As a concert-loving girlie who mainly devotes her money to two main things: concerts and traveling, I feel more than qualified to give you my tips on attending concerts, whether it’s humongous tours or something a little more lowkey. Here are the concerts I’ve been to and where I’ve seen them!:
- Ariana Grande, Dangerous Woman (TD Garden)
- Ed Sheeran, Divide (Gillette Stadium)
- Taylor Swift, Reputation (Gillette Stadium)
- Bastille, Doom Days (Rockland Trust Bank)
- Ed Sheeran, Mathematics (Gillette Stadium)
- Taylor Swift, Eras Tour (Gillette Stadium)
- Taylor Swift, Eras Tour (Rogers Centre)
- The Weeknd, After Hours til Dawn (Gillette Stadium)
- Halsey, For My Last Trick (Xfinity Center)
- Coldplay, Music of the Spheres (Gillette Stadium)
- Tate McRae, Miss Possessive (TD Garden)
- Sabrina Carpenter, Short n Sweet (Madison Square Garden)
This rule of thumb varies if you’re attending a concert in the city or in the middle of nowhere, like Gillette Stadium, but in general, park as far away as you can! Otherwise, be prepared to face a night of bumper-to-bumper traffic, fighting the urge to fall asleep, and regretting every decision that put you in that position (don’t worry, the feeling of regret will go away once you’re out, but why not try to prevent it in the first place?). The extra mile of walking might suck at the time, but you get to breeze through the main congestion, and in the end, you get home faster after an energetic night.
This next tip especially applies if you’re a frequent concert goer like me: WEAR HEARING PROTECTION! I’m kind of a major hypocrite because I keep forgetting to bring it, but for the concerts I have, it doesn’t ruin the vibes! In fact, it’s even better because your ears aren’t ringing after the concert, and you’re not damaging your hearing to the point that you’ll be set to go deaf by 40.
Speaking of vibes, this could vary person to person, but for me, I’ve never cared specifically about where I’ve sat in the venue. To me, the experience is worth more than sitting in the front, and just being there is an unexplainable feeling. Especially in this world of resellers and scalpers who price up the tickets to unimaginable prices, I’m taking what I can get as a broke college student. Just the pure joy of screaming lyrics with thousands of other people who get it, hearing your favorite songs live, and even before the concert, when you’re anxiously awaiting the show as you get dressed, is SO worth it. Like, who actually cares whether you’re sitting in the nosebleeds? You were still there!
Finally, while this might be a controversial opinion to some, you don’t have to be a die-hard fan to attend a concert, and this is coming from someone who absolutely loves Taylor Swift. You don’t need to know all the songs to have a good time! I personally did not have the setlist of every artist I saw memorized (except for Taylor Swift, obviously), but I still had so much fun. I danced, sang the songs I knew, and got to listen to songs that I didn’t know before I saw them live. Charlie Brown is probably one of my favorite Coldplay songs now, and I heard it for the first time at their concert! That being said, what I do have a problem with are the people who don’t even try to enjoy it; the ones who are scrolling on TikTok while a song they don’t know is playing. At that point, why did you pay money and go through all that hassle of securing tickets, getting to the venue, dealing with the concert aftermath, and taking away the opportunity from people who would’ve actually been happy to be there? In my opinion, you don’t need to be a diehard fan, but at least act like you didn’t just come for one song!
Concerts give me an incredible feeling of euphoria, and while there’s a love/hate relationship towards dealing with the concert aftermath, it’s completely worth it. I keep getting drawn to them again and again, even at Gillette Stadium, where I’ve inevitably gotten home at 3 a.m. for every concert despite it ending at 11 p.m. Keep all of these tips in mind, and have the best night of your life! It’s all about what you make it!
Can’t get enough of HC UMass Amherst? Be sure to follow us on Instagram, listen to us on Spotify, like us on Facebook, and read our latest Tweets!