Hannah Montana, Bruce Springsteen and the scalpers

I can tell when tickets go on sale across the country for another Hannah Montana show because there are dozens of hits on a blog I did months ago titled, Hannah Montana Scandal. There are a lot of angry parents who can't get their kids tickets to what is the most popular show in the country.

Bruce Springsteen, on the other hand, is coming back to the Hartford Civic Center in February, and the show is not sold out. The tickets left are pretty crappy seats. But I made my vow. I'm not going to deal with a venue that sells tickets to ticket brokers, and I refuse to buy a ticket from a scalper.

Of course, the invitation is still open. If Bruce wants to visit my radio show, he's welcome. Because here's the deal Bruce, the local commercial stations are not playing Magic. But WWUH is! So if you want to chat with some folks who really like your music, and not just your greatest hits, head north a couple of miles and we'll be waiting.

Another wrinkle in the Hannah Montana ticket scandal

It will be with some pleasure that I'll watch parents of angry pre-adolescents bring down the ticket scalping industry. But it seems possible.

I suspected that scalpers had some kind of software to get them to tickets faster, now it' clear.

Springsteen from the nosebleed seats

Okay, so I didn't get my wish, exactly.

Last Saturday, I got online on the dot of 10, and three minutes later my seat selection appeared - in the uppermost level, mid-section at the back of the arena. I talked to friends who had the same experience, but didn't even get tickets.

Yet, somehow, the ticket traffickers seem to have gotten good seats a-plenty, which are now being hawked on places like eBay for two, three and four times their face value of, approximately, $100 dollars.

I know Bruce has little use for ticket brokers and scalpers, and does what he can to avoid their practices, but it seems unavoidable, particularly when these practices are legal in nearby states.

One more reason to see shows in tiny clubs and coffeehouses. So maybe it isn't Springsteen and the E Street Band, but there's lots of talent out there.

Maybe I can get Patty Scialfa to come up to my radio show and talk about her new album.