Guest... list?

December 3, 2014 9:25 AM

A member of my favorite band is putting me on the "guest list" for the band's show this weekend. Awesome! What does that mean?

I'm too embarrassed to ask. I assume it's basically just a comped ticket, right? When do I show up? Whom do I talk to? How do I not make an obnoxious ass of myself?

I'd describe the band in question as "quite popular by indie rock standards" and the show is at a largeish club in Amsterdam.

posted by eugenen to Media & Arts (18 answers total)

It typically means that you don't need to pay cover, so you would just tell whomever is collecting cover at the door that you're on the guest list and give them your name.
posted by Jacqueline at 9:28 AM on December 3, 2014 [4 favorites]

It's a comped ticket. Just show up as you normally would and tell the doorman you are on the list. They will ask your name and in you go.
posted by iscavenger at 9:29 AM on December 3, 2014 [4 favorites]

It depends on the band and the venue. It usually means you can get in for free. You may also get backstage passes.

Show up whenever you normally would and go to the doorguy or ticket / will call window and tell them your name.
posted by Diskeater at 9:31 AM on December 3, 2014

Yes, see above. If it's the kind of band/venue where there's a long line outside, you may be able to skip that too. If you see a second, very short line, that's probably "guest list."
posted by drjimmy11 at 9:31 AM on December 3, 2014 [6 favorites]

Sometimes you can skip the line, but sometimes you can't. If there's a short line, go to it. If not, get in line with everybody else. I wouldn't just push to the front of the door. Seems a little buttheadish, like, "get out of the way, I'm on the list."

You get to the door, and tell the door person you're on the list. They'll check their clipboard and maybe ask for your ID. They'll give you a wristband or X your hand if you're underage. Sometimes you get a different colored wristband than everyone else, which means you're clear to go backstage. Sometimes there's free beer attached to that wristband.

You get inside and text your friend all, "Yo, I'm here!" They'll text back to tell you to go the door by the stage or around back or to the van or whatever, and you go there. If you're going backstage, show your wrist to the security guy. He won't let you forget. Then you get to high five your friend.

Or maybe your friend will be all, "Aaaah, I'm slammed. I'll catch you after." Proceed to bar, grab (maybe free, maybe not) drink and enjoy the show.

Be prepared that if your friend has to load their own van, you won't see them for like an hour after their set. Maybe they'll be so excited to see you that they'll jump off the stage for a quick hug before they break down their equipment.

That's it! Play it by ear and have fun.
posted by functionequalsform at 9:32 AM on December 3, 2014 [11 favorites]

You show up, give the doorman your name, he looks on a list, and then lets you in. Still stand in the line, just so as not to be a dick.

The only question is do you have a +1? It's pretty common for guestlisting to include two tickets (i.e. you and a friend), but you might want to check to make sure.
posted by 256 at 9:54 AM on December 3, 2014 [2 favorites]

Check if you need to stand on line. Ask the guy directing the line, "Where do I go for Will Call?" He motions where to go (e.g., in the ticketholders line, or another separate line). when you get to the window or desk, say that you're on the band list. If the band is big enough, there may be multiple lists (label, management, venue, etc.). When you get your hand stamped, bracelet put on, whatever, and go in. That's it!
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 9:54 AM on December 3, 2014

It means a comped ticket.

As to what you need to do, that'll depend on the venue. If it's a local club, probably the bouncer will have a list, and your name will be on it, and they'll cross you off and stamp your hand for free. If it's a larger venue, you may have literal tickets to pick up at Will-Call. I'm not sure if this is all super different in Europe.

Sometimes you wait in line with everyone else. Sometimes there's a special line, box office window, or entrance. It depends entirely on the venue, in my experience.

I have never been comped tickets for anything which included free drinks, or explicitly told to head backstage or to any private area.

I have never texted a performer friend who put me on the list with an eye towards hanging out before the show. They are busy. One of my exes is a working comedian, and I was universally comped for all his shows while we were dating. He never asked me to go backstage before a show at all, ever, period. YMMV with your friends in the band and what they are like and whether they invited you assuming you'd come backstage before the show and party with them, but in my extensive experience of being comped for things, this is not something that happens in real life.

Either way, I think as long as you ask any questions you have politely and aren't all IM WITH THE DJ about it, you're fine.
posted by Sara C. at 9:59 AM on December 3, 2014 [2 favorites]

Seconding Sara C. that I would leave the band alone before the set. The only time I spent time with a band before their set, they ended up having me run their T-shirt stand while they played (it was a really, really, really low-key tour).
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 10:04 AM on December 3, 2014 [1 favorite]

Oh, and your friend who is putting you on the list will tell you if you get a plus one or not. If they don't say "I put you and your boyfriend on the list" or "I put you and a plus one on the list", you should assume it's just you.

