In 1999, my friend and fellow concert attendee, Carrie, and I perfected the art of securing front row spots at general admission concerts. By the way, the word 'concert' sounds 1980s to me for some reason I can't explain. I find myself using 'show' instead of 'concert' these days, but that can be confusing as show is often meant to be of the Broadway kind. So, anyway, I'm here to share everything we learned and to guide you to front row (or very close to the stage) success.
1. Get there early
Your position in line will directly impact where you end up standing in the venue. Don't expect to show up when doors open and find a spot up near the stage. Unfortunately, you need to invest time waiting in line if you want to be near the front.
If you happen to arrive at the venue and there is no line, lucky you. Start the line and be sure to tell anyone who arrives after you that you are the line. Act and speak with authority.
2. Wear comfortable shoes
Those wedge heels may seem comfortable now but three hours into your journey, you're going to want to toss them into the nearest trash bin. No one cares what your shoes look like and it's okay to wear that cute outfit with sneakers or the like. No one cares. I've met band members wearing a clubbing outfit and running shoes. They didn't care what was on my feet.
3. Dehydrate
I suggest only taking in as much fluid as necessary to survive because the last thing you want to do is have to go to the bathroom.
4. Pack light
Chances are you're going to have to go through security and no one wants to get held up while some man wearing rubber gloves rifles through your bag. Bring only the necessities. (Back in the day, we used to sneak in point and shoot cameras and never got caught. As we all know, times have changed and security is a lot different than it was 20 years ago.)
5. Don't go for the center
Most people assume that the best spot to stand is center stage and that would be true if the crowd is not rowdy and you are one of the first ones in the venue and center stage at the rail is open. If not, go to the side a bit. Trust me, it's best to be closer to the stage even if that means standing in front of the back-up guitarist versus the lead singer. You'll be able to see just fine.
6. Respect others
Don't try to cut in line and please don't tell me that your "friends" are up front and you need to push past me to get to the them. #nothappening
VIP - Suppose you want to be right up front but don't want to wait in line with the peasants. Fast forward from 1999 to 2018 and all you need to do is purchase a VIP ticket package, which will, in most cases, allow you early access to the venue. I have mixed feelings on this newish money-making level of ticketing. VIP stands for Very Important Person. But you've had to spend $$$ in order to be that Very Important Person and really, how important are you?
Last week, Rich and I saw the Goo Goo Dolls perform in Boston at the House of Blues, which is still Avalon to me. When the tour schedule came out and I read House of Blues, I had no idea where that was. Goes to show how long I've been out of the club scene. I believe the last show I saw there was Lifehouse in 2001 maybe.
This GGD's tour is for the 20th anniversary of their most successful album. A lot of bands are doing these tours now where they play the entire album from start to finish. I was super excited for this show because they were going to play two sets - the first being the album and the second a mix including many much older songs Due to the nature of the tour, the band wanted to play smaller venues to keep the audience to "hardcore" fans. Not that I'm one to judge or anything but I did notice several "VIPS" who did not know any of the older songs. That is not hardcore.
Rich has attended many shows with me but only one was general admission. GGD played a smaller college tour back in 2010 which was in support of an album that wasn't really being promoted by their record label. We hung out with a friend of mine before the show and he let us through the back before the show had started. There really weren't many people there so it wasn't crowded and we were fairly close to the stage. So that was Rich's general admission experience.
My first concert was New Kids on the Block in 1989 at the Centrum in Worcester, MA. Our seats were on the second level and while I was super excited to be there, the stage was really far away and we couldn't see much. There was a disconnect my 16 year old self was unable to verbalize until 9 years later when I stood in the front row of a concert for the very first time. I was blown away by the difference. I've sat in the very last row and I've stood at the very front and, for me, those are two completely different shows.
The show last week was a perfect example of being able to land close to the stage without spending $$$ on premium package tickets because there were no seats on the floor. It was all general admission. The catch was that we would have to invest time waiting in line and not only was it bitterly cold outside (thankfully, the rain had moved along), but I'm feeling too old for this now. We ended up standing in line for 50 minutes and landed in the fourth row. Not bad at all. We even made friends with a couple who had been standing near us in line so the wait once we got inside went by quickly.
At the end of the night, I was so very happy. The show was fantastic and, in an odd way, it sort of felt like everything had come full circle from the first time I had seen this band 20 years ago. That was my 51st (give or take a show or 2) time seeing them!
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