When thousands of The Tragically Hip fans went clamouring for concert tickets Friday morning, many were disappointed to learn they had soldout in mere seconds.
Canada will devolve into chaos this morning at 10:01, when all the Tragically Hip tickets are sold out — david r corrigan (@RockneCorrigan) June 3, 2016
literally sat and waited for an hour staring at the timer for when the hip tickets come on sale AND THEY SOLD OUT IN SECONDS THIS IS BS — holly (@hollysummerss) June 3, 2016
Feeling united in the Canadian experience of not managing to get Tragically Hip tickets despite being ready at exactly 10am — Emily (@TooMuchEmily) June 3, 2016
“Hey, I just bought tickets to The Tragically Hip on Ticketmaster.ca this morning!”; – NO ONE — Douglas Chong (@oneguytwocups) June 3, 2016
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According to a report from the New York State’s attorney, the ticketing business has increasingly becoming less and less transparent, and, on average, less than half the tickets for popular shows are reserved for pre-sale and industry insiders, leaving the majority of ticket-buyers empty-handed. Often, these industry and pre-sale tickets make their way into the hands of scalpers, who sell them for as much as 10 times their face value.
Related: Tragically Hip Fans Are Furious After Pre-Sale Incident
Interest to attend The Tragically Hip’s summer Man Machine Poem Tour spiked when news broke on May 24 that lead singer Gord Downie was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. “This feels like the right thing to do now, for Gord, and for all of us,”; the band said in a statement. “We’re going to dig deep, and try to make this our best tour yet.”;
Related: The Tragically Hip Lead Singer Gord Downie Has Terminal Brain Cancer
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently paid tribute to Downie, citing his love for the Canadian rock band.
