Despite being limited to Hawaii residents, tickets to Jack Johnson’s concert at the Waikiki Shell on Aug. 1 sold out within an hour Saturday morning, and officials are planning a second show for Aug. 2.
Jeff Mallin, 50, of Aina Haina, arrived about 3 1⁄2 hours before the Blaisdell box office opened, hoping to get seats for his girlfriend. But minutes after the box office began sales, Mallin walked away with lawn admission, the only option remaining.
"I stood in line since 6:30 in the morning for lawn tickets for nothing," Mallin said. "I could have been sleeping for the last four hours instead of standing in line."
He added: "I don’t even know who he is. My girlfriend wants to go. She wanted to sit in the pool area … She’ll be mad."
Tickets for Johnson’s show went on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday at the box office and online. The show — part of Johnson’s 2014 World Tour — is the folk-rock singer’s first hometown performance in two years.
Johnson, a Kahuku High & Intermediate graduate, wanted to give Hawaii residents a shot at tickets first, said promoter Matty Hazelgrove of BAMP Project. Credit cards with a Hawaii ZIP code were needed to buy tickets, and tickets for everyone else were supposed to be available on Sunday.
But the show sold out in less than an hour, BAMP Project’s Facebook page said. A post on the site said a second show on Aug. 2 will be announced soon.
The precise number of tickets sold was unavailable, but the Shell’s capacity, including lawn seating, is about 8,000.
In February, Hawaii fans had trouble buying tickets for three Bruno Mars shows. The Blaisdell Arena concerts sold out in two hours, and Ticketmaster records showed 40 percent of tickets were purchased by people on the mainland and in Canada.
Jennifer Puglisi, 24, of Honolulu, and Emily McCauley, 23, of Kapolei, were 10th in line, but couldn’t get five seats together.
"We thought getting here three hours early, we would have been able to get good seats, but we ended up on the lawn anyway," Puglisi said. But they were still thrilled for a chance to see Johnson live.
"I’m excited," McCauley said.
Proceeds from Johnson’s concert will benefit his nonprofit Kokua Hawaii Foundation, which teaches young people about the environment and eco-friendly living.
Joe Perry, 32, of Kaimuki, suspected that Kokua Hawaii members, who could buy tickets from Thursday, bought most of the seats.
"I can understand that," he said, adding that he didn’t mind waiting in line for lawn tickets.
"It’s kind of fun," he said. "It’s part of the experience."
Lorine Leon, of Punahou, went to the box office to save the $14-per-ticket online fee. She was glad Johnson offered tickets to locals first.
"It’s great that he gave us the option," she said. "Otherwise, it would have been sold out before we even showed up (at the box office window)."
Johnson released his sixth studio album, "From Here to Now to You," in September.