Concert Venues

In the world of music, there are unlimited possibilities for creativity in production. But when it comes to sitting down and listening to your favorite artists, what’s the perfect way to do it? Most people do not think about it, but throughout the course of this article, you’ll capture possible life-changing strategies to listen to your favorite music. There are 3 main methods for listening to music; perceptive listening, casual listening, and background listening. Each method will be outlined, and advantages will furthermore be discussed. Now is the time to experiment with all of the ways you might listen to your music!

When in the state of perceptive listening, you are fully aware of your music; that is the lyrics, rhythm, all of the instruments and components of the track. This state can be c club enging to achieve if you have never been a perceptive listener before. It is the most rewarding listening experience, undeniable ing our mind of everything but the pure sound of music. we cannot achieve this state Assuming that the re are other thoughts racing through our head; your mind must be completely blank, letting the music take you away. How do you know when you are in a perceptive listening state? You’ll become unaware of your environment (closing your eyes is strongly recommended), focusing on nothing in your life but the music going through your head. Your mood will be directed by the type of music you are listening to, and some will experience a state of Euphoria. When in perceptive listening mode, always aim to be in a Euphoric state, as it will make the music that much more enjoyable. This might persuade to developing into more relaxed, having less stress, and an overall improvement in life. If you haven’t given perceptive listening a try, do it right after you finish this article. What have you got to lose?

We invest many time in the Casual listening mode, which is the line right amidst Perceptive and Background listening. You are fully aware of the lyrics/rhythm, and auditory elements are comprehended. all of us are generally performing some task that distracts us from the full perceptive state, so euphoria cannot be experienced. When listening casually, our mind only donates part of its attention to the music, so only part of us is affected while listening. Our mood does differ along with the music, but it is generally a weaker feeling than perceptive listening. While all of us listen to music casually for a long period of time, our subconscious processes the information, and songs have a tendency to get stuck in our heads. Unfortunately, you cannot be fully immersed in the music, and that takes away a key element of satisfaction. Since all of us invest so much time casually listening to music, all of us think this is the most involving method of listening. Practice perceptive listening, and you’ll see the vast difference.

Once in a while, we have so a lot of mind-numbing tasks to do, hitting the play button is the only way to keep our sanity. This is called background listening, and it advocates us get through our c venue enging days. Casual listening is exceedingly common among teenagers who study for tests, and generally individuals who listen to music while working with their minds. This is when we are in the weakest state of music perception, and auditory elements aren’t a lot of the time comprehended. You might get so caught up in a task that you forget any music is playing. Because our mind is focused on so a lot of things, our mood will be least affected by music. In fact, this isn’t how music was intended to be listened to. So what rewards does this bring? Lets look at Johnny: Johnny is studying for his math test, and he is really struggling on a concept. He puts on his headphones on low volume background listening to advocate him relax, and suddenly he is able to comprehend his math problems. On the day of the test, he might actually play back the song in his head, then his subconscious will recall his studying, and that advocates him recall the important math concept s. Johnny gets an A on his test….So you see where this is going; background listening affects the subconscious mind, which leads us to the  final point. Memory. As shown in Johnny’s case, memory can be stimulated by listening to music in the background. So what are you for? Listen to more background music, improve your memory!

Perceptive Listening, Casual Listening, and Background Listening. Each one has its pros and cons. When possible, try all 3 techniques, and see which one you like the most. If you haven’t experienced the thrill of perceptive listening, you’ve to try it soon. If you haven’t relaxed to some casual listening, you might want to give it a shot. Some people, however, aren’t able to have music in the background while working. You know who you are. Give these techniques a shot, you never know what kind of amazing improvements might come about in your life. It’s the little things that might make a extensive difference. Rediscover your music, rediscover the way you listen to it!

This is a individual opinion and accordingly, I don’t want any hate mail from Country Western listeners, which I know are fanatical and omnipresent. I do have my preferred s, from a chauvinistic man’s point of view. I think that Shania Twain and Faith Hill are sexy and I find pleasure in a few of their videos plus some of their songs. But is it because they’re big country western stars? No way. I’ve a problem listening to the majority of the Country Western stuff because it all is beginning to sound the same. I can’t tell a Randy Travis, Tim McGraw, Toby Keith or Alan Jackson song apart if my life depended on it.

