmaster]. This lawsuit raises concerns about transparency and pricing in the ticketing industry, especially with companies like Vibee offering seemingly convenient packages.
Here’s why you should be cautious with Vibee:
- Massive markups: As this article highlights, Vibee’s packages can cost significantly more than booking directly with the hotel and buying tickets yourself. This can potentially double the price of your trip!
- Re-sale market savings: The good news for Dead & Company fans is that currently, tickets are available below face value on the secondary market. This means you can potentially snag a great deal without going through Vibee.
Here’s how to save money on your next concert experience:
- Book directly: By booking your hotel and tickets separately, you’re in control and can find the best deals.
- Consider the secondary market: Look for reputable ticket re-sale sites where prices can fluctuate based on demand. Try CashorTrade.org
Remember, these are just some tips, and prices can always change. But by being informed, you can avoid getting ripped off and enjoy the concert without breaking the bank.
So how does Vibee fit into all this?
Vibee offered packages with hotel rooms and concert tickets for Deadheads wanting to experience Dead Forever in Las Vegas. I personally planned to attend the first weekend of shows and purchased the Vibee package the day it went on sale. I felt honored to have got a ticket and hotel package. The prices were top dollar, and everything seemed fine. Las Vegas is not a cheap town, and Dead & Company tickets went for top dollar during the “Final Tour”
Vibee Overcharged Dead & Company Fans
However, it seem Vibee essentially charged fans twice as much if not more than it would cost to buy the tickets on your own and book direct with the hotel. Hundreds if not thousands of fans have caught onto this and have started contacting Vibee asking for refunds. And here is why:
Package total with Vibee was $4,133.24 USD for the 3 nights at the Palazzo, along with 3 nights of concert tickets.
If you booked the same exact room and purchased the same exact tickets on your own without using Vibee. The cost was as follows:
- $454 per night room x 3 nights = $1,362
- $195 per ticket x 3 nights. 2 tickets for each night = $1,170
Brings us total of $2,532.00 and this is buying at full retail rack rate.
I reached out to Vibee for comment on this article and they refused to have anyone from the PR/Marketing/Communications team follow up with me so I’m posting a letter from Vibees “Karen” or Sandy as she goes by.
Hi Mike,
Regarding pricing on our packages, Vibee secured a block of hotel rooms at negotiated rates to guarantee access, which were then bundled into packages with concert tickets along with other amenities. Hotels, like airlines and many other industries, may adjust their pricing higher or lower to respond to the market. By negotiating a set rate, we are not only offering price certainty but also guaranteeing access to packages.
One is certainly free to leave it to chance and see how pricing sits closer to the event, but that comes with a risk of tickets or rooms selling out or increasing in price. This is similar to the secondary ticket market which might see prices drop when demand is low, but could come with skyrocketing prices.
By purchasing on the primary market, fans are able to gauge the value they will receive for the price offered without any outside market conditions influencing the decision. While rates on certain dates have decreased, many have increased, but our price remains consistent. Package prices are therefore not adjusted in either direction, meaning there are no additional charges or refunds applied to fans accounts if market prices on accommodations change.
I hope this helps you in understanding the package better. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to make your trip to see Dead & Company the best it can be.
We value your thoughts and hope you have a great time in Las Vegas.
Best regards,
Sandy
Clearly this email didn’t answer my question, nor did Vibee offer a refund. So what happens next?
Vibee won’t be able to work with Deadheads in the future that much I know. This music is like church to many of us, so to see a company come in and overcharge, grossly makes me sick.
The point of this article is to warn everyone to Vibee’s practices.
Perhaps your considering buying tickets to any of the following Vibee events in 2024 and 2025?
Avoid Using Vibee, and Instead Book Direct for the Following Events
- Vibee – Dead Forever
- Vibee – Keith Urban’s High in Vegas
- Vibee – Beyond Wonderland
- Vibee – Yacht Club
- Vibee – EDSea 2024
- Vibee – Boots on the Water 2025
- Vibee – Rock the Ocean’s Tortuga Music Festival
I would seriously consider supporting a company that cares very little about live music. A company whose main goal is to rip off concert goers.
