What to do…

During the concert

If possible, skip the bag check. Whether you decide to do this or not depends on how much you want to be first or second row. If you have a large bag or coat that is mandatory to check, by all means, check it. You don’t want to be lugging that around with you during the show, plus it might irritate the people around you. But if you can avoid taking the extra time to check your bags, you’ll have a better chance of getting to the front. People tend to rush toward the stage once they’re past the ticket checker, and if you’re busy checking your bags, they’re getting front row. When I’m going to a concert that’s an artist I love, I tie things around my waist, stuff things in my purse, or hold anything I can. Getting as close as possible to the stage is always my main priority.

Wear earplugs. Especially if you’re toward the front of the stage, you’ll hear the music more clearly if you have earplugs in. It will also help with the post-concert ringing in your ears. I went to a concert in December without earplugs, and I could hardly make out what the artists were singing. I bring them to every concert now! (Photo by Dirk Haun)

Enjoy the show—don’t record it. Instead of videotaping or live-tweeting the entire concert, put your phone and camera away and enjoy the show. If your favorite song comes on, or the singer does something funny that you feel you have to catch on tape, record a small clip, but don’t spend too much time doing this. Remember: almost always, you can find footage of the concert on YouTube afterward.

Right: A fan recording a ZZ Ward concert in September 2013

TIP: Forgot your camera? Your phone’s camera quality isn’t that great? Check the venue’s Facebook page. Sometimes they have photo albums of previous shows. If you can’t find much, try checking out the venue’s account on Instagram. Also, search for the venue’s name or the date of the concert in the Instagram hashtags.

If you get to the front row, make friends with the security guard(s). If you’re lucky enough to get front row at a concert, get friendly with the bodyguard chilling by front of the stage. (He’s probably bored anyway.) You never know how this could benefit you later.

When I saw The Wanted in April, I was front row. While waiting for the show to start, I joked around with the security guard standing in front of the stage. He was taking people’s phones and snapping photos of the stage and the crowd for people who asked him to. Since there were so many teenage girls there, a lot of the phones he was given were pink and polka dotted. I was laughing, asking if they belonged to him. He smirked. “No!” he would say. At one point, he was handed a phone with a teddy bear case. He walked over to me and said, “This is my phone,” smiling.

Later, I was chosen by Tom Parker from The Wanted to join him on stage as his Heart Vacancy Girl (For those of you who aren’t huge fans of The Wanted: Being a Heart Vacancy Girl is the equivalent to Justin Bieber’s One Less Lonely Girl. The boys of The Wanted choose 5 girls from the audience to join them on stage and sing to. I’m a superfan of The Wanted, so this was an absolute dream come true for me!) When I was chosen, I was freaking out. I was so excited, but I was stuck behind the barrier that separated me from the stage. I didn’t know how to get out onto the stage. That’s when the security guard I had made friends with earlier came over to me, holding his arms out. “Come here. I’ll lift you over.” He did, and helped me up onto the stage. Without him, I probably wouldn’t have been a Heart Vacancy Girl. I thanked him lots after the show. (See a picture of us together on the left.)

Obviously this is a rare situation; not a lot of bands do this, so security guards don’t always have this opportunity. But becoming friends with the security guard at a concert could benefit you in other ways; sometimes they give out water bottles to people in the first few rows, or lift fans out of  the mosh pits for air when they’re feeling faint.

Tom Parker and me on stage!

Talk to the fans around you. You know that excited feeling you get when you find out someone likes the same band as you? When you’re at a concert, you’re in a room full of people who like the same band or singer as you. Take advantage of this. You’re all there for the same reason! Talk to the fans around you—it makes it more fun as you’re waiting for the show to start, and you may hear some crazy stories about past concerts they’ve been to. If you use Twitter, ask people you meet for their usernames. Fans you meet could tweet about the artist you both like when they’re coming back to your town, and you’ll hear about it first if you’re in touch.

If you’re the type of person who follows fans of your favorite band from around your area on Twitter, you may even run into one of your online friends at a show. Once when I was at a concert, I tweeted a picture of the stage. A few minutes later, a girl shouted into the crowd: “Is there a ‘SophersC’ (my Twitter username) in the room?” I raised my hand and waved at her. “That’s me!” I said. She grinned. “We follow each other on Twitter. I just saw your picture of the stage! Nice to meet you,” she said. We still talk online today.

Keep track of your friends. Try to stick with the friends you came to the show with as best you can. It’s a lot easier when the show ends if you already know where your friends are—you can get out faster, before the huge mob pushes toward the exit. Not only this, but obviously it’s more fun when you can enjoy a concert with your best friends. Take this opportunity to hardcore fangirl together when your favorite song comes on—no one’s going to judge you here!