Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with concert

What is the cheapest way to get to Boston, MA from Cleveland, OH to see a concert?

seanmhobson1988 — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 15:34:11 -0800

What is the cheapest way to get to Boston, MA from Cleveland, OH to see a concert? An awesome Japanese singer named Utada will be performing at the Paradise Club in Boston, MA next year. The concert will be Friday, February 5th 2010 at 7pm. So far the plan is to get there Thursday, stay the night at a friend’s place, go to the concert Friday and then leave the same night.

I looked into plane tickets and there at present there about $350 roundtrip per person. It would be really unfortunate to have to pay $350 in airfare when the tickets to the concerts were less than $50.

Any other ideas guys?

P.S. Driving is a less preferred suggestion, as that would mean skipping more than 2 days of college classes.

Thanks in advance!

Requesting an old set list.

summit — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 12:27:23 -0800

What songs did Jolie Holland play at her November 1, 2008 concert at the MFA in Boston?

Stellar Concert Performances on DVD

netbros — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:46:11 -0800

What are the live performance concert DVDs that stun you with their excellence and excitement? I recently purchased The Way Up concert DVD by the Pat Metheny Group and found it mesmerizing. The combined talent, the cohesiveness and preparation of PMG on this particular tour is astounding. Surely there is other contemporary live concert footage on DVD that is equally inspiring.

While I am a big fan of jazz, I'm an even bigger fan of music in general. Just about anything that is stellar from a tight, talented individual or group is what I'm looking for.

Please suggest your favorite live concert performances.

How do they fix performance glitches when doing post-production on "live" recordings?

Joe Beese — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:18:09 -0800

How do they fix performance glitches when doing post-production on "live" recordings? Assuming that they don't have multiple performances to splice together, how do they correct a singer's pitch or fix an instrumentalist's late entrance?

If they simply record a new part in the studio, how do they approximate the venue's acoustics?

Where can I buy sound protecting earmuffs for infants in Toronto?

modernnomad — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:06:16 -0800

Where can I buy children's ear muffs (for sound protection, not warmth) in Toronto? A concert-going friend is soon to have a baby, and I would like purchase him and is wife (also a frequent concert-goer) some sound protection for their child (newborn or infant size) similar to these. Looking for a physical shop in Toronto where they can be purchased.

Should I screw nightschool?

WeekendJen — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 21:28:15 -0800

I am going to see Bruce Springsteen in Giants Stadium on October 8th and want to know if there have been any opening acts on the "Working on a Dream" tour... I'm trying to get my schedule for this day set and wanted to know if it would be OK to get there at 8:30, even though the tickets list the showtime as 7:30 and the stadium opens at 6. Any input appreciated! Thanks!

[Bootleg Filter] Help me recreate my girlfriend's most memorable experience

racardoso — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 09:09:12 -0800

My girlfriend's birthday is next month and I would like to offer her the opportunity to relive her most memorable experience: Radiohead's Concert at Coliseu dos Recreios (Lisbon) in 24 July 2002. Can you help me do it? She often talks about the hum she took home from the concert's last music, Karma Police. I would really love to see her smile when she listens to it once again...
To do this I'm planning to give her a mp3 player loaded with a recording of that particular concert. The problem is that I can't find it!
I've already found a setlist. I was even able to find some bootleg collectors that listed this recording, but they didn't answer me and on their websites they stated that they would only trade recordings.
Do you have any suggestions on where to look next?

Floored

pised — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 09:11:13 -0800

I've been to many, many concerts in the past but have always had seats and have no idea how it works when you have floor tickets. What can I expect? My partner got us floor tickets for U2 at Skydome (I refuse to call it Rogers Centre) in Toronto, which I'm pretty excited for, except for being concerned about a couple of things.

1) Our tickets do have seat numbers on them, but my impression was with floor tickets is that there's no actual seats -- true? (If not true, the rest of my question is pretty much moot.) My main concern with this is that standing for long periods of time tends to make me feel faint (I suspect I have orthostatic hypotension). That said, as long as I'm concentrating on other things/being entertained (a given with U2) and not thinking about how I feel off, I'm usually ok.

2) I'm also short and I'd like to be able to see Bono and co. I know that they have the huge screens and all, but if we will be standing the whole time, should we go earlier (i.e. when doors open) and stake out a good spot? Should we stand near the outside edge so I have an exit route in case I do get fainty? Or should we just try to get as close to the front as possible?

