Hello!
My concert season is rapidly approaching, with less than two weeks until my big 5 Seconds of Summer concert weekend, followed by Beyonce in the summer. It’s around this time of year that many people have concerts coming up. I know some people just turn up to the concert, enjoy, then go home. For others, it’s more of a big outing – especially if they’re a big fan of the artist. Following from last year’s post about my five concert essentials, I’ve written up some of my key tips for getting the best experience from your concert.
Sign up to pre-orders
Lots of acts offer a pre-sale if you sign up to their website or newsletters. Find out all the pre-order details and sign up. This way you’re pretty much guaranteed tickets to the show and if you miss out on pre-sale, you have a second chance at general sale. It may also be a great idea to check big fan accounts of that artist via social media because they usually have their ways of finding out all the information you may need.
Start saving immediately
Whether you plan to get a lot of merch or go out for food before the show, if you start saving from the day you book your tickets right up until the day of the concert, you’ll have a good amount of money to spend. A lot of concerts sell their tickets around 10 months in advance to the actual show, so if you put £5 in jar every week up until the show that’s 5 X 43 = £215! That means you don’t have to scrape and be very careful with your cash at the event.
Staying in a hotel? Book early!
Personally, because of how far my local concert venue is n comparison to where I live and catching the last train home means missing a good 30 minutes of the show, I tend to book a cheap hotel for the night. If you’re like me and book accommodation, definitely book early. The closer to the date you plan to stay at the venue, the more expensive it is. Also, if an act is very big, there’s a chance they have dedicated fans travelling from afar to see them and hotels book up very quickly, not to mention take advantage of the prices. This happened when One Direction came to Cardiff and it’s happening again with Beyonce’s show.
Portable chargers are your best friend
I’ve mentioned this before and I’ll mention it again – take a portable charger. Smartphones are all the rage and there’s a high chance you’ll be using it to take photos/videos of y0ur show or even tweet about it. Smart phones don’t always have smart batteries, so definitely try and invest in a portable charger. Or two, just to be safe.
Want merch? Get it at the right time
Never wait until the end of a concert for merch. 1. Everyone has that same idea and 2. lots of things sell out so it’s not guaranteed you’ll be able to get what you wanted. Some concerts offer priority merch access to customers who are signed up to specific clubs, so make sure you find out and take advantage. If you get to the venue to queue early enough, there’s a good chance you will be able to get to the front of the merch queue. Failing that, during the support act is a great time.
Not a fan of the support act? Use your time wisely
Speaking of support acts, if you’re not a fan of the ones at your concert, use their set time wisely. Don’t just sit there bored. Go and use the restroom while it’s quiet, go and get some food, your merch or a drink. You’ll be thankful for it later.
Bring a spare bottle cap
This may sound weird but lots of venues for some reason won’t let you keep the cap of your water/drink bottle as they think you’re going to throw it. So now you have to awkwardly hold your drink (meaning you probably want to chug it all down before the show even starts instead of saving it to quench your thirst) which is pretty annoying. If you sneak a bottle cap in your pocket (NOT in your bag – there’s the bag search) when they take your bottle cap away from your drink, you can take it back to your seat and slyly put the new one on. #ConcertLifeHack
Always keep a friendly attitude
There can always be absolute idiots and rude people at concerts – don’t be one. If there are some around you, please try to keep your cool. You can always bitch about them when you get home. The more
Those are some of my biggest tips for concerts. I hope they’re of some use to you! Do you have any concert tips? Comment below!
Jazz is a Disney, tea and pop culture enthusiast with a passion for blogging. Also a proud introvert.
I’ve taken a spare bottle cap to gigs with me for years and friends just don’t get it until they are stood there with their bottle and no way of putting it anywhere without it getting spilled.
Another tip is if it’s a standing concert and you want to be at the front by the barrier, get there very early and be prepared to wait.
The bottle cap is a brilliant idea! Can’t believe I’ve never thought to do it lol
Great tips. I’ve only been to a handful of concerts, but always sign up for the pre-sad!
Pre-sales are the best! I seem to have gotten my ticket buying skills down pretty well for getting good seats.
That bottle cap trick is brilliant. I am so going to use that.
So simple but super effective!
Bottle top idea is genius x
Everyone seems to agree! I’m going to take one to my text concert in my pocket
Yes! How have i never thought of the bottle top idea before?!
These are some amazing tips 🙂 it seems like forever since I went to a concert. x
I tend to go to about 3-4 a year but they’re usually all pretty close together so I call it my “concert season” – I much prefer them to a night out at a club!
Some great tips here, I haven’t been to a concert in a long time, when my Daughter is more mobile I plan to change that and treat her x
Hope you both have a fab time!
awesome tips! i do agree on getting the merchandise at the right time. first concert i went to, i got it at the very end and waited ages to be served
Merchandise queues are so stressful. Thankfully for my next concert I’m VIP so I get priority merchandise access which means less waiting!
oh some great tips here going to get the teen to have a read as she goes to lots of them
Hope she find them useful!
Such great tips – especially the one to take a spare cap! And yes, book your hotel as soon as you have your concert tickets! Kaz x
Everyone seems to love the cap idea! I saw someone mention it once online and think it’s genius. And definitely, even if the concert isn’t a big one, prices go up closer to the date you book!
Great tips there. If you’re seeing 5 seconds of summer and Don Broco are supporting at the show you’re at make sure you check them out as they’re so good. For me I’m at live shows about once or sometimes twice a week so it can get crazy but I love it x
Ah yeah, I’m seeing 5sos on both Cardiff shows and my friend who’s going with me is a huge Don Broco fan and she’s making me stay for them! I like some support acts but others are just really not my cup of tea so I make use of that time.
And very lucky! I wish I could go weekly!
I didn’t know that they were funny about bottle caps that is rather strange. Great hacks here!
It’s honestly so stupid and I don’t see how it can make a major impact. All it does is mean people will tip their drinks more!
Great tips especially about the bottle cap. Love your blog.
Thank you very much! Xx
Some great tips it always gets on my nerves they won’t give the cap so I always keep one on me too! I am a merch first kinda gal as well so always good to have a small bag with you instead of using cloak rooms X
Miss Kitty Kaos – Adventures Of A Riot Grrrl
A portable charger is such a good idea for a concert! I got mine years ago and it comes with me literally everywhere I go 🙂
These are such great tips! I’d have never thought of the bottle one but now it just seems like common sense!