Concert-Going 101: Tips and Tricks to Make the Most of Your Live Music Experience
Concert Season is in full swing! Hopefully, you’ve been able to get outside to see some performances (check out the list outlined in our last post for a list of recommendations). Here you’ll find a quick guide of tips and tricks you need to make the most of your concert-going experience.
Attire and Supplies:
There are a few things to consider when planning for a concert. Inside or outside? Time of day? Number of performers? General admission, or assigned seating?
If the show is outdoors in the middle of the day, don’t underestimate the value of comfort and hydration. Whether or not you take proactive measures (like stocking up on sunscreen and water), can make or break your experience. Don a hat to keep your face shaded, and keep the shoes comfortable; closed-toed if you like being one with rowdy crowd! If there’s a day-to-night transition, just make sure you check the weather and bring any layers you might need.
If you’ll be indoors with assigned seating, it’s likely that you won’t be fighting crowds or moving too far from your seat. Depending on the venue, you can dress it up a little bit; without the elements to consider, there’s more freedom to be fancy.
General Conduct:
Attending a concert comes with its own set of social norms, widely dependent on the context of the show. Sit-down, inside venues and classical concerts, for instance, tend to have slightly higher expectations of their audience members than an outdoor music festival. Some things to note:
When attending a classical or sit-down concert, it’s best to treat it like the theater; this means staying quiet during the performance so as not to disturb other audience members, holding applause until instructed, and silencing all electronic devices. A full list of common behavioral norms for sit-down shows can be found in this 2014 Concert Etiquette piece by Liza Mirza Grotts, originally published in the Huffington Post.
Open-air concerts come with a slightly different set of norms. While you can expect to hear more talking (and experience mild jostling), the golden rule is to respect fellow concert goers and attempt not to impede others’ experience negatively. This means saying excuse me when making your way through a heavy crowd, keeping loud commentary and conversation to a minimum amongst friends while musicians are playing, and practicing awareness for your surroundings.
Inside or outside, there’s one piece of etiquette that applies to just about any concert - and it deserves its own section:
Cell Phone Recording
Recording concerts with cell phones has been a hotly debated topic in the social media age, mostly because it’s something almost everyone has done, while also being something that annoys most people, including performers. Some artists (Jack White and Alicia Keys, to name a couple), have even gone so far as to ban cell phones from their shows to manage the experience they want to provide.
Whichever side of the fence you stand on, it’s becoming evident that the fad’s cons likely outweigh the pros, taking audience members out of the very moments they’re trying to capture (outlined in this 2018 piece by Vivian Manning-Schaffel). While it’s not an outright faux pas yet, it could be worth considering both your experience and the experience of your neighbor before fumbling with your Instagram story settings - and limiting the frequency of your cell phone use to a couple of snapshots.
Concerts are unique and often emotional events that can’t be replicated… that’s what makes them special. If you practice basic preparedness, awareness and respect for fellow audience members and performers, you’ll set yourself up to enjoy the time intentionally and fully. So sunscreen up, silence that phone, and enjoy the magic live music can be!