As a 24 year old who has attended dozens of concerts over my lifetime, I’d like to think I know a little something about attending a show :) . Whether you’ve just started going to concerts, or are a crowd-surfing-mosh-pitting veteran, here are a couple of quick tips and tricks on making the most out of your experience!
1. Have a Game Plan
Are you going to this event with your friends, a significant other, or by yourself? Where will you meet up? Are you driving or taking a Uber? Can you bring that tube of lipgloss in? Doing a little research on the venue and having your plans laid out will make the experience less stressful. You don’t want to waste precious time circling around looking for parking just to realize the venue doesn’t offer parking. Likewise, you also don’t want to tell your friends to “meet at the entrance” and then later realize that there are 4 different entrances. (I’m speaking from experience! It’s super frustrating!)
If this a venue that you’ve never been to before, make sure you do your research and plan accordingly!
2. Manage your Alcohol Consumption!
I know all the excitement and energy in the air makes you want to ~TURN TF UP~, but over drinking can come with some pretty serious consequences.
First of all, you want to make sure security even let’s you pass through those heavily guarded venue doors. If you’re acting belligerent (aka actin’ a fool!!), security will not hesitate to deny you entrance or escort you off the premises! You also don’t want to end up over drinking and passing out before your favorite performer even steps foot onto the stage! Your friends, along with that hole you burned into your wallet, aren’t going to be too happy with you. You paid good money for the concert; make sure you get to experience and remember it!
With that said, if you do drink, remember: timing is key! For me personally, whenever I’m at an general admission event (no assigned seats), I tend to get a little irritated when there are people constantly pushing and shoving me in the crowd. Grabbing a drink before making my way to the stage floor ensures that my sanity is intact and helps prevent me from wanting to murder every sweaty drunk man that rudely bulldozes into me :)
3. Put that Phone Down
I get it, I swear that I do! All of us have the urge to add those videos onto our Snapchat stories and to take selfies with our friends of the stage, but don’t forget to put that phone down and just enjoy yourself! You don’t want to spend all night stressing yourself out about the lighting or angles of your videos. We all know how much I love Porter Robinson, but I remember the first time I saw him a few years back, I spent 85% of the night worried about capturing every single moment. I was pretty stressed out tbh, haha. I still had a great time, but do I still look back on the 20 videos I captured? No, not really. I had a good assortment of photos and Snaps posted, but I definitely would’ve enjoyed myself more if I would’ve put my phone down.
Plus, most people aren’t going to watch an entire 453 second Snap story, and more likely than not, you won’t ever look through all those videos again anyways. So save some memory on your phone, and enjoy the moment!
4. End the Night with a Dirty Dog (Optional but Highly Recommended!!)
A Dirty Dog is a hot dog topped with an assortment of condiments that you purchase from your local hot dog vendors outside of a venue after each concert. Honestly, I’m still not too sure why they’re called Dirty Dogs. (Is this a San Francisco thing?) If you’re ever wondering where you can find a dirty dog, just follow the smell of grilled onions and sausage. (You can almost always smell them before you see them!)
There’s nothing like devouring a dirty dog with onions, ketchup, mayo, and mustard to settle the late night munchies before heading off home. It’s a great way to talk about the experience you just had with your friends, while you’re all waiting for your Ubers to carry you back home!
At the end of the day, going to an event should be something that’s fun and memorable! Do you have any tips that you’d like to add to the list? :)
