Amid the immeasurable amounts of senior year stress, I’ve found myself reflecting on my high school experience. My last four years have been full of symbols of adolescence; however, my beloved, beautiful Los Angeles has brought me unique opportunities for growth and exploration: concerts. At the time of writing, I’ve been to 47 shows since 9th grade (yes, I’m counting). Do I have a bit of a problem? Maybe. Am I also incredibly qualified tobe the disciple of tips and tricks for concertgoing in LA? Absolutely. Let’s get into some advice!
While I truly believe that there is not a single bad seat in any of the beautiful venues around our city, most of my favorite show experiences have come from being up close to the artist. As such, my first tip is to always arrive early to general admission/standing-room-only shows. Unfortunately, there’s no exact formula to follow for exactly how early to arrive if you want that coveted barricade spot, but I always try to base my arrival time on the size of the venue and the popularity of the artist. Just to be clear, if lines aren’t your thing, this isn’t me endorsing a full-on camping trip (although showing up at 6:00 a.m. did score me a front row view to boygenius last summer). In my experience, a little bit of waiting is almost always worth it.
Secondly, it is absolutely imperative that you make sure you’ve eaten before a show. It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement and forget all about dinner until you find yourself dizzy from lack of nourishment. One of my favorite ways to try new restaurants around the city actually ties into my piece about early arrival — I love to get takeout from a spot near the venue and eat in line as a way to kill two birds with one stone. On that note, hydration before a show is an absolute necessity. Unless you’re looking to spend $12 on a lukewarm can of Liquid Death, I would recommend drinking a good amount of water before entering the venue.
Finally, my golden rule: When in doubt, go anyway! I find that one of my favorite ways to get more into an artist whose discography I don’t know well is to go see them play live. It’s absolutely amazing to experience music for the first time directly from the artist, and I’ve found some of my favorite songs this way. I keep track of my shows on an extensively color-coded list in my Notes app, but I also love apps like Bandsintown and Songkick and websites like Oh My Rockness Los Angeles to ensure that I’m always on the lookout for new concert announcements.