Overall Impression
The first weekend was a total blast and honestly it was worth the price of admission, that was until I decided I wanted to see more shows. And started finding hotel rooms and tickets available for a fraction of what I paid. Had I got a refund from Vibee I would have turned around and bought more tickets to this run.
I plan to attend 10 shows and possibly more. But wanted to make sure people understand there are others was to book, save money while coming to dance and sing along to your favorite tunes.
If you’re on the fence about going. Book your ticket now. Just consider doing it direct for the best deals vs going the Vibee route.
Sphere Dead & Company Opening Weekend Photos
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Hate to admit it, I was victimized by the Vibee cartel for 8 weeks of VIP hotel package deals for D&C. Things went downhill from the minute we got off the airplane, the vibee shuttle was late, and on the ride in they played the worst, most vile, most n-word laden loud rap music you’ve ever heard in your life. They dropped us off way in the back sub basement behind the convention center instead of bringing us to the front like normal VIP guests. We had to drag our luggage through the casino floor to check in. Upon arrival at the Vibee VIP check-in bench they had a piece paper that stated “The band and venue will open the doors in sync for our GA floor guests”,, meaning there would be no advance entry for the people who purchased the VIP floor package, even though advanced entry was specifically promised in the purchase information for VIP packages. The core people who were VIP floor guests throughout the run were able to forge a relationship with Sphere security and management in order to create a proper VIP advanced entry system, but we did that on our own, Vibee did nothing to make that happen. If you had a Vibee VIP Floor package, there was no VIP pre-show lounge this time as there were in previous years with Dead and Company when it was run by 100X Hospitality. There was no random entry system for guests as was done previously which gave every guest a fair equal chance at being first on the rail. Instead it was a first come first serve system that caused people to start lining up outside the sphere as early as 4 AM, on days with 110° temperatures. The waiting area had no shade, no water, and no bathrooms. This created many problems for many reasons, but mostly for Vibee VIP guests who were told to arrive at the West entry at 5 PM, only to find out there were at least 50 people already in line in front of them. Many times people would show up to find out they’re #50 in line, only look around and see 10 people there. This led to accusations of place holding and fake line lists and threats to cut in front of everyone. It got ugly after a while, all because it was poorly handled from the beginning with no structure or organization by Vibee. Annd no action taken once they were made aware of the problems. They were paralyzed with inaction and displayed an unforgivable amateurish lack of skills.
Vibee was painfully aware of the conditions and lack of structure for VIP’s but did nothing to accommodate them or make it easier. I watched week after week as the primary Vibee representative was torn a new orifice by angry VIP guests, to the point that I felt pity for her. Yet for 10 weeks total their attitude was “You work it out yourselves. we’re not gonna be connected to any of that in any way”. We presented Vibee reps with several solutions, they still chose to do nothing. Vibee responded only slightly after a photograph of VIP’s on the street in front of an empty Pizza box with the words “Vibee VIP Loung” made the rounds on Reddit and Twitter. Their response was, “Were looking for a place to put you guys”.
What’s both sad and ironic is that in the tunnel just before the Sphere floor is not one, but two large wonderfully appointed and staffed lounges that could have been used to hold VIP guests before the show. Also sad and ironic is that vibee was well aware of the random number entry system — because they used it to create a lottery for non-VIP ticket holders — to gain early access to the floor.
If you wanted to take advantage of what was promised when you purchased the VIP floor package, which was early access to the floor, you had to start your day as early as 5 AM. Since the shows didn’t finish till about 11 PM, all you could do was sleep, and wait in line outside of the sphere, 3 days a week for 8 weeks. Your other option was to forego any possibility of the early entry feature you paid for and just show up at 5pm hoping to get the best you could on the floor, which really wasn’t worth the premium VIP price.
