Probably around Hotlanta, my buddy Joe startled us with the shitty news of "I dont have my ticket."  Me being the very nervous one and the one who needs to have everything planned out and must know what's going on at all times, really started to panic inside, but didn't let it show. Joe seemed to be pretty calm, oddly enough. 

Joe called up a friend who was leaving the next day by plane... he could pick it up and we would meet him somewhere. Well, he called back the morning he left and said he couldn't find it. So we were screwed. Even if he got the ticket, we would never see him because he got caught in the 24 hour long traffic jam coming from Lauderdale, and we were comin from the west and sailed right in without delays until we got off the highway. It was go time, and we had to devise a plan or come up with something. 

Scalping was not an option. Joe said "that's it..." we will all hide under the clothes and gear until we get passed inspection then we'll figure something out when we get in the grounds. Well, what he meant was bury me in the gear and he use my ticket to get a bracelet and get in, leaving me without a ticket because i could fit easier hiding in that probably 4ft by 4ft area in the back of a jeep Wrangler. I oblige and began to hide in the tents clothes and sleeping bags while joe in the passenger seat helped cover me up. 

We were in a pretty long line, and I was going to have to hide for a while. I was getting commands yelled at me from the front "cover up, cover... they are checking the backs of cars." I was sweating my ass off and thought i was going to suffocate. Finally, we got to the front and the of course they opened the door and searched the jeep.  When they opened the door I felt a coolness... it was the breeze blowing on the 6 inches of my arm that was exposed. Busted. We got sent back 

Long story short, we got a in a line where they weren't searching as hard, and joe got out, walked past inspection, then got in the car.  i hid again, he got a bracelet, then i went up to the information tent and showed them my reciepts from my mail order and got a bracelet. All that sweating and near lack of oxygen was paid off by two days and 20+ hours of rockin music.

 - Mike

Editor's Note: Gotta love a successful sneak into the venue.  Amazingly, one of my friends managed to sneak into a show at MSG a few years back... I'll never forget seeing him inside and wondering how the fuck he did it.