After queuing outside the Regent Theatre from 3am yesterday, Brendon Griffen found what he was looking for - two $100 tickets to the U2 concert in Auckland in late November.
"I'm absolutely stoked. I'm really, really excited. I missed out when they last played here in 2006, so I can't wait," the 32-year-old Dunedin chef said.
"I've been following them for about 15 years and I'm a big fan. They were one of the first groups I got into.
"I was going to try to get the tickets on the internet, but it looked like too much of a mission. So, I decided to go down to the Regent about 3am and wait for the ticket office to open," he said.
"I stayed in the car till 5am watching the drunks in the Octagon and listening to U2 songs on my MP3 player. Then other people started turning up and we kept each other company until they opened the doors just before 9am."
About 20 people had joined the queue outside the theatre by then, Mr Griffen said.
Tickets to the Mt Smart Stadium concert sold out within an hour of going on sale yesterday morning.
More than 50,000 tickets, priced from $39.90, went on sale at 9am.
Within minutes of the concert selling out, tickets were appearing on TradeMe and drawing bids of more than four times the original price.
The Irish band will bring its "U2 360 Tour", supported by Jay-Z, to Mt Smart Stadium on November 25.
