i go to a lot of concerts and started seeing the same people at the same venues. ik the hardest part is starting conversationsโฆ open with a compliment and if it clicks it clicks!
Feb 29, 2024
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the best concerts i've been to alone are ones where i accidentally made temporary friends. i know the anxiety defeats this rec a little bit (i usually am in & out silently when i go to shows alone, so this is rare) but i recently went to a show by myself and made a few friends in line and it made the experience so much more enjoyable. sometimes the anxiety stems from feeling like ur standing/staring in a place where u feel totally isolated as if u dont belong there, but learning even the bare minimum about the ppl around u can sometimes eliminate that. talking to strangers is hard all the time but the lucky thing about concerts is that u definitely have at least 1 thing in common :) butt into some conversations. compliment someone's outfit. it gives u someone to vibe with/talk to for a few minutes or hours and then, if u want, u can disappear and never see them again!
Mar 3, 2024
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i started out in a similar dilemma you seem to be in where i knew i would regret not seeing an artist at all so i'd rather go alone than miss it. now this is how i go to most concerts. my tips are to do whatever helps you feel the most comfortable and try to put as few barriers between you and the direct experience of the music as possible. for me, this looks like putting my phone on dnd, wearing filtering ear plugs (blocks loudness but not clarity), and maybe bringing a film/digital camera to take some pics without having to use my phone and then getting sucked into checking notifs and being taken out of the moment.
crowd behavior really depends on the show in my experience, but usually if you're at the same show as a stranger there's a good chance you have at least an affinity for that specific artist/genre in common. so if you're comfortable striking up convos with strangers, start there! make some friends! dress however you're comfortable, but in my experience putting on a fit that you're really confident in is like social armor. you feel better and so you present better, and if you feel like drawing attention it will feel more like good attention than anxious insecure attention, "everyone's noticing me ๐ซฃ๐คญ๐๐ซฆ๐ฎโ๐จ๐โโ๏ธ๐" vs "everyone's noticing me ๐ซ ๐ฅ๐ซฅ๐ฃ๐ซจ๐ถโ๐ซ๏ธ๐ตโ๐ซ"
as far as how to act at a DJ set, i have a whole separate rec about that, but in short just try to engage with the crowd and not the dj whose job isn't really to put on a performance as much as it is to curate a vibe in the room and get folks dancin. just do whatever feels better than standing still and engage with the energy of the crowd. if you have a substance of preference to get you out of your head, use it in moderation to grease the joints (especially if you're flying solo do be safe and know your limits)
Oct 19, 2024
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i went to chappell roan alone bc my friends didn't know who she was at the time tickets went on sale and i had the time of my life. just think about how the crowd are all fans of the artist ur seeing + other artists that may be in the same sonic universe as that artist. u already have something in common! try to make friends or make side comments while waiting for the artist or in between opening sets~ its so worth it and is not as embarrassing as u may think
Sep 4, 2024
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iโm an archivist of my own life !!!
Feb 24, 2024
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incredible, beautiful collection of music essays. abdurraqib made me love music writing again. i often return to his essay about fall out boy and cry every time.
Feb 25, 2024
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best way to eat soup is two at a time #twosoups
Feb 28, 2024