3) Anything I should be aware of, whether about being on the floor generally or about the floor area at Skydome specifically?

Thanks in advance!

Motörhead's concert take

stargell — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:45:27 -0800

How much did Motörhead make last night? The world's greatest rock 'n' roll band played the Roseland in New York City last night. The venue holds about 3,500, and I'm guessing it was close to capacity—say 3,000 paying customers. Tickets were $38 in advance, $48 at the door. So figure an average of $40, making the gate $120,000. There were also three other bands on the bill of varying prominence. T-shirts were also on sale for $30-40. Beer was $6. Figure they sold 300 shirts—call it $10,000, and, conservatively, one beer for each customer, or about $20,000 at the bar.

So, folks with some music business know-how: What would the headliner's take be? Who else is taking a cut of that cash?

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

gchucky — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 22:53:44 -0800

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?

What's the PIT like at a rock concert in Camden, NJ? (Susquehanna Bank Center)

thankyoumuchly — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:55:25 -0800

Will I like PIT area tickets for a rock concert at the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, NJ? Thinking about attending a rock concert at the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, NJ. I am considering purchasing tickets in the PIT area dead center in front of the stage.

Will I like these tickets? I'm an averaged size guy so I can take a little shoving but I want to watch the concert and enjoy it.

Here's a pic of the seating chart. The PIT is orange, smack dab in front of the stage:

http://www.indux.com/map/131_TweeterCenter_EndStage_tn.jpg

Have any of you MeFites attended a concert there? Can you speak to the experience of the PIT in front of the stage? Will my neck be craned the whole time (is the PIT way below the stage?). Will I get moshed into oblivion. Are there seats or standing only? Can I move around within the entire PIT area or are there "front PIT tickets", "back PIT tickets" etc?

I've been to a concert there on the Lawn back when it was the "Tweeter Center" (note: Camden, not Boston). But the lawn was wayyyy back from the stage and I don't remember if I saw the PIT.

Please let me know you experiences. Details are a plus, please elaborate!

Trying to buy the Hole 'MTV Unplugged' DVD onine - in vain.

XiBe — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 06:31:19 -0800

Trying to buy the Hole 'MTV Unplugged' DVD online - in vain. My g/f is a long-time hardcore fan of the band Hole (well, up until the "Be A Man" video. My lady's got taste).

During her teens, she collected songs and videos through copies of copies of audio and VHS tapes through snail-mail -- now mostly unplayable. Among these bad VHSs was the MTV Unplugged.

She was able to find a digital version of that dearest concert on the Net, but it turns out to de-synch progressively, audio not matching video, all that.

She couldn't find the DVD sold online.

With her birthday approaching, I'm been having a look, and turns either can I, so far - both Amazon and my google-fu have proven weak on this.

So : anyone knows where I could buy a legit Region 2 (we're in France) DVD of Hole's 'MTV Unplugged' concert?

Thanks a lot for any pointer.

A concert...without fries on it? In Pittsburgh?!

ADoubtfulTrout — Fri, 29 May 2009 15:43:01 -0800

Going to a concert at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Pavilion this Saturday. It starts at 7:00, and it takes about an hour to get there from Shadyside/Oakland. What can we do to eat a tasty dinner? I haven't been to the Post-Gazette Pavillion before, so I don't know if there are good food places there, but from what I've found online, it's overpriced and bleh (standard Pittsburgh fast food fare).

Here's the problem: if the show starts at 7, and I assume that I need to leave 30-40 minutes for parking/getting in/leeway, and it takes me 45 minutes - 1 hour to drive there, then I'm looking at a 5:00-5:30 departure time from Craig St (between U. Pitt and CMU).

Do I...
- Pick up a lunch to go for the pair of us and try to fit it in a 1 gallon clear plastic bag? (recommendations on where to get a bag lunch?)
- Bring food and dine in the car before the concert? (the atmosphere is so...lovely)
- Eat at the Pavilion, braving lines and fast food?
- Eat out near the pavilion? Where is tasty? When is reasonable?

Any other advice for the pavilion (is it the sort of place where you need to get there early? Where getting in/out of the parking lot is nuts? Do they have especially worthwhile beer? Should I watch out for my umbrella/Mefites?)

