Ben Folds is rockin' the sales.
Tickets for this year's Spring Fling concert - headlined by Ben Folds and prefaced with a set from Third Eye Blind - went quickly yesterday, the first day they were available on Locust Walk.
"I'm pretty sure we've broken every record out there," co-Director of the Social Planning and Events Committee's Concerts Committee Matt Mizrahi said of today's sales.
"It's a welcome surprise to all of us," said Mizrahi, a Wharton and Engineering senior.
Spec sold 1,143 tickets today for the April 13 concert, a number well above the 300 that were sold on the first day of tickets sales for last year's O.A.R. Spring Fling performance.
The concert's capacity is 3,000.
Mizrahi said he does not expect to sell out for at least another day or two.
"There was pretty much a constant stream of ticket purchases," said College junior and SPEC co-director Tony Rizzo, who was on Locust Walk for most of the sale. "The line kind of grew and shrank as classes ran out, but sometimes it was up to 20-30 people."
The first 500 tickets were sold for $20 each; after that, each ticket cost $25, and students rushed to take advantage of the discount.
But there was little time to waste.
By 11:09, Wharton freshman Alex Anderson had already bought ticket number 342.
"I knew the price would go up, and I wanted to make sure I got a ticket because I wouldn't want to miss this opportunity," Anderson said.
Still, the $5 ticket increase didn't stop students from snagging one today.
College freshman Danny Fein bought tickets 1071 through 1075 at about 2:30.
"At this rate, we'll be sold out within a week," Rizzo said.
Mizrahi credited the sale's pace to the $5 discount awarded to the first 500 people who bought tickets.
"There were people who were disappointed, but the majority of people would get to the table and say 'oh no' and then run to the ATM . to get more cash," Rizzo said.
Some students were caught off guard by the pace of the sales.
"I had no idea they were selling so quickly," said College freshman Josh Corn.
Corn added that the speed of the initial sales will likely make the remaining tickets disappear even faster.
Tickets will be available again on Locust Walk tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and will cost $25 each.
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