From Luke Bryan and Pitbull to Dayglow and Harry Styles, it is hard to deny that Dallas’s concert life has resurrected. Since COVID’s quarantine has kept Dallas’s concert fanatics on lockdown, it makes sense to be a little rusty when it comes to concert prep. Here’s a few things to avoid and to do prior to the concert in order to make sure everything goes smoothly.
One of the most important things to do is to make sure you have a ride both in and out. Junior Caryline Bradford says, “I can’t even count the times I’ve been stranded at the house of blues late at night. It always hurts to call my parents and ask them to pick me up.” To avoid situations like Caryline’s make sure that the ride that got you there will also be able to get you out of there. If the ride is unable to take you home, then make sure to ask a friend, that will be there, or a parent to save a spot for you in the car.
Adding to the carpool dilemma, it is crucial to make sure to not separate from your friends. Having to find your carpool buddies after the concert ends, not only will take forever, but it will also annoy your driver. Your ride has to go through a nightmare to be able to get out of the venue’s parking. Adding to their stress might impair their driving or make them lash out. Even if your friends have different rides than you, nothing is scarier and unsafe than being alone in a large dark venue. Senior Georgia Crumley says, “During Pitbull I lost my friends the second I got there, and I spent the entire night trying to find them. I almost cried when I found one of them.”
Shockingly enough, being hydrated is often a factor that is skipped during concert prep. Senior Giselle Sethi says, “At Pitbull I saw a girl just drop on the floor, she could barely talk but when she did all she said was ‘water.’ It made me so glad that I chugged a bottle of water before leaving.” If getting hydrated means paying the concert venue’s overpriced water, do that instead of missing out on the experience of your artist’s performance and risking your health.
Alongside water, it is never a bad idea to be fueled up with food before a concert. Especially due to expensive prices, why not eat before and avoid paying a hefty bill for semi-good fast food. Senior Sydney Hatton says, “I eat a small meal before leaving the house, then halfway through the concert I splurge on a treat like a pretzel or ice cream to keep me energized.”
On the topic of saving money, buying the concert ticket will always be the most expensive part. The cheapest and most ethical option is to buy tickets from the artist themselves. Normally, the day that artists drop their ticket their website reveals the prices to be over 34% cheaper. If you missed the artist’s presale, drop and regular drop, you may be forced to buy resale. Resale platforms like SeatGeek and LiveNation offer various discount codes that are able to at least take off the expensive service fees. Senior Donna Lerma says, “I was able to take off over twenty dollars for my Pitbull ticket and I’ve never been happier.”
In addition, the time frame the tickets are purchased also factor into the price, the earlier the cheaper. The closer it gets to the dates the more expensive resale prices will become, if you’re planning on going last minute it always ends up cheaper to buy the day of, after the demand has gone down.
Lastly while this might sound obvious, it is crucial to double check to have a barcode or physical ticket before leaving. The worst thing that can happen at a concert, is not being able to get in at all. So, make sure to have all the supplies needed and to have a blast.