Paying for the show, not the parking

yawper — Fri, 29 May 2009 07:15:41 -0800

How to attend a concert at the Molson Amphitheatre in Toronto without paying $25 for parking? Is there a cheaper place to park or an easy & safe TTC route? I'm planning to attend a concert at the amphitheatre this summer. I've only been to one other show there, last year, and I paid $25 to park across the street at Ontario Place. It wasn't really unexpected, but I'd like to avoid that additional expense if I can this time.

I've taken the subway and streetcar plenty of times, but never a TTC bus - and I believe only busses go down that far, right? I'll be going home alone at night after the show finishes, and I'm a little nervous about the idea of taking the bus alone at that time. I'd prefer to park somewhere relatively close (I'm ok with walking for a bit) but not pay $25. Any ideas?

If it helps, I'll be coming from the west end.

Jackson Browne's autograph at concert--how?

Dukat — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 11:53:40 -0800

Help me get Jackson Browne's autograph at his concert. Title is self-explanatory. I'm pretty young (22) and so will probably stand out among his crowd--which tends to be in their 50s and 60s (around his age)--and I have pretty much the whole day of the concert free. I have a very decent seat. I have minimal concert experience, though.

Should I show up way before the concert? How much in advance? Or wait after? Where do I go? The stage door? Mingle in front of the stage? Would it help at all if I "looked good"? Any other advice would be much appreciated. The man's pretty much been my favorite singer since I was 14, and I've listened to a lot of other people since then, and getting to see him for 4 seconds and getting an autograph would mean a lot to me.

Question about Miles Davis at Lincoln Center's Philharmonic Hall

sour cream — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 15:41:50 -0800

How much of the Miles Davis concert recorded on Feb. 12, 1964 at Lincoln Center's Philharmonic Hall was (not) improvised? Available in various cuts on a number of CDs (My Funny Valentine, Four and More, The complete concert...), this is commonly regarded as one of the great Jazz concerts in history. The line-up is Miles Davis, George Colemen, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Tony Williams.

I've listened to this recording many times. I think the concert is pure genius, but recently it struck me that it is so perfect that I wonder how much of it is improvised and how much is, well, rehearsed. This is at least true for the not-so-up-tempo standards of the concert, such as My Funny Valentine, All Of You, Stella By Starlight, I Thought About You, There is No Greater Love, maybe not so much for the other tunes.
Some of the exhibits:

* The arrangements are more complex, in terms of harmonies and tempo, than in other recordings, even by Miles with other sidemen.

* The execution is too flawless. Usually, in a solo, there'll inevitably be instances where the soloist is temporarily lost - if only for split seconds - and you can hear how he is trying to get back into the song. Not so here, even though the solos (especially sax and piano) are extremely complex including phrases and musical thoughts that seem to me longer than usual, they never miss a beat.

* There seems to be more coordination in the rhythm section than in other Jazz combos.

For example, compare this version of Stella By Starlight with the one recorded by the same rhythm section on Ron Carter's "Third Plane". The latter sounds much more improvised, whereas the Lincoln Center version sounds much denser, more thought out and more ... meaningful.

Or take the end of the sax solo / beginning of the piano solo in All Of You: there is this coordinated figure of bass and piano which ties in perfectly with the end of the sax solo. Then at the beginning of the piano solo, Tony Williams not so much echoes, but underlines some of Herbie Hancock's figures, like he knows what's coming.

So what gives?
Is my hunch correct, that there is actually less improvisation going on at this concert than at other great Jazz concerts? If so, how much of the solos are rehearsed? All of it? Just some? How'd they do it?

Help me find a concert poster, please?

Loto — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:00:48 -0800

I am need of a concert poster. Specifically, I am looking for the 2003 Vans Warped Tour poster, either with no venue listed or from the Camden, NJ show. A friend of mine is looking for a copy of the 2003 Vans Warped Tour poster. She's found copies for sale from other venues, but she can't seem to find one from either the Camden show or if not from there, with no venue listed. Anyone have any leads? I've checked all the usual places, and all we can find are shows from other venues.

Worst case scenario, an image of one suitable for printing on a large scale might be okay. As I understand, that is what many of the online poster stores do now anyway.

