Concerts

[Rosabeth]

After getting back from the Belle and Sebastian/Blitzen Trapper concert last night I was wondering how you guys feel about concerts. Are you a big fan and are constantly on the lookout for another concert to attend or are you the type to only ever go when dragged along with someone else? Do you prefer general admission (aka the mosh pit) or seats? What's your favorite genre? What, in your opinion, makes for a great concert? What was your first concert and how old were you?

Once you've answered those questions (should you choose to) share with us some of your best concert experiences (and add pictures)!

The concert last night marked my 7th concert (I think...) and probably about the 16th band I've seen live. I've been absolutely in love with attending concerts ever since my very first concert when I was 15. I was a big fan of Owl City and when I saw that they were opening for Relient K I bought Maddy and I tickets as a birthday present for her (we also went with another of our friends). It was a really good concert but incidentally marked the beginning of the decline in my love of Owl City and the rise of my love of Relient K. Since then I've seen Muse, Arctic Monkeys, Manchester Orchestra, Something Corporate, Jack's Mannequin, Belle and Sebastian, and Blitzen Trapper. Those are just the headliners. Some of the openers I've seen include The Silversun Pickups, Lenka, The Vaccines, Lady Danville, and The Classic Crime (and I'm sure I'm missing something else). I almost got to see Paramore but the concert was canceled the day of. I'm a firm believer that the mosh pit is the only way to go when it comes to concert going as sitting down just feels like cheating. I don't go just for the music - if I wanted to listen to my favorite band I'd pop in a CD. A big part of going to concerts is the experience, and for me that includes dancing, jumping around, and getting covered in sweat that isn't yours. Maddy is my concert buddy and I've been to all but two concerts with her, and we've developed a bit of a system as to how to get to the front row which makes the mosh pit much more bearable (and much more visible when you're 5'4).

The best concert story I have is that at the Jack's Mannequin concert Andrew McMahon, the main singer, came out on stage wearing a fake mustache and threw it on the stage a bit later. Since Maddy and I were at the front of the crowd we waited until the crew started cleaning up after the concert and asked one of the guys to give us the mustache and he did!

Here are some of my favorite pictures:

SPOILER: Click to show

At the Muse concert they dropped giant eyeballs full of confetti onto the crowd during "Plug in Baby."


The Muse concert which was by far the greatest concert I've been to.


The lead singer of Arctic Monkeys.


The lead singer of Relient K.


The guys of Lady Danville.


Andrew McMahon of Jack's Mannequin and Something Corporate.


The mustache of fable!

[cat.]

I've only attended 2 "real" concerts, like "buy the tickets online and all that jazz" concerts. First one was for A Perfect Circle, and the second was for M83. Other than that, I've just been to festivals, local shows at clubs, and I saw Joan Jett play last summer at the San Diego Fair.

To be honest, I like festivals a lot better. They're outdoors, and even though it's usually hot as balls out, you don't have to sit through an opening act (quite the gamble), and if you want to leave because there's some weirdo dancing and continuously knocking into you like it's a mating dance, you don't have to gripe about wasting your money because you can go see "GeT the f8ck Out of My PoOOoL" or whatever band you've never heard of instead.

Speaking of that last part, that's my beef with concerts/shows/gigs, especially the ones like M83 where it's possibly dance music: THE BAD PEOPLE. You have people who just wanna dance (right here, I'm one of those peeps), and then others who want to be as close to the stage as possible so they can stand around and do nothing but look bored. The worst part is when the Boredoms give you dirty looks for bumping into them WHEN THEY WILL NOT MOVE. They condense themselves as close to the stage as possible like dull sardines, and give the living the stink-eye for enjoying themselves.

The bad part with seats, however, are the people who stand up when you're in the pit. And if you're seated behind the 6'2" moron who decides the second row isn't good enough for his eyes, it doesn't make for a very good time (thankfully, this has never happened to me, but it has had to happen to some poor shorty).

But usually, if you go to a very select band, there are awesome people (usually who bond over the same esoteric music and share an understanding that they are there to forget everything in daily life and just have a good time with other people). Those awesome people are the people who bring beach balls and glitter to concerts, and throw those up in the air, and they don't even care if they get their beach ball back. Those are the people who will take if their shirt and ballroom dance with it, and don't give two craps about it. Those are the people who will step behind you if you's a little shrimpy peep so you can get a closer look, and who will catch you or help you up if you get knocked down. Those are the people who are usually a bit goofy, and/or a happy drunk. Those are the people who make awesome concerts more awesome-er.

tl;dr: concerts rule, but sometimes bad people ruin them. Bad people at concerts suck and they should leave. Awesome people at concerts make concerts even better, and bad people at concerts could learn a thing or two from them about good vibes.

