Not to me. GA still happens, but it is not the rule and it depends on the artist. In High School (in North Dakota) the shows were always GA. I hated it because instead of focusing on the music it became about trying to keep your position and stay upright when they'd try to make the whole mass collapse by pushing back and forth. I wanted to pay attention to the show, that made it impossible. So I'd wind up standing back away from the stage. The one time I enjoyed it was for Metallica on the Damaged Justice tour and that was because I managed to be front and center. I was able to hold on to the barricade.. still even that wears you out after a while so I wound up making my way out 3/4s into the show.

I think it was a ND thing because they had no system of selling tickets with reserved seating.. no Ticketmaster. Whereas in Denver, CO where I lived prior to that, there was Ticketmaster so when I saw Bon Jovi on the Slippery tour, it was reserved seating.