Did anyone else get early entry tickets? What has your experience been?

Hey guys, I went to the show in Boston, haven't posted about it yet, waiting until I upload my videos.
But I'm really curious what other people's experience has been with the early entry tickets. They were very expensive but I thought that it was going to be worth the splurge to ensure that I was front row for Ben Folds Five, that is until I showed up, when it was clear that this was very poorly planned out. Unlike the nicely worded instruction email, everything was chaotic and extremely disorganized.
According to the email, check in for the early entry tickets would begin at 5:20 and we would be in the theater by 6. The email also said that Security would instruct us and we needed to print out and show them the confirmation email, and show the ID of the ticketholder.
Unfortunately, when I arrived at 4:45, there were several regular ticket holders ahead of me in line, and security was not at all informed about the early entry tickets or what the process would be for the early ticket-holders.
After we explained that we had paid extra for early entry tickets, they did have the regular ticket holders move back in line. However, shortly after that they asked us all to step back, because it is there policy that people who spent at least $15 in the House of Blues restaurant would get first entrance into the theater. I explained to them that this was not fair because we paid a lot of money for these tickets (much more than $15!) and understood that we would be the first ones entering the theater. After some arguing and explaining, they finally agreed to let us in first, but I can only speak for the few of us that got there early and were already close to the front of the line. I'm really not sure that all the people with early tickets got ahead of the regular ticket holders.
Unlike how the email described, there was no "check in." Nobody ever checked our ID or our email to confirm that we actually had early entry tickets, as was said in the email. And they did not even let us into the theater until after 6.
I am wondering why the communication was so poor at this venue, and if it was different at other venues? It seems ridiculous to me that I paid $117 a ticket (almost an extra $70 off the normal price) just to have to fight for my right to enter the theater early. If they didn't have these early entry tickets, I could have paid the normal price and just gotten there super early like I would have anyway!

It's been shit everywhere.
It seems to be worth it on the assigned seat venues (cause it's the only way to get in the first TWELVE rows). But in Detroit they never came and checked. KMH was awesome in Chicago and got me added to the list for Detroit.... but..... we were still outside 25 minutes with no recognition from the venue from the timepoint we were supposed to be inside. We got in cause Brooke, Stef and I talked to Nineyear through the box office window, and he just let our line in. No idea if anyone got in without being a special ticket or not. Outside of me. No idea.


HOWEVER. In Atlanta, I will say this, the Tabernacle did a fantastic job with it. I haven't seen anyone else put in that effort.

Ultimately in Austin (at Stubb's) it worked out fine- they let the early entry ticket holders in with enough time for us to get to the very front of the stage. However, as reported in other venues, the security staff had not been informed at all about the early entry deal. I got there plenty early (around 4:15) and got in line behind regular ticket holders who had gotten there super early. When I talked to security about my early entry ticket, one guy said "I haven't heard anything about that," and asked scoffingly how much I paid for my early entry ticket. Then he laughed and sort of mocked myself and others and said "Well good for you!"  and walked off. For about the next 45 minutes or more, the early entry ticket holders who were there (recognizable in their T-shirts) started banding together and trying to make sure that the Stubb's management knew. Eventually it was figured out and about 20 minutes before general admission opened, they walked down the line of people, asked to see our tickets, and then let us walk in the gates after we lined up separately. I got right to the front of the stage and got the ULTIMATE spot.. So it all ended well. Still, the issue seems to be a lack of communication with the venues.

Yeah I mean that's the same thing. It worked out for us all because we wouldn't settle for not being in the front, but it's really unfair that we all had to fight with security, and worry about it. I think this is ridiculous! Why would they make us pay that much and then not even inform the venues!