I recently got floor seats to an AMAZING concert – P!nk. 4th-row seats right on the edge of the stage – the way the stage was set up there was no one in front of me so they were as good as front row seats.
I also recently attended a concert of another female artist who isn’t quite as far along in her career as P!nk, but is still moving up in the music world. I will not mention her name in this post because I’m going to compare her to P!nk at times and she clearly not as developed as a performer as P!nk, not that many are. It just didn’t seem fair to mention this other artist since I’m comparing her to someone at a much higher level.
What did I learn from these two events?
Be Nice
Before going to the P!nk concert I researched the camera restrictions for the event. With such close seats, I thought I might get a good picture or two. The only thing I found said that you couldn’t bring a “professional” camera with a zoom lens. No problem! I brought the “stock” 18-35mm lens that came with my DSLR camera. During the opening act, Julia Michaels, I took a whole bunch of pictures. During the last song (the only one I actually knew), security came up to me and not so politely told me I couldn’t use the camera and he was specific that I had to put the camera in my bag.
The guy wasn’t rude or nasty, but he had a chip on his shoulder. I know that chip, I’ve had that chip on my shoulder in the past. I politely told him that the website said I could bring a camera as long as it isn’t a professional level camera. As I said it, I realized he wouldn’t know the difference between an 18-35 mm lens a 10-18 mm lens or a 28-300 mm lens. He went and got someone else, who got another guy.
The two other guys were much nicer and admitted they weren’t sure of the rule was exactly, but knew that the rule was about taking professional photos. They didn’t threaten me, didn’t tell me what I could or couldn’t do. But they also let me know what the expectation was. In turn, the camera never came back out.
I’m sure they deal with this problem at a lot of events. I’m sure there are people who are trying to get over and get some professional pictures and there are some who misread or couldn’t find the rules. Either way, you have choices about how you start a conversation, the choice you make sets the tone for the conversation.
Getting someone to agree with you might be a bit more work in the moment, but often makes your job easier past the interaction.
Good seats are worth the money
I always bought the cheap seats at a concert, or slightly better than cheap seats. I thought the floor seats were for rich and tall people. Who else would spend that kind of money for those tickets? It’s just a few hours of your life. Besides, I’m short, I can’t see over most people’s heads.
Then I found “reasonably” priced P!nk tickets in the 4th row along the stage. Looking at other similar tickets, it was a good deal. I love concerts and other live events, there aren’t many other times where you feel the energy like you do at a concert. I took a leap of faith with these tickets, almost an investment to find out if these seats were worth the money.
When an artist looks at you while they are singing, the price of the ticket evaporates. You’re forever ruined from the cheap seats. Okay, I will shit in cheap seats again, but I will buy the expensive good seats again too.
Eye Contact
I said I attended another concert recently with another artist, I was a similar distance from the stage and the artist as I was at the P!nk concert. This other artist, at times, seemed a little uncomfortable on stage if she wasn’t singing. Like she didn’t know what to do with the crowd. When she walked the stage, she usually faced to the sides of the stage or looked up or down. She was rarely looking out at the audience which was weird. She only made eye contact with one or two audience members that I noticed, and they seemed to be people she already knew.
On the other hand, when I saw P!nk, she frequently stopped and made eye contact with the audience. I can tell because she made it with me, and it was my moment. The moment when I would have said the tickets were worth a million dollars. Not that they were. But I wouldn’t have minded if they were in that moment.
Did you ever sit in the “good” seats?
How was the experience?
Would you do it again?
For my 18th birthday I received 2nd row tickets to.a John Denver Concert. Absolutely fabulous to be that close. Most of my concert experience was cheaper or nosebleed. I once had tickets marked behind stage that were essentially first row seats, Bruce Springsteen, he did not have a backdrop and did play to us as well . My best experience was a U2 concert at the old Giants Stadium. I was a volunteer for the ONE campaign. There were about 20 of us and we were in the ‘inner Circle’. But the best part was being on stage with Bono walking around us. Stage presence for any performer is important and some learn with experience. Some have the magic love affair with the audience that can’t be taught or learned.
Lucky you, you scored on those seats. The closest I have been was about six or seven rows back. That was a couple John Denver concerts years ago. I love concerts we just don’t make it to that many. We have to travel over an hour to get to any of the venues. But I have to say my all time favorite concerts were Barry Manilow. Seen him three times. He was a true showman and put on a fantastic show. I seen Michael Buble several years back and loved it. Josh Groban puts on a great show too. Concerts are great fun. Does not matter what seats you have you know you will have a great evening. I encourage everyone to try and make it to a show at sometime in their lives. I have passed this love for concerts onto my sons. Both are always attending concerts.