Hi Hello
If you are anything like me, you are a concert junkie. I thrive at concerts, I just love the atmosphere, the common bond between everyone, the chance to discover new music and meet new people. When I'm at a concert I am taken to another world, its like being teleported and I just get into this state of mind where the people at the concert disappear and I am emerged in the music and the vibe. I am at my happiest state at concerts, even though it might not seem that way from an outside perspective (but thats because people are dicks...which I'll discuss later).
Recently I went to go see The 1975, Young Rising Sons, and Cruisr at The Rave/ Eagles Ballroom in Milwaukee. This venue has a special place in my heart since it is the home of my first ever concert and it was really the start of my love for live music. The venue holds so many memories for me, from seeing my favorite bands, meeting new friends, band members, deep chats about life with the members of The Maine as well as marrying Kennedy Brock (long story for a different day). Although I love going to concerts I can't help but loath the idiotic people that come with it. No matter the band, the venue, or city, you will get those people who just wreck your experience...those are the people I would love to drop kick. It doesn't matter if you are an experienced concert goer or if this is your first concert, it will happen...and sadly you have to deal with it. But I am here to give you some tips on going to concerts in general to help your experience be a great one, because no one likes seeing a great band but surrounded by idiots.
Concert Preparation
Although you are dying to wear your band shirt and go all out on make-up and clothing to make you fit in or stand out, you do not have to put much effort or time into your outfit. Trust me, what you wear is not going to make the band members see you in the crowd or get you on the tour bus. Yes, you want to look good incase you do meet someone and get a picture, but you need to look like yourself and be comfortable.
Outfit Choices
1. The Shirt: Now, I'm not big on wearing band shirts to the concerts, I don't have a reason, I just don't do it..but if you like to, go for it. But a simple shirt will suffice. For the concert that I just attended I wore a black t-shirt that had a skull hand on it with the words "I don't trust me either" from Choies. It was comfortable but not too heavy to keep me cool during the concert. It is best to keep in mind the weather on the day of the concert. If it is a summer show, its nice to wear tank tops so you do not over heat and to prevent those sweat stains in your armpits. If it is a winter show, you want to wear a t-shirt and bring a jacket to wear when you are in line outside and after the show walking back to your car. I wore my leather jacket with a gray sweatshirt hood to the concert and since I had a t-shirt under I did not have to take it off since it wasn't too hot where I was sweating.
2. The Pants: Wear what is comfortable. If you are into skinny jeans, wear your skinny jeans. If you are into flare jeans, wear your flare jeans. You really cannot go wrong with the pants, just whatever is comfortable for you to wear and that matches the rest of your outfit. I wore my basic black skinny jeans (if you can't tell I wear a lot of black). Keep in mind the weather as well. Summer shows, I suggest wearing shorts. If you insist on wearing a skirt, wear spanks, leggings or tights on underneath because you never know what creep will be trying to flip up that skirt, or if you are at an outdoor venue..you never know when a gust of wind will pick up. I'm not a big fan of wearing dresses to concerts, but if you are dress person...take the same advice for the skirts..wear something on underneath, trust me.
3. The Shoes: THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. If you are at a concert, especially general admission concerts, you will be doing a lot of standing. Please, for the love of all that is good and mighty in this world do NOT wear stilettos. Your feet will be screaming by the end of the night. I cannot even count how many concerts I've been to where women try and wear heals and by the end of the show they are walking out holding their shoes because their feet hurt. Now, if you are wearing a small, chunky heal, that is okay because there is more support there, but no pencil thin heals that are 6 inches tall. You're trying to hard and you will most likely regret it later. My suggestion would be comfortable flats, boots or converse (or any type of trainers that you have). They are the most comfortable because they have the support in them and you're feet will be feeling fine by the end. I wore my black combat boots that are practically worn to bits. They have a half inch heal, great support, warm and black. What more would I need?
