Living in a major metropolitan area has its pros and cons, but one pro I absolutely love is the accessibility of entertaining events. With Barclays Center, Madison Square Garden, and Prudential Center all being a quick train ride away from Hoboken, there’s no shortage of concerts to attend! Two weeks ago, I took advantage of this convenience and attended two of the most popular arena tours this fall: Renee Rapp’s Bite Me Tour on September 29th and Lorde’s Ultrasound Tour on October 1st, both at the World’s Most Famous Arena!Â
Two concerts in one week may seem like a lot, but I welcome the chaos! Both days, the concerts were only a 20-minute PATH ride away from Hoboken, making travel simple and convenient. Once I arrived at MSG, which is a block away from the PATH station, I did what all concert girls do, and beelined for the MSG billboard on the corner of 8th Ave and 33rd Street. From this point, the arena is lit up in a color that matches the artist’s tour, and if you’re lucky, you’ll walk up as the tour poster lights up the screen! Even if you walk up to an advertisement for sports betting, it’s worth the wait to see it in person, especially if you get there once the sun has set.Â
Renee Rapp put on an electric performance Monday night, engaging the crowd through fun pop! My favorite songs were Kiss It Kiss It, Poison Poison, and Good Girl! My group sat in the lower bowl region, which is the first section of seats above the floor. Our view was great and we could see Renee clearly. Unfortunately, we were in the middle of our row, so maneuvering around the seats to get to the bathroom and to get water was challenging.Â
On Wednesday, Lorde united tens of thousands of fans with a combination of her newest work and greatest hits! Timing-wise, I arrived a bit early for this concert, because the ticket said 7 PM, but Lorde didn’t start until 9. Lorde had two openers before her set, so we had plenty of time to get comfortable in our seats. My group sat in the upper bowl, which is the seats directly above the lower bowl, but armed with an aisle seat, it was much easier to access the upper concourse!Â
My favorite part of Lorde’s show was the last three songs: David, A World Alone, and Ribs. In her third-to-last song, she wore a reflective vest and walked through the pit to make it to her B-stage for her encore tracks. From above, it looked like she was glowing as she interacted with fans! For the encore that followed, MSG was electric with energy from the crowd for two fan favorite tracks! It was a very therapeutic concert experience that I would highly recommend!
Merch wise, I did not indulge in any concert tees, but one of my friends who attended both concerts with me bought shirts on Monday and Wednesday. The Renee Rapp shirts were very bright and vibrant, playing into the tour’s title, while the Lorde shirts were simpler, with lots of spaced out letters detailing the tour route and lots of ultrasound shots of lungs, reminiscent of the album cover. One similarity, however, was that both artists did offer shirts with their face across the entire front. I will admit, the Lorde shirts have been growing on me since seeing them around campus, but saving the money for future concerts was still the right call.Â
After both shows, it was a short walk back to the PATH station, another 20 minute train to Hoboken, and then I returned to classes in the morning! I love being a college student by day and concert goer by night, and I couldn’t imagine it any other way! Here’s to my next mid-week concert experience!