The way Vibee treated the VIP guests in comparison how it was previously run is a middle finger in the face to the loyal fans. After week seven we gave up and sold our VIP tix at a loss. Shows were good, but not worth the baggage. If this is how D&C will be doing it from now on, I’m out. The ATM is closed to Vibee and D&C. My suggestion if they do Sphere again and you want a premium experience, go buy a box suite for you and 23 friends direct through the Sphere. The cost is comparable to the Vibee deal but a better experience and value. Vibee is the worst.
Hi Mike!! Great article…. and insight. I’m a victim of the “Vibee package”, along with a couple other deadheads that we met at the 8/01/24 show. I am so disappointed in what we received vs. what the package we purchased offered. Not to mention, my tickets would not work when we arrived at The Sphere. We stood at the box office for quite some time before the manager finally was able to see the tickets in her system and text them to me. The tickets that were sent 72 hours prior to the show did not work. I followed the directions from Vibee to save them in my wallet, which I did, just to get to the ticket scanner with a red light and X (invalid ticket).
I met a person at The Tuscany who said there was a class-action lawsuit against Vibee for this package offering incident. I would like to find info on that and be part of it. I’m sure other deadheads would like to as well. We were ripped off man!!
Sunny,
Thanks for leaving a comment. What did you think of the shows? Did you also do the Palazzo/Venetian? I was also in town last weekend and had a total blast. Albeit booked tickets for this one direct and used miles for hotels, and even switched hotels mid stay. Getting spendy after 13 shows…
-Mike
Thank you so much for writing this article and exposing this. Very unfortunate and most likely illegal practices. I hope something comes of it, and your article helps brings this to light. Keep up the great journalism, you have a new fan out of me.
Mark,
Appreciate you friend!
-Mike
Any idea what the best way to sell a vibee package would be? My wife and I cannot attend due to an aging dog who we have decided to stay at home with, and so need (or would strongly prefer) to offload our one night ticket and two night hotel stay, along with a meal voucher we packaged in. It seems like this is going to be next to impossible, so any tips are welcome.
Oliver,
What are the dates? Packages are selling on the secondary market, albeit much less than what people paid. Getting something back and more importantly not letting the tickets go to waste is important!!
I purchased another 3 day hotel stay with 3 nights GA for $1400 last month. Same package cost me $4,000 via Vibee. Ouch.
Let me know how I can help
-Mike
Mike, I appreciated your article. Do you have thoughts about why Vibee isn’t releasing any tickets until 72 hours before the shows?
I’m told (from Sandy) that even once released, the Vibee-bought tickets still can’t be easily transferred/sold on the Ticketmaster site, but only through the Sphere marketplace (or something like that).
In February I purchased some 3-night ticket-only bundles (in the 103-108 Sections) to organize a friend trip, knowing that not everyone necessarily could be in Las Vegas all 3 nights, expecting to be able to promptly re-sell the unused nights. Vibee did not disclose they held the tickets until 72 hours pre-show. In the intervening 4 months, equivalent tickets are trading at 1/3 the price. Tough situation since friends now have the option to save $500 per ticket on select nights by just buying an equivalent one on StubHub…
Did you get a sense about how much the Vibee “VIP” tickets were selling for individual nights once they are released within the 72 hours?
Very saddened by the whole situation. Appreciate your thoughts.
Evan,
I appreciate you taking the time to reply. I believe the 72 hour hold, although we got ours 96 hours prior is to limit scalpers. The tickets and all documentation clearly states GA transfers are not allowed. When in fact they are it’s just done either last minute.
Or people can transfer their GA tickets to seated seats and then from there easily trade, sell or attend in a different section vs floor.
Personally having been I think everyone should experience a night in the stands. But my heart and soul is on the floor with the spinners. So that’s where I will be the next 10+ shows I attend of this run.
-Mike
Good article Mike and information and thanks for all that you do for us !
Anytime Dancing Bear!
Hope to see you in Vegas
-Mike