Plus Ones are not the default, in my experience, for comped tickets.
posted by Sara C. at 10:04 AM on December 3, 2014

sometimes you'll also get a drink ticket or two for free. Remember to tip your bartender!
posted by bottlebrushtree at 10:51 AM on December 3, 2014

I don't understand how all these people expect to get free drinks from being on a guest list. I've been a professional musician for decades, have put thousands of people on guest lists in venues around the world, have been on thousands of guest lists, myself, and it's never involved a free drink, ever.

You're not a VIP. You're just skipping the cover charge (most or all of which would have been going to the band, anyway). The venue (usually) makes its money on drink sales. Believe me, they're not interested in forfeiting this income from you.

That said, it's entirely possible that a venue may throw you a free drink. It'd be because you're gorgeous, famous, a regular customer, or you've tipped generously on previous rounds. Not because you're on the guest list.
posted by Quisp Lover at 11:11 AM on December 3, 2014 [12 favorites]

If the venue is the Paradiso or the Melkweg there are indeed separate lines for guest list people. Smile at the doorman, tell him your name, in you go.

Bonus feature! Because you're on the list you don't have to fork out the extra few bucks "membership" fee that ordinary ticket buying people have to pay. I've lived here for 13 years and I'm still not entirely sure why you have to do this, but that's the way it happens at both these venues.

You can spend half the "membership" money you save checking your coat in the cloakroom... and the other half tipping the doormen on the way out. Just drop a euro or two in their hand as you head out the door. This is one of those nice things that people do over here. I like it :-)
posted by ZipRibbons at 12:55 PM on December 3, 2014 [1 favorite]

I just wanted to second what Quisp Lover said. In my experience, a guest list spot never includes a free drink. There are exceptions that aren't really exceptions: 1. You might get a drink ticket from your friend in the band, but that's basically like him/her buying you a drink, since it's coming out of his/her personal allotment. 2. If it's a larger venue and/or a larger-budget production, the bouncer/door-person might hand you an envelope with an all-access pass, which will get you backstage (though not necessarily into the artist areas). If you get a free drink, it'll be backstage.

But you didn't ask about free drinks, you asked about getting in on the guest list. Just tell a bouncer or door person that your name should be on the list, and they'll steer you in the right direction. (Make sure you have your ID.)

Also seconding the notion that your artist friend might not be the most available person to hang out with before/after/during. But have fun and enjoy the show!
posted by sportbucket at 1:27 PM on December 3, 2014

Also seconding the notion that your artist friend might not be the most available person to hang out with before/after/during."

Remember, in spite of any apparent glamour and show biz trappings, that your friend is working. So it's really very much like if a friend were to show up at your workplace. The fact that his workplace seems fun doesn't change anything. Even if he looks like he's sharing in that fun, understand that's a facade, an image. He's working (at least if he's any good; crappy bar bands playing for drinks in suburban gin mills aren't necessarily professionals).

Another note: guest list spaces are finite, and musicians are often pressured by friends for them. I always insist that I'm happy to pay, at least once or twice, before agreeing to be put on a guest list. I wouldn't imagine asking for a "plus one" (i.e. spot for a friend) unless I was quite sure the musician was wallowing in unfilled guest list spots.
posted by Quisp Lover at 1:52 PM on December 3, 2014 [1 favorite]

It's also best to be psychologically prepared to be told by the door that you're not on the list. Sometimes the friend forgets to get you on the list and you have to be mentally prepared to either ask the door to check (they will not if there's a line), pay, or leave. If your friend in the band is a close friend it's okay to text them if you're refused entry. But if you're a casual acquaintance who they barely know you may not get in.
posted by a humble nudibranch at 2:01 PM on December 3, 2014 [3 favorites]

There is also such a thing as a paying guest list, where you get to jump the queue, or get guaranteed entry, but still have to pay (there's also half-price guest list, and plenty of other permutations). Paying guest lists seem to be a club thing more than a band thing, but if the queue to get in often goes to one-in-one-out it is still definitely worth having.

You friend would probably have mentioned if it was paying guest list though. I would expect free guest list unless told otherwise. Just walk up to the bouncer and ask where to go, he'll have a clipboard.
posted by tinkletown at 5:23 PM on December 3, 2014

You're on the guest list means you're going to get in free. It may or may not include a backstage pass, and could include drinking for free if you get backstage. But most likely, it just means you don't have to pay a cover charge.

As a musician who mostly plays private parties but sometimes plays for the public, when we do play for the public we usually are able to designate a short list of people we'd like on the guest list. For public shows at larger venues, like ones that have a proper backstage area, there could be a separate backstage pass list for our WAGs (wives and girlfriends.)

Keep in mind that the size of the guest list might affect your musician friend's take-home pay, depending on how the venue sets things up with the band.
posted by emelenjr at 9:43 PM on December 3, 2014