By
Maya Schechter
Arizona Daily Wildcat
About 30 tickets still available for Dead Day eve concert
A limited number of Counting Crows fans will have a second chance to purchase tickets for the May 2 concert today.
About 30 of 2,400 seats remain even after students camped out Tuesday night and the line to purchase the tickets had a steady flow until box offices closed at 6 p.m. Half of those seats have an obstructed view but will be available today at 10 a.m. either at the box office or by calling Centennial Hall.
Tickets for the concert - sponsored by the Associated Students of the University of Arizona and the University Activities Board - went on sale at 10 a.m., and by 2 p.m. only 300 out of the 2,400 seats remained.
The line filled with students, sleeping bags and guitars extended along East University Boulevard from Centennial Hall to Old Main.
A few fans began waiting in line as early as 7 Tuesday night, and by midnight that line had grown to about 125 people.
"I got here at 7:15 (Tuesday) night and I have not slept at all," said Brien Bowles, an undeclared freshman. "I'm so excited and jittery - I have never seen Counting Crows in concert."
Bowles, who was third in line, said he and his friends kept themselves entertained throughout the night by playing their guitars and singing Counting Crows songs.
Kathleen Nacozy, a communication and pre-business sophomore, said when she and her friend arrived at 7 Tuesday night, they "shouted in joy" because no one else was in line yet.
Nacozy shouted again when the box office opened and she was the first customer.
Tickets were sold on a first-come, first-serve basis so those closer to the front of the line would get the tickets closest to the stage.
"All of the die-hard fans are getting the front row tickets - they must be so excited," said Jenny Rimsza, ASUA special events director.
Some students were able to purchase tickets over the phone, which upset those who had been waiting in line all night. But after Rimsza spoke with Centennial Hall administrators, the phones closed at 10:30 a.m. and tickets were only sold at the box office.
Rimsza, together with UABconcerts director J.J. Kruglick, had been working on the idea of a spring concert for more than three months. After dealing with a few different bands and budget difficulties, Rimsza and Kruglick contracted Counting Crows for $50,000.
"The Counting Crows usually charge more for their concerts, but since they knew it would to be for students they agreed to do it for that price," said ASUA President Ben Graff.
Graff said that $25,000 of the $50,000 came from ASUA's budget, which the Senate approved two weeks ago without even knowing which band would be coming. But the senators were in support of giving the students a concert that would cost the students very little - $11 a ticket, Graff added.
UAB took a $14,500 loan from the Memorial Student Union to help pay for the concert, while the rest of the money came from university administrators. President Peter Likins, Vice Presidents Saundra Taylor and Joel Valdez, and Provost George Davis each donated $5,000 from their budgets.
The money from ticket sales will be used to pay back the union, plus 75 cents from each ticket will go back to Centennial Hall.
"No one will be making any money from this concert - it was meant to be a gift to the students," Graff said.
The Counting Crows concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. and will not have an opening band.
