So, it happened: you decided to go to the concert for the first time. Emotions boil just a few months before the cherished date, the hits of your favorite band are broadcast round the clock in your head, and the day of the concert is marked in red in your calendar. But you, a newcomer to the concert or just an infrequent guest at music events, are worried that something might go wrong, that you don’t know much, that some annoying little thing will cloud your impressions.
We have collected a list of questions that most often arise from inexperienced spectators, and made a kind of guide that will help you prepare for the concert in advance and enjoy it to the maximum.
Where are the tickets sold?
At the ticket offices of the venue and on websites specializing in ticket sales. There is no point for organizers to hide this information from you, so all necessary links are usually present at the official meeting of the event.
The main thing is to think ten times before buying tickets from hand to hand, so as not to get caught by crooks, who have become especially numerous lately, and avoid unverified sites, which the organizer does not mention anywhere.
How many tickets should I buy before the concert?
If you really want to get to this concert, it makes sense to buy as early as possible. In some cases, the ticket price rises closer to the concert and is steadily higher on the day of the event. And if the artist you want to listen to live is popular in your city, there is a chance that the tickets will end well before the concert.
However, do not panic unnecessarily on this issue: so much in demand artists are not so much. Even if the organizer presses the situation and writes that the tickets are ending, remember that the tickets are usually on sale in waves until the appointed date.
Is the age limit strictly considered?
Usually they don’t look at documents. When a crazy crowd of fans rushes through all the entrances, it’s not until the guards check their passports. There are exceptions, though.
Is an e-ticket secure?
There are people for whom an e-ticket is the most convenient way to get to a concert. But when buying an e-ticket, you have to think about whether you are ready to face a number of difficulties and misunderstandings.
It happens that the reader accepts such tickets with grief in half. Sometimes it turns out that you have been standing in line for hours at the exact entrance where e-tickets are not accepted at all. In the practice of the author of the article there was also a case when the guards took the leaves of unknown species for forgery and agreed to miss a concert almost half an hour later, when it was useless to fight for the cherished place at the fence.
If it’s important to you, stick to the traditional tickets (and they look prettier).
Do you have to print your e-ticket in color?
Not at all. The most important part of electronic and any other ticket is a barcode, and barcodes as of 2016 are not made in color.
By the way, if you find it difficult to resist the temptation to put a fresh ticket to your favorite group on social networks, do not forget to hide the barcode. Attackers can use it to get to the concert before you and thus cancel the real ticket.
What is M&G?
M&G is a Meet & Greet, a meeting with musicians backstage where you can take pictures with idols, get their autographs, tell them how much you love them and give them something to remember. Other bonuses like being on the soundcheck may also be included in the mit-n-grit. This is an optional part of the concert, but the organizers often hold contests and raffles to get the cherished invitation.
Some top performers sell tickets to the mit-n-grit, and this is quite expensive.
How do I get an autograph?
If you can’t make it to the mit-n-grit, don’t despair. Sometimes the organizers arrange autograph sessions of popular performers. Entrance to such events can be both free and won in any competition.
If it did not work out here, you can try to linger after the concert and wait for the musicians at the service entrance. The variant, frankly speaking, is quite frail: some performers like this form of attention and sincerely try to please fans, but in most cases, the musicians just not before, because ahead, most likely, another plane, another city and another concert.
The most ethically dubious option for the particularly brazen and intrusive is to watch over the artist at the airport or at the hotel.
After all, you can simply rethink the significance of the marker spark and hope to catch a mediator, drumsticks, setlist or any other piece of happy memories at a concert.
Can I sneak a camera in?
In many cases, any shooting is formally banned, but in practice the pattern is as follows: the larger and more professional your equipment, the less chance it has of carrying it to a concert. For example, there are usually no problems with shooting on mobile equipment (except for the shovel-shaped tablet raised in the first row you will be hated by half of the hall), and simple soap trays also do not cause any questions.
But it is possible to carry a SLR camera only if you are an accredited photographer or it is a very small concert.
Can I carry water?
At most concerts, all fluids are taken away at the entrance. There is also the following cruel practice, especially common at summer festivals: guards ask you to open the bottle, check if there is alcohol inside, and do not give away the cap, leaving you in perplexity with a full bottle of water, very difficult to transport in festival conditions.
In the hot season, the spare cap is a mast hav.
There’s no way to go to the concert with a backpack?
There are two significant factors in this matter. The first is common sense (you understand that a huge backpack is not the best outfit for a concert, even if the guards don’t have any questions for you). The second is the specifics of the concert venue. In most cases, a small city backpack is not a problem for the owner, but there are places where he will be asked to give in a wardrobe, and somewhere else and paid.
For security reasons, inspection is present almost everywhere. In general, it is better to check with the organizers or representatives of the site for the sortation of certain things. Sometimes these things are written on tickets.