[Tiara]

I haven't been to a concert in ages, but I used to go once or twice a year when I was younger.
I've seen Poison probably 6 times alone, along with Cinderella, Dokken, Firehouse, and one other hair band.
I've also seen Aaron Carter (and Nick and Leslie Carter), A*Teens, Smash Mouth, Willa Ford, Jessica Simpson, and a bunch of other people I can't remember who they were because I didn't like them. lol

Of course, the bands I would love to see now are all touring Europe.
No one really comes to Florida anymore *except Justin Bieber, and that type of music).

[Maddie]

I saw Toby Keith once when I was maybe 7 or 8 and I've seen Taylor Swift twice. I kind of want to go to more concerts but I also am not a concert person at all.

[tähti]

I saw the Backstreet Boys when I was eight. XD
Then I saw Switchfoot and a few other bands at this outdoor concert one time.
And then Gym Class Heroes, Cute is What We Aim For, and Fall Out Boy back when I was a freshman in high school.

I honestly get really anxious in crowds and end up feeling like I'm going to hurl even at the back of a mosh pit, so I tend to stay away from concerts. I had a chance to go to Macklemore back in March but I got sick and didn't go, I probably would have died.

[laura]

My first concert was Busted, when I was thirteen or so, then I saw them again the year after. I was obsessed with those boys, especially Charlie and his exceedingly large eyebrows. When the Spice Girls got back together, I went with my mum to see them, same with Take That; they were always our bands while I was growing up, so it had to be done. There was Snow Patrol for my 20th and they were fantastic - it solidified my love for Gary Lightbody (well, that and his cameo role on GoT) - and Coldplay last year. They were spectacular, oh my gosh, just amazing! I have every intention of going to see them again; just not standing up. That was an experience I'm not in a hurry to repeat.

I also went to see Johnny Mathis with my Grandad last year, not a typical concert, I know...but it still counts xD

[Deleted]

To be honest... I'm not much of a concert person. I just don't know what to do with myself when I'm there. I've been to Relient K, Kings of Leon, Death Cab for Cutie, Jack's Mannequin and Imagine Dragons.

I've kind of come to the conclusion that I'm done seeing live music unless it's a band that I'm totally crazy about otherwise I just feel awkward and out of place and like man, I'd rather be listening to this at home. That's how I felt about Relient K, Kings of Leon and Death Cab. Very meh. I actually left Death Cab early because they played so many of their new songs that I didn't know and I just sat in the bleachers the whole time feeling bored.

That being said, Imagine Dragons and Jack's Mannequin were absolutely incredible. For Jack's I was like crying the whole time, had a place in the very front next to Andrew and creeped outside his tour bus and got to meet him. I was absolutely insane and it was easily one of the best nights ever. Imagine Dragons was fun just because of the atmosphere and the people and just all around good vibes.

[Tiara]

Oh! I forgot, I also saw Huey Lewis and the News at Busch Gardens one summer.
And then I saw Herman's Hermits at Disney probably three years ago. That was the best concert I had ever been to.
And I went by a Drake Bell concert once. Some friends from school went to his tent to see him preform, but I went and got my face painted instead. (it was like a fair).

I almost saw Kiss one time, but Paul Stanley wussed out and canceled. We went to Busch Gardens instead. lol

[Aly]

I've been to Josh Groban twice and will be going again in October, Alicia Keys (but left early) and two Warp Tours--one with Fall Out Boy and one with Panic! at the Disco as the featured shows.

The one with Fall Out Boy had Mayday Parade, The Academy Is..., Gym Class Heroes and one more that I forgot.
The one with Panic had Plain White Tees, Cobra Starship and two more that I forgot. I didn't particularly like the music that was being played aside from the ones I mentioned.

Overall that is five but it will be six

[bryony]

I reaaaaaaally love going to live concerts- the atmosphere is just brilliant, and all the music just seems new when you see it live, even though you've listened to it a hundred times before. But you do have to stand around for ages and its all hot and sweaty :S I like standing best, though the venues haven't been huge at the gigs I've been to, but I don't like the mosh pit if there is one :S I've seen McFly like 3 times, Avril Lavigne, Of Monsters and Men, Ed Sheeran, Eliza Doolittle, and Scouting for Girls twice Of Monsters and Men was awesome- they had confetti cannons and there was so much you couldn't see the stage at one point and it was magical. And Ed Sheeran was incredible live, his songs are so fast and he was brilliant! There was one point he got everyone to be quiet and then put the mic behind his back, so you could just hear him singing on own and it was beautiful. And he was supported by Passenger who's getting quite big now. Such a good concert!

