Tuesday, March 12, 2013

#21: Attend a rock concert

Unfortunate camera-pic

I got lucky a few days back when I heard Norah Jones was giving a concert in India. I have not attended a concert, like EVER. And though my list says "rock" concert, I figured a jazz/country/folk concert is a worthy substitute.

Besides I was getting an employee discount on tickets, and this I took as a sign that I should go a-concerting.

So for people who are going to attend a concert for the first time, here are a few tips:

1) Wear flat shoes and closed shoes.
Open-air concerts involve a lot of standing (or sitting). So heels will definitely make you uncomfortable. I am a person who doesn't like dirt in her toes, so closed shoes were a must for me.

2) Carry water
All that standing around and singing along makes you thirsty. So carry some hydration.

3) Carry insect repellent/sunscreen
Depending on whether its day or night, carry one(or both). I was bitten by mosquitoes all night :(

4) Carry a light, hands free bag.
Again, standing around will exhaust you. make sure your bag doesn't contribute to it.

5) Dress lightly.
So many people packed together will make it warm/hot. So jackets, sweaters, wraps should be left in your car.

6) Respect other concert attendees
Don't step on toes, push people, toss your hair into other people's unsuspecting faces. Your dance moves may be sexy, but I certainly don't appreciate you shoving at me.

And as a tiny person, I think concerts may not be the best place for me to enjoy music. After all, I generally come upto most people's shoulders, and my view of Norah Jones was limited to between people's ears and necks. Sharad, however, towered over the crowd and even made eye-contact with Norah and her guitarist, Jeff(we were quite near the stage).
So my final concert-going tip for you:

8) Be tall.

The concert in itself was brilliant. The lady is an incredible performer! She sounds as good performing live as she does on record. And her band was awesome too! My favourites were "Creep on Me" and "Black" and "Mariam". Her songwriting is so versatile, switching from jazz to almost-rock to pop.