I've gotten lots of front three row tickets for Gov't Mule seated shows over the years.

GA we usually manage to ride the rail with JoLyn & friends.

Like you, I've never paid over face value for tickets and never will.

Back in the days when you actually had to go to the box office or an authorized ticket outlet and get in a line and wait for it to open, I used to occasionally get seats within the first 2 to maybe 7 rows if I got up early enough and waited at or very near the front of the line.
Seats near the front were also a lot cheaper then compared to the "tiered pricing" systems that are so common these days, especially at the larger venues.

I stopped going to the larger venues several years ago, partly because of rising ticket prices but also because I got to the point where I had seen all the big name groups I wanted to see that play those types of places.
Now when I go to a show, I mostly go to see bands that play the smaller venues (usually around 300 to 600 capacity) and rarely have any problem getting a seat somewhere in the first 1 to 3 rows for face value at a reasonable price.

I'm glad I got to see bands like The Stones, Who, Bowie, Pink Floyd, etc. back in the 70's and 80's. If I wanted to go to similar big name act shows today, even at face value for a ticket, I'd either be priced out of the show or I'd probably have to settle for nosebleed or lawn seats.

My first job as a news photographer was at a small local entertainment paper with little pay but front row to several acts. Govt Mule in 95 was a great one.

Not including GA shows. Avett Brothers in an arena. We were in the second row behind the GA area on the floor. Bought tickets at the venue day of the show.

Saw Bela Fleck & the Flecktones and Chick Corea Elektric Band last summer. The attendance was low so we got pretty close when the usher told us we could move down. That was a great show.

Wheels of Soul I bought a ticket the day of that was 7 or 8 rows back. Ended up moving back so I could stand.

Sting at the Ford Theater in L.A. Third row on the left. The Mrs. was very happy getting to see Sting up close!!!

Interesting that so many consider the first two or three rows to be really good seats.

Based on the small number of occasions I've had front row seats, I would never buy them again! There surely can't be many halls where the optimum place for sound is the front row?

Back in the Beacon days, I went for loge seats for the sound and the adherence to a seating policy. This after having experienced the boisterous atmosphere in the orchestra seats.

If you want to see artists up close and scrutinise their taste in shoes, first row is ideal!

Skynyrd in 03, front row center & I bought the tickets the day of the show for like $50 each.
For whatever reason they had just become available shortly before I purchased them.

I went to see Mott The Hopple in Glasgow 5 years ago and had an upper balcony ticket, row M. I had gotten there early and decided to take my seat early. A member of the venue staff came over to me and asked if I would like to be upgraded. I ended up with a stalls row C dead centre ticket. BINGO!!

Steely Dan Beacon several years ago.
Called tickemater to order tickets, not via email or online because I wanted to complain about front row seats that I thought I had gotten from the website but when I cheked out they were gone.
She gave me a pair of front row seats on the aisle. This show was for the full royal scam release and to our surprise larry Carltown came out for the entire show!!

I still regularly get great seats at smaller local venues. For the larger shows in big venues, forget it, unless you are willing to pay for VIP tickets at scalper prices.

The DTB and Mule pre-sales were always good for good seats, depending on the policies of the venues. I don't know what TTB does, but I don't care either.

I support two local venues with memberships and that sometimes gets better seats, but I would support them anyway.

got 1st row of teh seoncd section (maybe 10 or 15 row) center, right in front of the SB, at TTB in Orpheum a few years ago through pre-sale. As someone said, I wouldn't have wanted to be any closer. at that venue
I know that cause I had 4th row at the Pavillion for ABB and couldn't hear a damn thing.

Several years ago, got 3rd row seats at Boston Garden for Springsteen for the E St reunion tour. Before the internet. The story:
My wife got through on the phone, ordered tickets, got tickets, and they hung up on her before she could give CC info.
called customer service, was on hold forever, cursing her brains out. As she said "I must be cursed" someone picked up and said tentatively - can I help you. She told him the story and said don't go away, I won't put you on hold. He came back and asked if 3rd row would be OK. We never actually got the tix - had to go to the show 1-2 hours early, show photo ID, and get ushered in. Everyone around us had a story of some kind. Bruce doesn't sell tix for the 1st row - the ushers are instructed to go to the nosebleed section and pull people down. It was pretty cool to see.