I grew up on the Jersey shore and a lot of of you can, consequently, think I’m unqualified to make such a judgment. But hold on. I have spent the final 30 years in Arizona. Does it get more country or western than that? You know, the home of Tombstone, Wyatt Earp, and where the ‘Little House on the Prairie’ was filmed.

So I’m a transplant with an attitude. Don’t get me wrong, because I’ve given it a try. My late wife has been from West Virginia and, during her mid-life crisis, began playing Country Western music continuously for five years. all of us had all the compact disc’s, radio stations on preset, and even watched the Country Western awards on TV. I might recognize all the extensive names, the latest hits, and who has been new to the scene. Through it all, I really tried to enjoy the sound, for her sake. But, eventually, I wandered back to my classic rock and roll, jazz, or blues.

I performance the harmonica and keyboard and have oodles of sheet music. I have attempted to performance a few of the recent Country Western (CW) popular numbers, but to no avail. I have a few of the older Country Western (CW) classics that have crept into mainstream by Johnny Cash and Ernie Ford, but they are few and far amidst. The current tunes have become a formula that’s fodder for Jeff Foxworthy and his ilk. According to people like him, it goes like this -

You start with a sad premise.  You’ve  lost your -  (fill in the blank) i.e., girl, dog, choose up truck. They were your 1st  -  love, companion, way of freedom. You remember their -  smiles, wagging tail, leather seats. You wish you could, once again, feel their -  hair, fur, gun rack. You really miss their -  smell, smell, smell. You would do anything to get them back -  tell her you love her, rub her cute little tummy, (or did I have those reversed?) hose her engine compartment. While you’re waiting for them to return, you’ll have to -  do your own laundry, fetch your own paper, walk to the liquor store. In other words, it is not a pretty sight.

So that is my gripe with Country Western (CW). They vary the harmony, the lyrics and the tempo, but the message is clear. I yearn for a total vary of pace where I can get my ‘Satisfaction’ or ‘Light My Fire.’ But I also have troubles with Hip-Hop, Rap, and Grunge. So,let’s say I’ve got issues and be done with it. Also,to all you Country Western (CW) lovers out there, stick with your music and don’t let a basher like me vary your tune, pardoning the pun. And did I mention the two things I do like about Dolly Parton?

Good music makes it nearly impossible to believe or comprehend that our country is in such turmoil.

Listening to various performers while browsing the Net and reading about the financial disaster we face, the music soothes my soul and tells me that there’s no way a country that fostered these wonderful performers can be in such dire straits.

The melodies and refrains tell me all of us are amazing people. all of us have compassion, skill, integrity, spontaneity, and innocence. all of us like to have fun. all of us can get down and boogie all night, then get up in the morning all serious and go to work. Where did all this complicated, deceitful, financial mess come in? Should all of us take Congress out for a night on the town, make them dance till they sweat so they might remember how it feels to be human?

Do they contemplate anything but resources? might be they need to loosen up, remember that life is for living, not for being owned by someone, that the ample picture is this -  we are here. we can select to enjoy it, or we can select to try to control every facet of it and everyone involved.

They have forgotten how to live. They exist to feed, to control, to breed their kind, to be superior, to feel supreme.

Yet, the music still plays for me. If our nation is as desperate as it seems, if all hope is gone, then why hasn’t the music died?

I believe it lives because there still exists a large number of humans who haven’t forgotten what hopes and dreams mean. Through all of this turmoil, all of us continue to turn on the music, let our feet move, and sway to the beat of love, of life, of self-expression, and to the beat of our hearts saying all of us are still Americans, all of us are not to be defeated.

Rock n Roll on, Americans. Turn up the volume! They will have to hear us eventually! Let us make them dance to our tune!

“ songs go far beyond words in their ability to insert emotion into communication.” Robert Sylwester, A Celebration of Neurons

Filmmakers, If they knew who brain researcher Robert Sylwester has been, would agree with him. They regularly integrate familiar tunes into their movies. Pop tunes are so successful that movie producers will pay exorbitant sums, in some cases as much as $100,000, to acquire the rights for the song.

