How You Make Your Concert Experience Rock

Being a part of a concert audience is an art form. In light of the upcoming St. Vincent show in Ithaca this Thursday, here's some tips on how to get the most out of your concert trip.

Just like any college football game, there's a lot of different elements that going into the preparation, viewing and reflection of a concert. It's more than just about going and standing idly as the music swoops in one ear and out the other. For the people who really love going to live concerts, they have a technique to get the most out of the experience. Fortunately, most of it is just a head game. Concerts embody a wild spirit that can only be harnessed with the right state of mind.

1) Do it Small

There's only a select amount of artists that can pull off an arena-sized concert well, like Jay-Z, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs or Lady GaGa. It requires more than pyrotechnics and megatron-sized speakers to make a great concert. The only thing important in a concert is intimacy. By that, I mean there has to be connection between the audience and the music, and that tends to get lost in huge stadiums. The simple recipe is to go see smaller acts in smaller venues. This way, there's less people, but more crowd energy. On the smaller stage, everything is cut out except for the music. If that doesn't do it for you, then you went to see the wrong band.

2) Go in Numbers

Personally, I'm never afraid to hit up a show alone, because all I care about is listening to the music. With that said, however, concert experiences are best shared with a small group of friends. That way you can talk about the band beforehand and reflect afterwards. I stress small numbers however, because you don't want to be those annoying kids who plow through a crowd, arm-linked with 10 different girls.

3) Let it Flow Through You

This is the head game. A lot of people get reserved and uptight at concerts sometimes, for example when people just stand there like zombies while doing the head-slam. That's all fine and dandy, but concerts are a spiritual experience that requires effort from mind and body. In other words: Dance, people! If there's a mosh pit, just go with it. Slam into a couple guys. Get, hot and sweaty if that's the atmosphere. Music is about chemistry, and the music is the action and the crowd is the reaction. There can't be one or the other, or else the experience will be a dud.

The rest is up to you and what you feel comfortable with.

If you still can't visualize what a good concert is, check out what a real Girl Talk show is supposed to look like below. Forget what happened on South Campus earlier this year. That was a joke.

 

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