This article is also available in: 日本語
I am luck to spend my birthday in Miami this year. I thank all my friends who sent me birthday wishes! I am really excited about taking new challenges and making new friends in the coming year. I will start it with enjoying the rest of my stay here in the U.S. until September.
So, I was looking for an airplane ticket and hotel with my temporal departure date to Miami, July 3, then Google started showing me some events, which would be hold in Miami in the beginning of July as advertisement. Google knows everything I am going to do. LOL. Anyways, among the ads, I found that Justin Bieber would have concert on July 2 and 3! The concert hall is only 10 minutes walk from my hotel too!
“This is gonna be the birthday gift to myself from myself!” I booked the ticket right away.
What impressed me is the booking system, which is called “ticketmaster”. On this website, I could select my preferred a wheelchair accessible seat and purchase it online.
The image below is not exact for Justin Bieber’s concert ticket sales, but it shows the same concert arena, American Airline Arena, where Justin had his concert on July 2 and 3.
If you select a wheelchair marked button, only wheelchair accessible seats are shown on the screen. You can select your preferred area and seats from here.
If you zoom-in, you will see more detail seats. Deep blued circles in the above image are wheelchair accessible. You can also select ones for your companions. Depending on the location, the price may be different because what you can see is different. You may consult with your wallet and decide where you want to sit!
In Japan, I have been to some concerts including Japanese artists and foreign artists, but I haven’t seen this type of booking system for Moon Riders (wheelchair users). I always bought a “regular” ticket with a regular process, and talked to a concert staff on the spot. Then the concert staff guided me to wheelchair seats (or more like wheelchair “space”). In this old way of ticket booking process, however, I have never known what kind of view I could get in advance. Moreover, I didn’t really have “my seat”, but the area was shared with other Moon Riders. It is like “first-come, first-served” system. If another Moon Rider comes before me, he or she takes better position.
In the past, Jeff and I went to a concert together in Japan. When we were waiting the show to start in a wheelchair space where the concert staff guided us, a companion of another Moon Rider ran to us and almost shouted “This is our space!” We believed that they came before us and took the space If we could all reserve the seats we like in advance we could avoid these unnecessary awkward moments.
Moreover, in Japan when there are many Moon Riders attending a concert and there is not enough space for Moon Riders, the concert staff would ask Moon Riders’ companions to watch the concert behind the Moon Riders, not next each other. I understand the reserved space is for Moon Riders exclusively but Moon Riders come to a concert with companions like family, friends, boyfriend, girlfriend because they want to watch and enjoy the show together! If Moon Riders sit in the front and their companions sit in the back, instead of sitting next each other, it’s not as fun and enjoyable!
Okay, back to Justin Bieber. On July 3, I watched his concert at American Airline Arena from my preferred wheelchair accessible seat which was on the left side of the stage. Very close to Justin that I could see his performance and even facial expression!
This was my very first time to go to a concert in the US. There are some other differences compared a concert in Japan. First, in the U.S., audience can take pictures and record clips of the concert. This is really awesome! Also a concert is not like that audience just listens to songs, but more like they sing with the artist together. I had so much fun time from the beginning and the end of the show!
It would be a great experience to go to a concert when you travel to the US. If you are a Moon Rider, check wheelchair accessible seats from the website, ticketmaster. You might be able to book a seat that is very close to the stage and enjoying the performance of your favorite artist.