Sylwester, in his book A Celebration of Neurons, went on to explain -

“The songs of our adolescent years ofttimes become the beacons of our adult life because they could advocate us to recall the vital developments of our adolescence. we ofttimes listen to this music to relive the memories in the extended reverie of song. The song slows the simple message so that we can savor all the emotions of the experience.”

In a film composer’s hands, pop tunes are chosen and linked to those memories in a way that adds emotional texture to the film. Films with pop music scores function on two distinct levels. The 1st level is the application of the song in the film. Every song lyric tells a story and a well placed song’s story will dovetail with the film’s visual.

The second, and deeper, level is the emotional meaning the use of specific songs brings forth within the listener. The songs become metaphors, placing the subject to be taught in the context of the learners prior experiences. When individuals hear songs they know, and have individual memories of, they immediately are drawn back into those memories, and the experience is enhanced. In essence, pop music stimulates us relate to the story being told in a deeply individual, highly emotional way.

Three famous films used this technique to achieve success.

American Graffiti (1973), telling the story of a group of early 1960s high schoolers enjoying a last summer before adulthood, has been intentionally designed as a series of pop music vignettes. George Lucas, the film’s director, developed the storyline, and selected the tunes to al most concurrently.

Each scene matched the length of the song accompanying it. By way of example, Bill Haley’s “ Rock n Roll Around The Clock,” played during the chance credits,  set up the film’s innocence of summer theme. The Crests’ “Sixteen Candles” accompanied a young girls sixteenth birthday. “Teen Angel” by Mark Dinning was played when a character dies in a drag race. The film ends with the Spaniels’ “Goodnight, Well It’s Time to Go.”

The Big Chill tells the story of a group of former 1960s radicals turned 1980s yuppies who gather to mourn the passing of an old friend. like American Graffiti, The Big Chill uses pop tunes, although in this case, to add commentary to the on-screen occurrences.

Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” accompanied the actors as they hear about their friend’s passing. “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” by the Rolling Stones is played as an ironic commentary on the friend’s death. As the friends discuss relationships, The Young Rascals “Good Lovin’” is performed. Lastly, “Bad Moon Rising’” by Credence Clearwater Revival is played immediately following a former lover proposes that she and her old flame reunite for an evening.

The best subconscious music placement occurs in a supermarket among the two former lovers who contemplate rekindling their relationship. Although their desire for each other is palpable, both hold back, only conversing about the shopping task at hand as the store’s Muzak system plays Frank Sinatra’s “Strangers In The Night.”

Forest Gump tells the story of a dimwitted man who experiences a series of life adventures over a few decades. Because the film’s extended time frame, the music serves to create the time and place.

Credence Clearwater Revival’s “Fortunate Son” performances up Gump’s Vietnam tour. to state that Forest’s girlfriend has moved to California, California Dreaming” by the Mamas and Papas is used. “San Francisco” by Scott Mackenzie frames Forest’s 1960s visit to San Francisco. When Forest returns home to Alabama, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” is played. The music placements advocate the films fans comprehend the diverse locations and eras represented in the film.

American Graffiti, The Big Chill, and Forest Gump were all highly successful films, and their pop song application played a huge part in creating that success. All three films appealed to people at a deeply individual level.

Pop tunes in Learning

In Training With A Beat, I discussed at length the application of pop songs in the learning environment. In part, I said -

“Concert venue s, ballrooms, parties, and yes, the class room, can be uncomfortable environments. When people hear a song they’ve listened to in the privacy of their home, they relax. Comfortable music emotionally warms the training room, placing learners in a receptive frame of mind for learning. tunes with lyrics, especially popular hits of the last 50 years, are extremely useful for this reason. They are old, well worn, welcome companions.”

tunes with lyrics additionally engage learner brains in multiple ways. The words and rhythm of a song are largely processed in the brain’s left hemisphere, where the melody is  largely processed by the right hemisphere. By using tunes with lyrics, you advocate your learners engage both hemispheres. In the process, they secure a deeper meaning than is possible with one hemisphere alone.

Song lyrics can, as has been the case in The Big Chill, speak directly to the learning topic.