4. Accessories: Go with whatever you feel is appropriate for your outfit and that you're comfortable with. This could be rings, bracelets, necklaces, earrings, headbands, hats, whatever. Really, you can go no wrong in this area. For my accessories I wore two rings (the ones I wear everyday) and two necklaces. One was my
Ohana necklace from Taylor Jardine's Never Take It Off line and then a harmonica necklace from Hot Topic and a belt to keep my pants up.
Food and Hydration
I always make sure that I eat something before I leave for a concert. For one, most venues do not have a concession stand so if you get hungry during a show you have to wait to go somewhere after. Second, its cheaper. If you make something at home you do not have to worry about buying food afterwords. Now, you do not have to make something big or small..make whatever you are hungry for at the time. If you are hungry after the show, which happens to me all the time because I'm always hungry like for real, stop somewhere quick if you have to, otherwise pack some snacks and leave them in the car. Make sure they are nothing that has to be refrigerated or that melts easily because they could go bad in your car and make a mess. Chips, granola bars, pop tarts, cereal...snacky stuff.
Also, drink lots of water! I cannot stress that enough. Its going to get hot, the air is going to be thin, you will get dehydrated. Drink water! Now, I know you cannot carry in drinks to venues, and water at shows can be deadly expensive. So, what I suggest is to bring a water bottle and drink plenty before the show, then leave it in your car, so when you get out of the concert you can rehydrate on the way home. But always bring some cash with you just incase you need water during the show because that does happen sometimes.
At The Venue
Placement
I know you want to get as close as you can to the stage, but you must weight out your options. Yes, being up by the stage is an amazing experience, but it can also be very dangerous (depending on the crowd) and uncomfortable. But if you are short, like me, placement is everything. You paid to see the band, not the back of someone's head. And whether you like it or not, you will get those dickheads that are 6 foot or taller and they will look you in the eye and stand right in front of you because they want to get closer to the stage. In this situation you have two options, to move, or yell at the person who just stood in front of you. If you are me, you do both but you have to be careful. If you go for the yelling option you might yell at the wrong person and get into something you don't want to get into, or the person could be a bit understanding and move. If they do not move, then you have to move.
Throughout my experience at general admissions concerts, it is usually always just best to move. I have been front row many times, I have been in the pit, I have crowd surfed, I have been in the mob of people unable to see, but from what I have found is that actually standing in the back is not only allows for more room to move and dance, but you can see everything! More specifically, in the back and off to one of the sides is ideal. Once we moved to the side and to the back at The 1975 concert I was able to move to the music, wave my arms, get into the zone, and see the band.
Another great tip, when you go to general admission concerts, everyone is spaced out fairly well before the first act starts. Once the first act comes on they all rush the stage and if you stand towards the back and do not move, you will be able to see better and have plenty of room to see.
Enjoy Yourself
The most important thing about going to concerts. Enjoy yourself. If you do not enjoy yourself then that was a waste of money. I mean, I have seen bands that sucked but because I was having fun with friends, meeting new people and having a great time at the concert I did not care that the band I paid to see was horrible live. Also, don't worry about looking a fool at shows. Yes, people will judge you. They will judge what you are wearing, how you are dancing, how you are singing, and the amount of selfies that you take at the show. But you cannot let that get to you otherwise you will not have a great time because you are worried about everyone else. When I'm at concerts I love to dance and get into it and sing along. I know there are people behind me thinking I look stupid or that I'm "uncool" but do I give a damn? No. At The 1975 show there was a middle aged man dancing and hip thrusting with his lady the whole night. I loved that guy. He was probably somebody's father who drove them his kids and friends to the show and decided to make the best out of his night. Right next to my friend was two middle aged women who were jumping and dancing the whole night as well (props that they didn't spill their beers) and did they care if kids half their age were talking about them? No. So have fun, and don't worry if you look like an idiot during the show. The people who are judging you are the cynical hot heads who think they are better than everyone else anyways and show no emotion at concerts.
