According to frequent concert-goers in Atlanta, it was surprising that Bruno Mars chose the Bobby Dodd Stadium at Georgia Tech for The Romantic tour.

Upon entering the venue, we followed the story of three die-hard fans dealing with the devastating surprise of an obstructed view upon arriving at the concert.

The worst location

“We walked over to our seat in the bleachers and these enormous black pillars blocked the entire middle of the stage. ABSOLUTELY not.”

This concert is a dream for most, as Bruno Mars hasn’t visited Atlanta since 2019. Plenty of people in the sections behind the towers paid good money for those seats.

I interviewed my good friend, Kristin, for more on her experience:

“I paid like $320-350 to see HIM, not these d*** towers.”

She proceeds to pull up the tickets on her phone, and the friends chimed in.

“See? Where does it say obstructed? We’re not staying. Let’s go see what we can do.”

The Breakdown

Step 1: Get there early.

The sun was still out and the opener hadn’t quite started yet, prime time for addressing any issues prior to the awaited performance.

“Unaware of the obstructed view, getting there early gave us enough time to scope the scene and determine how to get a better view.”

The girls then left their seats to speak to someone that can help.

Step 2: Don’t be discouraged with the first few rejections.

This concert is a big deal to these three, therefore, they overcame any reservations of possible rejection.

The workers were friendly yet firm, so they got a lot of respectful no’s:

“It’s a sold out show, I’m sorry.”

“I can’t change anything, but you can go to guest services at gate 8.”

“No girl that sucks! Let me find someone for you.”

While the workers did their best, the primary issue was that they didn’t have the authority to change anything about the situation. 

Pro-tip #3: Find the manager.

It’s typically the people wearing a different color from most of the workers. They likely have a walkie-talkie, and they’re the ones walking around.

“Everyone else was wearing neon, these guys were the ones in black and white. My friends asked a different manager and he didn’t help. I was on my own, and I found a respectful man that understood our situation because the tickets didn’t state obstructed at any point.”

They weren’t sure if this man would help them at first, but with persistence, they found some results!

Pro-tip #4: SHUT UP!

The concert team examined the tickets, confirmed the unfortunate inconvenience, and the girls got wristbands for FLOOR ticket upgrades.

“We were so excited when he was walking us to our new seats, but we knew we needed to hold it down and remain calm. We weren’t complaining in the stands with other people, we just put in work.” They each dapped the other up in support.

Ask and You Shall Receive

And so, the girls continued to dance to the entertaining DJ set of Anderson Paak, the guitar solos of Leon Thomas, and of course, the highlight of their event: losing their voices and minds to Bruno Mars performing the songs they grew up with.

The biggest takeaway being: never settle for less. It’s only up from where you start. Take more chances, and you might find yourself in a better spot.

We love when Atlanta loves our people back.