The a lot of applications are too numerous to state in this one article, but several examples should prove the point -

Career getting prepared – “All Star” by Smash Mouth

Change management – “Bad Day” by Daniel Powter

Communication – “Hello, Goodbye” by the Beatles

Conflict management – “Shut Up” by the Black Eye Peas

Customer service – “Lean On Me” by Bill Withers

Diversity – “Short people ” by Randy Newman

Finance – “Takin’ Care of Business” by Bachman-Turner Overdrive

Project Management – “One Little Slip” by the Bare Naked Ladies

Sexual harassment – “Respect” by Aretha Franklin

Time management – “Right Place, Wrong Time” by Dr. John

Once you’ve decided on an appropriate song, placement is easy Considering the Randy Newman song “Short individuals ” for example -

Introduction – performance the song as the learners enter. Once the song is over call attention to the tunes lyrics and ask for comments about the meaning conveyed by those lyrics. Use those comments as a transition to your presentation.

Filler – performance the song during breaks to add a subliminal message to your content.

Activity – Divide your learners into groups and instruct them to read and discuss the lyrics. Then persuade a general discussion to share each group’s observations.

Conclusion – Conclude your performance by stating, “We’re all short people in someone’s eyes.” Then ask the rhetorical question, “If none of us were welcome around here, who’d be left to complete our work?” Start the song and thank anyone for attending. Your learners will walk out of the classroom with the song and its lyrics firmly implanted in their brains, and you’ll have closed with a visually compelling learning point.

Given the large number of pop tunes available, the choices are limited only by your imagination and the musical preferences of your learners. You too could have your learners, in the words of the old song by “M”, “talkin’ ‘bout pop music.”

Pop music is a type of popular music notable from classical or art music and from folk music. The term indicates specific stylistic qualities, but the type of additionally includes elements of rock, hip-hop, dance, and country, making it a flexible musical form. The definition of pop music is purposefully flexible as the music that’s identified as pop is unending ly changing.

The expression pop music may additionally be used to refer to particular sub genres (within the pop music genre ) that are referred to as soft rock and pop/rock. The pop music genre additionally ofttimes involves mass marketing and consumer-driven endeavors by major record companies and music labels, which makes it an ofttimes -scorned genre by non-mainstream performers as they feel that the quality of music suffers.

The average consumer of pop music is again and again identified to be in his or her teenage years, making it an necessary icon of youth culture. Pop music has always been the source of numerous moral panics, just as a lot of of the styles that influence it trickle up from minority groups (racial, ethnic, sexual or class-based). This is partly because youth culture itself is an object of social trepidation. It’s tempting for anyone to confuse pop music with popular music. According to the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, popular music is identified as the music since industrialization in the 1800’s that is the majority in line with the tastes and interests of the urban middle class.

This would include an extremely wide  range of music from vaudeville and minstrel shows to heavy metal. Pop music, on the other hand, has primarily come into usage to describe music that evolved out of the rock n roll revolution of the mid 1950’s and continues in a definable path to now.

One of the steadiest elements of pop music since the 1950’s is the pop song, which isn’t again and again written, performed and recorded as a symphony, suite, or concert o. The basic form for pop music is the song and again and again a song consisting of verse and repeated chorus. They are short in length but there have been notable exceptions though. The Beatles Hey Jude was an epic 7 minutes in length. Still, in many cases, Assuming that the song is abnormally long, an edited version is released for radio airplay such as in the case of Don McLean’s  surprisingly famous American Pie. It was edited down from its original 8 1/2 minutes length to just over 4 minutes for radio airplay. While on the other extreme, some hit songs clocked in less than 2 minutes in length.

like other art forms that aim to attract a mass fans (movies, TV, Broadway shows), pop music has been and continues to be a melting pot that borrows and absorb elements and suggestions from a broad  range of musical styles. Over the past five decades, pop music has been influenced and in business d genres of music like Rock, R&B in numerous ways. Most recently, Latin music seems to be impacting pop music more meaningful ly than at any point in the past.

Although pop music continues to be a melting pot of styles, there is a genre of pop music that claims to be pop music in its purest form. This music, a lot of the time called pure pop or power pop, typically consists of relatively brief (not over 3 1/2 minutes) songs played on the standard electric guitar, bass and drums with vocals that have a  surprisingly strong catchy chorus, or hook.

In the 2000s, hip-hop blended in with pop music, is paving the way for the multi platinum successes of artists like Nelly, Eminem, 50 Cent, Ludacris, Ciara, Beyonce, Justin Timberlake, Nelly Furtado, Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani and only Britney Spears. artists such as Mariah Carey and pop queen, Madonna, presented comeback albums that continued to make them rule the music charts and keep their titles.

