This editorial was first published in the April print edition of The Main Four.
By Staff Writer: Alexis Klask
As great as it would be to attend a huge concert at The Palace of Auburn Hills which holds a crazy amount of more than 20,000 people, I’m more content with a smaller venue. Some people love being in a crowd and love the energy at larger concerts, but how far away are you from the people performing on stage? If you are close enough to the stage to touch the performer’s hand, how much did you pay for that ticket?
I have been to a number of concerts and I have not paid more than $40 for my ticket, ever. Sure I haven’t exactly seen people like Justin Timberlake or Luke Bryan, but I’m still able to see bands I like for a good price.
If there is any advice I could give people about looking for concerts, it would be to download the app Bandsintown. It is a genius application and not only tells you when concerts are, but looks through your music library and suggests bands to see. It will ask for reviews if you went to concerts and lets you know immediately if an artist you are tracking is coming near you.
Knowing when a band is coming to town right when it happens allows you to purchase tickets on presale, which for one, is usually cheaper than what they would be on regular sale to the general public, and two, often allows you to get closer seating.
Did you know that Macklemore performed at a venue called The Loft over in Lansing? The Loft holds about 400 people. Recall that now, Macklemore is playing for thousands of people at a time and has had numerous hits. Bands like Walk the Moon, Awolnation, The Airborne Toxic Event, and Neon Trees also played at The Loft in the past two years.
All bands have to start somewhere, right? Whenever I attend a concert at a smaller venue, I can’t help but think that someday that band is going to get big and I was able to see them close up. For example, I saw Bastille at The Loft (it seems I go there a lot), and in December and in January they were playing on Saturday Night Live.
That also happened when I saw New Politics at The Shelter in Detroit in February. Afterwards they were asked to play on Jimmy Kimmel Live! within that month.
Another great thing about attending small concerts is that usually there is a meet and greet afterwards. It can cost more than $400 to get a backstage pass to a concert. However, it’s completely free to stay after a concert at a smaller venue. Bands will work their own merchandise tables, so that is when they are able to meet with fans.
If attending a concert at a smaller venue, sometimes the company putting on the show will let the public know if a meet and greet will be before or after the concert depending on the popularity of the band. If the concert is sold out, plan on the meet and greet being before the concert. However, if tickets are still available, then the chances to meet the band increase.
Going to tinier venues usually means that more local bands will play. This is great because if you happen to love the band, it will be a lot easier to see them and tickets will be even cheaper. While attending a Youngblood Hawke concert (singers of “We Come Running”), I stumbled upon Dinner and a Suit who sang a song I heard multiple times on the radio, but did not know it came from them.
They’re from Tennessee and since seeing them with Youngblood Hawke, I have been requesting their songs like crazy to local radio stations. By doing so, and by popular demand, they have come back to Michigan three times in which they headlined two shows.
Situations like that can happen all the time because local radio stations will tend to try to play music from smaller bands in order to help increase their popularity. If there’s a band you want to hear live, request their songs daily to radio stations that put on concerts a lot like 94.1 The Edge or 89X. If songs get requested multiple times from the same band, they will try to get that band to come to a venue so they can put on a show.
What should stop someone from hearing great music? A majority of small bands will do a cover of a popular song, so even if you don’t know their songs right away you’re still able to jam out. I once heard a rap version of “It’s a Hard Not Life” from Annie by Joe Hertler and The Rainbow Seekers, a band based from Michigan. It was one of the craziest covers of a song I had ever heard, but I loved it.
Basically, what I’m saying is go to any concert you can! Listen to some new music and bring your friends. Even if you only know one song by the band, go to the concert because most likely their tickets will be inexpensive. After seeing them live, you could really enjoy their music a lot more, and if and when they get popular, you are able to say you saw them when they weren’t so famous.
The intimacy of a smaller concert is indescribable. Usually performers will step off stage and join the crowd. You can tell that they really do enjoy what they do and that makes the experience all worthwhile.
