Ever since our college days my buddy Menos Hiras and I have been to over 50 live concerts and gigs, and he is absolutely by favorite gig buddy. When Menos and I go to these shows we have a routine which we stick to every single time in order to get the absolute best from the concert, a ritual which I believe stands up to any that someone else may have. If you have a concert coming up then here is how to get the absolute maximum enjoyment from it.
Take a Day Off
Many people will take a day off after they have been to a show, to recover from the madness and perhaps to nurse the hangover, Menos and I however prefer to take the day of the show off. The reason for this is so that we can get properly psyched up for the night’s festivities. The day after is super easy to deal with, these shows don’t go on until 3 in the morning or anything like that, so there is more than enough time to get rested for work the next day.
Wall to Wall
Let’s say that we are going to an Alicia Keys show, or a Metallica show, we will spend the day in the lead up to the show with that music on from morning until night. We will generally play their albums in chronological order, as if those albums were written in the build up to the performance in our home town. Menos and I have a hard and fast rule that is no other music is played beyond the gig we are going to.
Pre-Drinks
A couple of drinks can loosen the vocal chords and your hips for dancing so we generally go out early for some pre-drinks, around 5pm usually. Once we have a couple of drinks and a meal we are good to go.
Early Birds
We really like to get to the show early, buy the essential t-shirt of the act which we are going to see, and then just take a wander around to drink in the atmosphere. Another reason why we both do this is because we always make sure that we see the support band. Many people arrive late and miss the support band, which is just foolish as there could be a future great on the stage which they will miss out on. Following this we enjoy the main event, go crazy and have the night of our lives.
Post-Concert
So many people just leave the venue and then head home or head out for a party, not Menos and I. Being the concert heads that we are we like to go out for a late night snack and discuss what we have seen. We will dissect each bit of the performance, rate it out of ten and spend around an hour chatting about the gig before heading home to bed.
Why don’t you give our ritual a try the next time you go to a concert?
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