For the past 50 years the the majority successful musical styles on the pop charts have continually change d and evolved and times will tell as how much more popular they become in future.

Music is always the part of our lives ever since the stone age.

There are a lot of categories of instruments which make their personal sounds as well as certain pieces of junk. The stringed section allows one to make sound by using the strings prefer on guitars, and violins. The strings are tightened at a certain length for notes high and low. Wind instruments, such as wood and brass, make soft sounds and loud sounds with air flow and valves to control the notes. Symbols and bells of all kinds and sizes may be heard when tapped on and drums are the same way but with beating sounds. PC’s and simple objects have their personal sounds which may be used for music.

many famous names now and in history dedicated their lives for music and wrote many famous numbers that are forever recall ed in all fountains of information. As known, tribal music came 1st with primitive drums and other easy instruments. Classical was next in line with more sophisticated instruments making it loud and lively. After classical, many kinds came to existence prefer early rock and roll, modern rock, and hip hop. There’s reggae, jazz, rhythm and blues, barber shop style singing, and cultural music.  Many people who love music so much that they might want to make a career out of it to be famous and/or just for fun.

It keeps us entertained even if we feel down in the dumps.  Many kinds of music were invented from a lot of cultures around the world past and present. Voices and instruments make this activity come to life in a lot of ways.

Shakespeare has well said “If music be the food of soul, then play on”. Surely, music puts a balm on all your worries and it sooths and relaxes your mind. And music has been regarded as the voice of the soul too. From generations and centuries, music has given enough entertainment to the mankind. Come to the contemporary times and you would witness a sort of revolution in the music industry. Owing to the popular trends prefer cinema and Web, there is an emergence of a lot of genres prefer pop music, jazz, country, Blues, rock and so on. And the Web is flooded with a plethora of Internet music web sites that have added a new dimension in the popularity of music.

The On-line music stores are employing new strategies in order to attract more and more users towards them. This includes affiliating with the many social networking web sites and provide ing competitive prices to the users, thereby baiting them for wonderful. Other methods that these On-line players employ may be giving away a few albums or tunes for free as a start up initiative to increase the traffic and clientèle, in terms of music downloads. It may furthermore provide some wonderful incentives to the early buyers.

There is another way to popularise the Web music by giving a referral incentive to anybody who refer his/her acquaintances to a specific website. By such means you might buy music on a discount, else you win some freebies or loyalty points for your next purchase… Then, these websites furthermore trust viral marketing to propagate their music seller amidst the netizens. furthermore there are certain websites that sell DRM free MP3s and thus they can be used on any music player incredibly conveniently.

You might have come across several websites which would not charge anything for listening music but as soon as you try downloading these tracks, they’d start charging money on it. But there are a lot of free and legal music download websites have cropped up too, and they have found their target customers as well. So,you might work out on both the options. Therefore, the voice of your soul (music) has become a famous business which is catching up prefer a wildfire along with the other Online companies and is furthermore minting nice money out of it.

They say that music never betrays the heart that loves it. True indeed, music has always made our lives better and it has soothed our senses since time immemorial. The 21st century has seen a revolution in the form of Computers that have proved to be instrumental in making our lives better and much convenient as compared to the others. And the majority definitely it has change d the way you listen to your music.

Contemporary times have witnessed a tremendous upsurge in the Internet marketing which has made music really popular amongst the music freaks all around the world. The users can now listen to the music through the Internet. There are several websites that deal with providing the Web music to the music lovers. With an increase in the stiff competition and a lot of players going Web, several lucrative provides have cropped up in the recent past. Now the user is free to download the music of his option, from a particular website, which is purely legalised. So,all of your famous and lesser known tracks are getting revamped in the Web arena. All you’ve to do is to download them at the earliest.

Do not forget all those overtly insignificant tunes that were once anthems for you? If you think that those have been withered away in an eternal limbo, you may easily find all of them lingering in the cyberspace. It certainly ejaculates our senses, even to consider discovering those long lost tracks. In fact, the Internet has particularly been stimulate ful in reviving all the long lost numbers, back in action and going popular all over again.

