Three concerts, three days, three different states. Growing up I always wanted to be able to travel and follow a band on tour and the past weekend I was able to achieve that for a short period of time. On October 11th through the 13th I followed 5 seconds of Summer and the chainsmokers on tour. I attended the the dates in Pittsburgh PA, Buffalo NY, and Columbus OH, and it was the best decision I ever made. It took a lot of planning and extreme dedication but I would do it again in a heartbeat if I was given the chance. Today, I’ll give you some tips and tricks I learned through this experience and some of my stories from my adventure.
Tips and Tricks to concert going:
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Check ticket resale sites, a good go to one for me is seat geek. Seat geek allows you to use lots of discount codes from various social media influencers. Ex: code david for $20 off your first order.
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Check ticket sites around key points in the season ==. For example holidays (Labor Day, Black Friday, Cyber Monday) or end of the season like the end of summer sales.
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If they are coming to your school check student prices. For example, Penn State Students at the BJC
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Check for the key dates for you to go to. We found that there were three concerts all back to back within a few hundred mile radius of each other.
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Be prepared for the unexpected. Pack food and water, be prepared to do class work on the go, to skip a class or two, sleep in a car. Just be prepared to change your plans a little and just have fun.
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If you are driving, I found it easier to go in a larger car. It gives you the opportunity to spread out and stay more organized. We were able to set up a mini pop up closet in the back of my friends trunk of her Jeep.
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Even though you have to be prepared for the unexpected, but plan ahead. Know how you’re getting there, where your stopping, how much money your working with. Event planning things like outfits and places to stop to grab coffee in the middle of the night can really help ease the mind and keep you organized.
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The more people that go with you will cut the cost of things like hotels, and gas but will also help switch drivers so not one person has to do all the driving.
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Make friends and meetup with friends along the way. We had some amazing friends in Columbus and even though that was out worst seats out of all of the concerts, it was one of the best. We were able to see our favorite band with some of our favorite people and it made the experience even more special.
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Live in the moment and enjoy everything. It will be short so enjoy it and have the time of your life.
My stories along the way:
Pittsburgh
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In Pittsburgh we decided that we had a lot more homework than we originally thought. So before the Pittsburgh so we decided to set up shop at the Starbucks across from the venue to do a few hours of homework before the show started. During the few hours we were sitting there, four members of the Chainsmokers/ 5SOS team came into Starbucks including one of 5sos’s photographers and the Chainsmokers manager that also plugged the Chainsmokers to the Starbucks barista. Not only did crew members walk by but Ashton from 5sos passed the venue and talked to our friend sitting in the GA line, and walked right passed the Starbucks we were sitting at. Less than an hour later ALex from the chainsmokers walked passed while walking his dog Mooshoo. You could say we picked the right seats to sit down and have some coffee while writing an essay.
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We went into Pittsburgh the day before the concert (Thursday) and I had to stop into work to talk to my manager, after we went into my job we were going to stop in the wine and spirits store right next to the mall where I work. At that exact location the Chainsmokers decided to have a meet and greet at and we weren’t able to get the stuff we wanted. So, you could say the chainsmokers blocked us from getting alcohol.
Buffalo
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Buffalo’s experience started before the GA line even started forming. If you know anything about the trip between Pittsburgh and Buffalo you have to travel on 79 and 90. Then right smack in the middle is Erie, Pa, and the GetGo right off the highway 90. When we decided to grab food after the concert and when we got back to Erie (where we were planning on stopping for the night) as we were sitting in the parking lot eating we see 5 Seconds of Summers tour bus drives right past on the highway. So from there we decided to follow the buss all the way into Buffalo. It gave us the adrenaline to power through the almost 2 hour drive without even thinking we were tired. It did however leave us stranded in downtown buffalo and sleeping in the car overnight.
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For this show we had GA (general admission) meaning that we had to sit in a line for hours long. We started lining up around ten am and we didn’t get let in till six pm. During this line Ashton decided to just casually walk outside and passed the line that we were all sitting in, and we all just stood there is shock.
Columbus
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Columbus was the time that we had the most random experiences during the whole day. First Michael Clifford from the band walked past our car as we were parking followed soon after by Ashton and Calum walking into the venue. Later in the day as we were eating with our friends from Columbus outside the venue we watched Ashton take his pre show ice bath and take a full photo shoot. Then after the show Luke made it a point to come out to the bus pumping his fist and hyping us up after the show.
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Also before the show my friends and I had the chance to hang with the chainsmokers drummer for while as we talked to him and he was super chill.
Overall, the three days that I was following 5 seconds of summer… and the chainsmokers, were the best three days of my life. I got to spend it with one of best friends and my favorite band. Doing something like this is an experience that I recommend to everyone. It’s a time that you get to forget about everything and live in the moment while having the time of your life. I can’t wait till I get too see 5 seconds of summer again in concert.