Being involved in lifestyle marketing really has its perks. When GrapeThinking was in its infancy, and the only client was Tastevine.com, it was really easy to mix business and pleasure. As a group of Millennials passionate about promoting things that bring people together, we didn’t find it too demanding to travel to major cities and throw parties promoting particular wines, and of course, the Tastevine wine community.

As the “tech” guy, my traveling is not quite as adventurous as say Ruarri’s travels to Morroco, or Meghan’s trip Paris, but I do get a chance here and there, and I always try to make the best of it. Apparently, I’m starting a tradition of going to a concert/music festival to complement my business trips.

Late last year, while traveling in Chicago for a meeting with the Dead Grapes Society (an awesome group of wine-lovers), I discovered Lalapalooza was the same night/weekend. After talking with a few of the locals, I found my way to Grant Park, and was just in time to see The Black Keyes, and the last show of the night, Ben Harper, where Eddie Vedder from Pearl Jam made a guest appearance.

I’ve always wanted to see Radiohead. They are a band reveled as the modern-day Beatles, and they are currently making their way around the globe on their World Tour… Atlanta being the stop this past Thursday night. Being in town for several business meetings, I called on some friends to see what they were doing, and as would be expected, all of my friends were on their way to the show. After a quick call to Ticketmaster, I was relieved in knowing I could buy a ticket at the gate as there were plenty, and join my friends for what I was sure would be an awesome experience.

This is where it gets interesting. I make it to HiFi Buys (Lakewood) Amphitheater, and am informed the tickets are sold out… WHAT? After a moment shock, the guy behind the counter tells me he does have just one more. I quickly pay for the ticket and rush to the gate where I’m informed that my freshly purchased ticket has already been used… WHAT? Back to the counter I go, where the guy who sold me the ticket takes a highlighter and writes OK on it. Back to the gate, and without hesitation, they let me in.

Once inside, I navigate to where my friends are sitting, and they “sneak” me into the seats of the Amphitheater with them. After catching up, I proceed to tell them the story about my ticket being OK, at which point I pull out the ticket and show them. A few seconds later, we discover that the ticket I am holding is not the Lawn Ticket I assumed, but rather a front row ticket… WHAT?

Needless to say, I ended up not only getting to see Radiohead, but I was able to live the experience from the front row with a $66 ticket.

If you read this post, and you are wondering who Radiohead is, you can listen check out some of their music on the Amazon API widget to the left. Amazon just released the ability to embed a widget that plays mp3 clips, and what a great opp to try it out. (sorry, the tech geek has to come out somewhere)

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