You could efficiently download these tracks into your mobile phone  and MP3 music players and listen to them whenever you feel prefer. So,you could efficiently pep up your life with the music of your choice. Secondly, these websites furthermore give you a lot of rousing offers and cashbacks for your downloads. Therefore it adds on to the profitability of your deals and makes them look more attractive.

Now,don’t miss your opportunity of finding the optimum Web music… because the Internet is undoubtedly going to make you find your kind of music!

Let’s face it, not every major concert, sports or corporate event can be easily handled by a company’s staff. Organizing such events with a large volume of audiences expected to attend often proves to be a tough challenge especially when they venue is in areas outside of that company’s home base. But thanks to some business oriented people with creative minds, they have come up with solutions to problems of event organizers notably concerning stages and bleachers.

The stage

Concerts especially by popular artists, sports events and corporate road shows are always crowd drawers. These events normally held in big and wide venues such as open fields and sports stadiums require big stages and bleachers to accommodate thousands of spectators.

For music concerts, in particular, stages need not only be wide but high as well. The wide space is to accommodate the live band and allow the artist and backup dancers to freely move around. A high stage is also necessary for security purposes notably to prevent fans from going on stage while the artist is performing.

Apart from the performers, the sound, lighting and video equipment have to be taken into consideration as well as they are vital components of any major event. They have to be provided with proper shelter to protect them from harmful elements such as rain, dust, dirt and heat. Temporary stages with roofs are most ideal for these state-of-the-art equipment.

stages can either be the open type or with roof depending on the time of the event and of course, the weather. They need to be strong enough to hold the lighting and audio equipment needed especially when the concert or other event is held after dark.

Mobile stages are the trend today. They are ideal for various types of events and can be set up in just 30 minutes. They also come in different sizes such as those measuring 32 feet wide and 40 feet wide.

The bleacher

bleachers are great for both major and minor events in that they allow the audience to have a clear view of what’s going on the stage or the venue. They are ideal for golf tournaments, concerts, parades and other special as well as sport events.

While they used to be made of wood, bleachers are now made from aluminum and thus, sturdier in accommodating audiences. Depending on the event, they also come in different styles.

Mobile bleachers can seat from 180 to 300 people. They are usually portable and easy to set up. And with the latest technology, these bleachers have even become automated in that they can unfold and used right away with just a push of button.

For your concert stages and bleacher requirements, your most reliable and professional source is Brown United. Since 1958, the company has been involved various major concert tours such as those of Elton John, Garth Brooks and Billy Graham and its clients rely on John Brown’s firm for its quality service.

Apart from concerts, it also provides concert and sound stages and bleachers for sports events, television studios and permanent builders. Each year, Brown United accommodates approximately 800 events. Among its recent projects include the Pirates Premier seating and screen support, X-Games scaffolding and seating, California Philharmonic Orchestra and the NBA Jam Allstar game.

Has there ever been a concert you were just dying to go see, but by the time you got through on the phone with the box office, the tickets were all sold out? Well get in line! No, really! For some shows, you have to camp out at a ticketing box office overnight to be in line early enough to grab a ticket.

So often today, the demand for concert tickets is larger than the ticket supply. So, if you want those tickets, you have to be one of the first people in line. Of course, there is always the phone and Internet, but in my experience, I’ve always had better luck, and better seats, camping out in line.

First, and most importantly, after you’ve picked the concert you want to see, you need to find out what date and time it goes on sale. The most common on-sale date/time is Saturday mornings at 10:00 am. But, of course, this may vary, so double check. For many performers, there are pre-sales. However, the codes for those sales are usually provided by a fan club membership, which costs extra money. And in today’s economy – who has that?

Secondly, you need to figure out where you’re going to buy the tickets from. There are usually only two options here: Ticketmaster, or the venue box office. You could always get your tickets from a secondary ticket broker, but I’ll get to that later. Ticketmaster has box offices all over the place. So, it would be best to find out which is closer to you: a Ticketmaster location, or the venue itself.

Okay, so now you know where you’re going and when you’re going! Good! But you’re probably still wondering how early you need to get there, huh? Well, that all depends. If it’s a super popular concert, and it’s sold out the last few years in a row, or in the previous cities, where it went on sale first – it’s probably going to be an overnighter. And that’s why you’re reading this anyway – right? So, get your bags packed and grab some friends!