As long as the performer has a good like stage presence its enjoyable And confetti cannons are the best XD My first concert was McFly when I was about 8. It was with three of my friends and our mums took us, with our little sisters haha. It was a lot of fun and just such a great first experience of a concert

[Reilly]

I've seen Marina and the Diamonds while she was in Glasgow, and that's it. There's honestly no point to me going to concerts, because unless they're seated I won't see a thing. I've 5"0 and fully grown. The only song I got to see was I Am Not A Robot, and that was only cause my mate asked a bald guy to lift me up on his shoulders.

[Jenny Penny]

I figure I've been to exactly 10 concerts - or 9 concerts + a music festival.

My first real concert wasn't exactly a concert, but a big youth group event at an arena - but I only went for Relient K, the headliner and my favourite band. They were awesome, but oh-so-far away. But that's okay, because four years later I saw them playing at the same show with Jack's Mannequin and Dashboard Confessional. They were all phenomenal, and it didn't really matter that my friend had gotten sick so I was there by myself. It was blissful. At the end they all came out and played Vindicated, El Scorcho (my fave Weezer song) and Straight Lines. Amazing. And I love that they were all such good friends and you could tell.

At separate gigs I've seen Fun. (amazing vibe, I tell you), An Horse (an phenomenal Aussie band, check 'em) and The Wombats. I went to the Bayside/The Starting Line/Anberlin in Melbourne, and also show with Walk The Moon (one of the best acts of the last year) and The Rubens (Australian up-and-coming). The energy was amazing and I couldn't stop smiling. We were right up the front, and the WTM bassist threw his pick at me, but it inevitably landed in the abyss that is the mosh pit floor.

Probably the best concert I've ever been to is Children Collide, on two separate occasions. It gets really wild in the mosh pit and they put out so much energy I can't even describe. It's a really mesmerising, sweaty experience...even better if you can ignore the large, sweaty man inadvertently humping you from behind in the packed space. But that was only one time. And I can handle it.
Usually I'm the one pushing back if someone pushes, and trying to keep my short best friend from being squished and making sure she can see the stage. And don't even get me started with people that come to concert's late, just in time to see the headliner and try to push their way to the front. I'm going to have none of that.

Over New Years I went to the Falls Festival, camping out for two days. It was amazing (I say that a lot, but I mean it). I saw Ball Park Music, Jinja Safari, The Bamboos, The Vaccines, Best Coast, Bleeding Knees Club, Loon Lake, The Jungle Giants, Bertie Blackman, Maximo Park (Paul Smith has so much stage presence omfg), Two Door Cinema Club (at midnight NYE) and DZ Deathrays (at 1am on New Year's Day). A great experience. Would recommend.

I prefer the mosh pit to seating - for one, I like being close to the stage but I also like to be able to move around, given that's the kind of music I listen to/go to see live. I love dancing and bouncing around to the music (and I don't think people sitting behind me would like that).

I don't go to concerts really often though - mainly because of the expense, but also because it can be really draining for me emotionally. I don't do well around crowds for extended periods of time, but in short bursts I'm okay. It's not something that I want to do every week. And that's also okay because it keeps it special. When I go to see a band live it generally means that I really, really, REALLY like them and I'll stand there throughout the set looking up at them with big eyes, asking myself 'how are you real.'

[Mollianne]

I think I've been to two actual concert. I went with my family and we were seated (but because we were side on my mum was practically deafened in just the one ear). That was to see Kaiser Chiefs. It was fun, though. And the other was a few weeks into my first year of uni when I saw The Feeling. I went with my newfound friends and it was this small venue and I really enjoyed it (except when this woman kept dancing into me and blocking my view). XD

I've also been to a music festival. I can't say I particularly enjoyed it. The music was good; the people attending were not. The only bit I really look on favourably (regarding the people) was when Kaiser Chiefs (because they were there, so I saw them again) sung I Predict A Riot and this group of friends started playfighting and tackling each other. We were pretty far back so it wasn't like they really got in anyone's way except when they nearly knocked me over. But it was hilarious. Of course, right after that some girls actually started fighting and security had to be brought over. But yeah, I wanted to be in the main crowd, since the atmosphere is better, but I just couldn't take it because people throw stuff at you (drinks, and, er... piss). It was disgusting and I just hated it. I also got tired/felt a little ill partway through the headliners and had to go back early, taking a friend with me (which made me feel bad, but she said it was fine). But I saw... The Noisettes, Hard-Fi, Olly Murs, Ellie Goulding, Scouting For Girls, Kaiser Chiefs, Rihanna, Eminem (a tiny bit)... I can't even remember the headliners the other night), Razorlight... and probably a couple of others. I had barely listened to quite a lot of them; I just saw them because they were on and why not.

I don't think I'm really a concert kind of gal (definitely not a festival girl). Give me a musical or a play any day.