After The Concert
Be Patient
Most people after the show is done rush out of the venue like a stampede. This for one, gets you no where any faster. When we left The 1975 concert it took us nearly 5 minutes just to make it off the floor because everyone was leaving at the same time. Now, I knew that we should have waited, but everyone in my group had things to do the next day and some of us were up early and needed sleep, so we left with the crowd. But, normally I wait until it clears out. Sometimes you can catch band members hanging out in the venue because they were watching the headliner. I've actually met all of the members of The Maine for the first time doing that (I've met them like 3 times..but thats irrelevant). Also, it makes getting out of there a lot easier. Now some people will tell you to leave early before the band is done playing so you can beat the crowd but I'm going to tell you to stop right there. Why would you leave early? Most bands play their best songs last, or they do something awesome as a finale in the last moments of their set. So why would you leave and miss that? Also, I paid money to see them, I'm going to see as much of them that I can get.
Bathrooms
Now, you would think it would be a great idea to go to the bathroom on the last few songs because the majority of people go after the show. Although this works sometimes, I would suggest going at some point towards the middle or 3/4 way through the show. All the times that I've gone around this time I have noticed that hardly anyone was in the bathroom. I think there was one time that I had to wait behind like 3 people for the bathroom but that was it. Now, if you don't want to miss any of the show, you can wait in line after the show...but if you have to go and don't want to wait (because ladies we know that it takes forever in those lines) just hop on over to the closest gas station or store that is open and go there.
Meeting Band Members
Probably the most memorable thing about going to shows. If you meet a member of the band you are going to be telling your friends for years to come. I still do. I have told all my friends about my meetings with band members. I can't tell you what songs they played or what they did during the show (unless that was also unforgettable) but I can tell you if they put on a great show or if I met one of them. Now, this all comes down to the status of the band. Some bands do meet and greets, which is one way to meet them, or you get that nice random meeting in a more one on one way. If it is a more low-key newbie band they will most likely be selling their own merch at their table after the show because they cannot afford a merch guy. So going to their merch table is ideal after the show. Its how I met most of the musicians that I've met to this day.
If they are a middle status band, meaning that they have played multiple shows there and have a few albums out, they will sometimes be hanging out around random areas of the venue, inside and outside. Sometimes they will be hanging out by their vans or busses, and sometimes just in the parking lots. Its is all based on luck and hanging around the venue for a bit after the show. Yes, I've met plenty of people this way. At The Rave they usually hang out in the front parking lot or on the side road by their vans. Or inside just randomly in the room where the concert was. I met Gabe Saporta of Cobra Starship by literally running him over coming out of the bathrooms. We were both coming out of the bathrooms and ran into each other and I actually knocked him over because I was kind of rushing. A bit embarrassing but a cool story to tell.
High Status bands. You either need pure luck or a thick wallet. These are bands that are popular on radio, people that you always hear on the radio. A-list artist. Most of the time they wait until the crowds clear out after the show to leave or they sneak out fairly quickly after the show. So if you meet them just randomly it is pure luck. The other way to go is to pay out a whole load of money to meet them at meet and greets where its basically a "hi" *picture taken* and then "bye" type of situation. No fun.
But do not get discouraged if you do not meet anyone, its not the end of the world. There will be other concerts that you will go do and have a chance. Trust me. But if you do meet them, stay calm and cool. Do not be one of those annoying fans that just talk about how much they love them and blah blah blah...actually be a normal person and talk to them as normal people. I've had some pretty amazing and deep conversations with some bands because we talked like we were just two normal, everyday people having a conversation. Not once did we talk about the show or how much I'm a fan. We talked about everyday things, yes music was a topic but it was bands that we were both into and since music is something that we are both passionate about, we would talk about the technical stuff of it all. Because of these conversations, and my "marriage" to Kennedy Brock of The Maine, the second time I met The Maine, Kennedy actually remembered me and what we talked about our last meeting like we were old friends. Those are the moments I live for and tell my friends about.
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Wow! This post was longer than I expected, but I hope you retained some of that information and that I gave you some tips for when you go to your next concert. If you would like to hear some of my concert stories, or how I managed to marry Kennedy Brock, just comment or share this and I will maybe do a bonus post midweek.
If you have any concert stories, leave a comment and tell me about them. I would love to hear your concert experiences!
Until next time my misfits,
Stefanie