Plan on getting to the location the night before the tickets actually go on sale. In some cases, you may need to get there at least 24 hours before, but let’s assume it’s just an overnighter, and you can get there in the evening, when you get off of work or school, whatever the case may be. The most important thing is a lawn chair! Get that first! Below is the list of other necessities, and any notes I can think of.

Lawn (or camp) chair – once you wake up in the morning, you’ll probably have to take your tent down, but there will still be several hours of waiting ahead of you. Yes, you can stand or sit on the floor, but trust me, after about two hours, you’ll wish you had one of these!

Tent – you might want to check with the location before you bring this. Some places have ordinances against using them in public places, like outside of a store. But, it is helpful to have, in case you are allowed to have one.

Sleeping bag/blankets/pillow – again, how many you need will depend on your comfort zone. Some people only need a sheet to be able to sleep anywhere, some need a little more, so bring whatever feels best for you. And remember, you can always leave stuff in your car and get it only when you need it. No use in hogging the sidewalk if you don’t need to

Water/food/drinks and a cooler – Again, the amount you’ll need to bring depends on you. Just remember though, you probably won’t have access to a refrigerator or any heating device (microwave, oven, toaster), so bring stuff that doesn’t need to be heated up.

The cooler, obviously, will keep things cool. Bottled water, sodas, juice boxes, sandwiches, chips, pretzels, and dip are all great things to have. You could always call for pizza delivery, but I have found some chains don’t deliver unless you have an actual address for them. You could always use the location address, but again, keep it simple.

Money – Yeah, don’t forget you have to pay for those tickets

Friends/cards/games – You will get bored. And if you’re standing in line by yourself, you’ll get real bored around all those strangers. Although, conversations are usually struck up and people tend to bond over their shared experience, it’s still best to bring someone you know along with you.

Alright, so now you should be packed up and ready to go! Another great reason to bring a friend is that you’ll have someone to hold your place in line. So, grab your friend too and get to the box office! As soon as you get there, stake out your spot in line. Set up your tent, or whatever you have. Then, get comfortable.

I did wait in line once for HFStival tickets, and the woman at the front of the line had been doing this for years. So, she started a list – as soon as someone else got it line, their name was added to the list. This helped to keep things fair in line – there was no “cutting” the line; everyone knew who everyone else was, and where their spot was. You could do this, if you’re first in line, but don’t feel that it’s required.

So, assuming you’ve made it through the night, wake up early and put your tent and other bulky items back in the car, or out of the way somehow. Once those doors open, you don’t want to be tripping over someone’s stuff, trying to get in the door. Conversely, you don’t want your things to be trampled. Also, once all the bulky stuff is gone, the line seems like it gets shorter – YAY! It doesn’t actually – you’re just closer to the people in front of you, but by then, any seeming success feels great!

Set out your lawn or camp chair, and get ready to wait some more. Hopefully, someone in line will offer to make a coffee and bagel run, or you could do this yourself. Again, if you have that friend with you, he or she can hold down both of your spots while you go to the coffee shop, or wherever.

Once the doors open, get your butt moving to get those great tickets! Once it’s your turn, the ticket agent (the person behind the counter at the ticket machine) will ask you how many tickets you need, and then will tell you what seats are available. Get them! The seating options only get worse the longer you wait. Then, pay the money and enjoy the show!

For those who were unsuccessful, or who don’t feel like doing all that work: The secondary ticket broker will be your best bet. A secondary ticket broker is not affiliated with the box office, performer, or venue in any way. They are a company that buys and sells tickets on the secondary market. So, the prices for the tickets will probably be higher, but you’ll have a variety of seating locations (want 3rd row on the floor? No problem!).

There are many secondary ticket brokers out there. However, make sure, if you decide to purchase tickets this way, that the broker is registered with the Better Business Bureau, and the National Association of Ticket Brokers. You want to make sure you’re buying from a legit place, after all. Also, let’s say you waited in line and got those great tickets you wanted, and for some reason, you can’t make it to the show after all.

Ticketmaster and most box offices do not have refund or return policies. Again, this is where secondary brokers work to your advantage. Most brokers also buy tickets. So if you can’t make it to a show, call a broker, and see if you can’t at least get your money back by selling them your ticket!