How to get front row at a PJ concert? Share your experience
iVEDDER
Posts: 71
I'm a PJ fan since forever. I live in Brazil so my first chance to see them live was back in 2005 (Rio).
Since the band may come to Brazil this year I want to plan ahead in getting front row. Never had this experience before. Any jammer willing to share his/hers?
Apart from arriving to the venue at least 12 hours prior the opening of the gates, what else should I bear in mind?
Thanks in advance.
Since the band may come to Brazil this year I want to plan ahead in getting front row. Never had this experience before. Any jammer willing to share his/hers?
Apart from arriving to the venue at least 12 hours prior the opening of the gates, what else should I bear in mind?
Thanks in advance.
2005 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Apoteose December 4th
2011 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Apoteose November 6th
2013 São Paulo, Brazil | Lollapalooza March 31st
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Comments
Basically you need to be in the front of the line, or close to it, which means arriving as early as possible. Be prepared to stay there for hours (think about how will you eat, drink, pee, etc). Then, just be nice to everyone who is around you and enjoy waiting. Hopefully you'll make some friends that you will be able to hang out with during the show and for the rest of your life! This makes the waiting before the show easier as you can take turns going to the bathroom, getting drinks, etc.
My wife and I were at the front for the last three shows we've been too. We've never gotten to the venue super early... there were probably 50-100 people in front of us at the Milton Keynes show last year and we ended up on the rail. Didn't have to run for it or anything, just walked up to the front. We were courteous and helped people around us and everyone had a great time and got to spend plenty of time in a space where they could see. I have to admit though, the crowd was absolutely NUTS at Milton Keynes. It was a physically demanding night for us and I'm not sure we really wanted that. But once Go started and the crowd got wild, there was only one way out and that was over the rail... neither of us were leaving the front rail just to get escorted to the back so we stayed and joined the madness!
Being on the rail is not always the best option. We were on the rail in Belgium, right in front of the stairs that Mike and Eddie used to get down into the crowd. Yea, it was cool for them to walk past us but they didn't stop for long and from where we were the speakers and TV cameras blocked most of the band from our view. We should have just stepped a few rows back but that staircase and the visions of Eddie and Mike standing right in front of us kept my wife right there for the whole show.
The Isle of Wight Festival (below) was probably our best experience. We were on the rail, there was nothing obstructing our view, people around us were nice and the crowd was manageable. Eddie sang Porch right in front of us... I could see the wine stains on his teeth!
If you get too caught up in getting to the front you won't enjoy yourself. Some of my best memories are from being back in the grass at outdoor ampitheaters like Mansfield and Raleigh, NC. You have space to dance and go wild without having to worry about losing your place (or losing your wife).
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How is the interaction between the band and the fans at the front?
As far as the interaction between fans and the band: I find it amazing how much attention they pay to the fans. At Isle of Wight we were right in front of Mike McCready. This was a festival so a lot of the fans didn't know every single song but he saw that I did. He made eye contact with me and pointed a few times. He was on fire as always and it was really special that he was able to share that energy with individuals in a sea of what must have been 60,000 people.
He even sent a pick our way toward the end of the show but everyone was rocking out so hard we didn't catch it and it ended up in the mud somewhere, haha.
Awesome. Mike is a great guy, I've met him back in 2011 and he gave me one of his guitar picks (hotel). I'm gonna try my best to get front row this time.
Either way, line up early. Take food and drinks or learn the location of a place where you can quickly buy food and take it back to the line. Spend a lot of time in line...anything you may have heard about a list with numbers on hands is no more. No more "checking in" every few hours and spending time at your hotel sleeping, etc.
Take things to do, books, music, guitar, cards, etc. Take a lawn chair. Park nearby so you can quickly run the stuff back to your car or hotel when the doors are close to opening.
Talk to fans around you who will guard your place in line. If you can have your buddy/buddies with you when you go into the line, that's even better..
And don't be that guy who goes in the line and spends hours and hours trying to obtain a ticket. Have your ticket in-hand (or at the window) when you enter the line.