What's the best way to protect a poster at a concert?

August 22, 2009 10:53 PM

What's the best way to protect a poster at a (general admission) concert?

So I'm going to a show tomorrow night and I'm planning on buying a poster. The thing is, the show is all general admission, so the chance of the poster getting mangled is somewhat high. I'm not going to be in the pit by any means, but I'm being paranoid.

Obviously bringing a poster tube is the best way of protecting it, but I'm not really sure that the venue is going to let me in with one. (I'm going to call tomorrow to ask, but...)

So aside from a poster tube, what would be the best way to protect my poster for the few hours I'm at the show?

posted by gchucky to media & arts (11 answers total)

In my experience, merch people are definitely still around at the end of a show; is there a reason you're not already thinking of just buying it at the end and avoiding the issue of storage altogether?
posted by so_gracefully at 10:58 PM on August 22, 2009

They'll probably be around, but since they're doing per-venue posters, I'm assuming that people are going to jump on those first, and they may run out. I'd rather get it beforehand and know that I have it.
posted by gchucky at 11:00 PM on August 22, 2009

Tip the merch guy $5 to hold on to it for you.
posted by knowles at 11:15 PM on August 22, 2009

Tip the merch guy $5 to hold on to it for you.

I have had great success with this method. Run pick it up during the encore if you want to try to get it signed by the artist/s.
posted by padraigin at 11:21 PM on August 22, 2009

The posters most likely arrived there in tubes, see if they will give/sell you one. If that fails, neatly roll it up and secure it with several loose rubber bands or zip ties. Hang out in the least crowded area you can find for the rest of the evening with the poster held vertically in both hands. Stay alert, and if anyone approaches close enough that they might bump into or spill beer on the poster turn away and present them with your shoulder or back. If you must venture into a tightly packed crowd, say on the way out, hold the rolled poster above your head. Finally, to make sure the poster doesn't get damaged on the way home, bring a tube along and leave it in the car.
posted by waxboy at 11:38 PM on August 22, 2009

Is it a venue with a cloakroom/coat-check etc? If you could leave a poster tube in there, you could add the poster at a quiet time and know it's safe.

(I've carried a poster tube at gigs when having to come straight from school, but it's a total pain to be wearing one in any kind of crowd even if it is allowed.)
posted by carbide at 5:47 AM on August 23, 2009

If you're going there by car just put the poster in the car and come back. If you're worried about not getting back in just talk to the people at the door and let them know you're just popping out for a second.
posted by Kattullus at 6:21 AM on August 23, 2009

If by any chance it's NIN you're going to, I went to the show last night and there were still a ton of the NYC posters left when I stopped by the merch booth afterwards. The venue-specific shirts sold out, though.

Also, I saw two or three people walking around inside with poster tubes sticking out of their bags. And given the crowd energy level, I'm pretty sure a poster bought before the show would have been a crumpled ball by the end of it without a poster tube.

If it's not NIN you're going to, I would still recommend buying it after the show.
posted by miskatonic at 6:57 AM on August 23, 2009

miskatonic: Yeah, it is NIN, actually. I saw what people said about the show, so I started thinking about digging out a poster tube. I'm definitely going to pick up a venue-specific shirt if I can, so I thought it might be easier to also get a poster at that point. But that's good news about people walking around with poster tubes.

Kattullus: I'm not going by car; I'll be taking the subway.

waxboy: Yeah, that was pretty much what I was thinking.

knowles: I hadn't actually thought of that, but it's not a bad idea. Depends on the venue, I suppose.
posted by gchucky at 7:12 AM on August 23, 2009

Bring a poster tube with you with some soft rope tied and taped to it. Wear it like a messenger bag. Dorky, yes, but effective.
posted by nosila at 3:38 PM on August 23, 2009

Here's what I ended up doing, should anyone come across this in the future:

I called the venue and they said that it was fine to bring a tube. She actually sounded kinda weirded out by my question, but whatever. So I ran out to Staples and bought a 2" (diameter) x 24" (length) tube and took it to the venue. No questions were asked, and I just hung onto it the whole time.

The venue was Webster Hall in New York.
posted by gchucky at 10:05 PM on August 23, 2009