Clever ways to raise more money at a charity music night

equality7-2521 — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 14:52:14 -0800

I'm based in Scotland, and looking for clever ways to raise more money for a charity music show I am putting on. A decent number of people should be coming (100?) but not sure how many of them will donate before the night, I'd like to have a few things on the night to make sure I get around everyone to give them the chance to help, especially as I am not doing something super-challenging like running a marathon or skydiving etc. so am in no physical danger. At the moment the biggest danger is being dressed like a pirate singing backstreet boys songs (crazy voters!) I've thought about the usual raffle, competition, auction sort of things, but would like to do something fun on the night to make it more of an event.

I saw this post, which mentioned some good ideas:
http://ask.metafilter.com/107064/Dolladollabillz-how-to-get-them-from-you-for-charity I like the idea of raising money through things people would be doing anyway like eating and drinking. Maybe I could get a temporary license to sell alcohol or maybe there are clever ways to get around the selling part?

I've done something similar before where everyone that comes brings something from their house they don't want and then that gets raffled off, and that worked well, but need a new idea! All suggestions are welcome, what's worked well for you?

Details about what I am doing are here: http://www.colinasquith.com/showofhands/ if it helps get more of an idea.

I recall in the original Quest for Glory, a creature of the name...

vernondalhart — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 14:35:46 -0800

I'm going to be in Antwerp, Belgium for a few days this coming week. What should I do? Where should I do it? Who should I see? I should be arriving on the evening of the 18th, and I leave Monday morning, the 23rd. I will be staying at a friend's place, which appears to be a little to the south-west of the centre of the city. I'm not certain how mobile I will be beyond whatever public transit exists within the town. So what should I do? Are there any good concerts, theatrical performances, restaurants and pubs I should see? Where have you had your good times?

Also, while I'll admit this to be the wrong forum, would anyone be interested in having some sort of meetup while I'm there?

Shows by Sale Date?

jckll — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 13:02:40 -0800

List of concerts/shows by date tickets go on sale? Wondering if there's a website (or other resource) that lists concerts by the date their tickets go on sale. I imagine they might not want to do this because it attracts scalpers, but I always seem to find out about concerts (big ones that sell out) way too late to get tickets for anything close to face value.

Does this exist?

And what exactly does the conductor do? Collect fares?

Funmonkey1 — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 07:38:07 -0800

Philharmonic Filter: Novice goes to see a great night of orchestra music in Oslo. Bolero was the finale, now I feel captivated and ready to explore. Which direction should I take and how can encourage my auditory palette to grow? Ideally, any recommendations towards best approach for learning more on orchestra, history and composition are appreciated. This includes links to live performances or even a primer on the subject.

Plus - which city has the best orchestra? I travel extensively and to understand more on the individual qualities each group would be fantastic.

Helps us think of engaging Band Activities!

unexpected — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 13:19:00 -0800

I'm looking for games and/or activities a cover band can do to actively participate with the audience. My friend's cover band is performing this weekend. Once again, I'll be the tech guy. Since we're just a cover band and don't do anything really serious, we're looking for fun, engaging activities that we can do with audience members that'll keep everyone having fun.

We're doing this to raise money for a medical related charity in Haiti, so anything that may solicit donations is also a big plus.

Things we've done in the past:

1) Cowbell contest. Whoever could throw down hardest on the cowbell could come on stage and play for Don't Fear the Reaper.

2) Beat boxing contest. This we did at a student orientation, and was really impromptu, but it was a lot of fun.

Idea's we've thought about this time (to raise money):

1) Whipped cream pie in the face. Auction of a whipped cream pie to stuff in the face of our lead singer.

2) Wet T-shirt contest: We sell cups of water for $1, which purchasers then get to pour over band members heads. The band member who's the wettest at the end "wins".

3) Band Member Date Auction: Standard date auction.

Most audience members will be our friends and their friends of friends (not a lot of randoms), which is why these ideas (kinda?) work. Still, I'd like to solicit the hive mind for other clever ideas that they've seen or heard of.

What classical music concert should I go to?

eisenkr — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 15:25:37 -0800

I'm a classical music ignorant who wants to see my first good concert in NYC after many years. There isn't any shortage of concerts here, but its difficult for someone like me to know what to try and mistakes are expensive. I'd like to go sometime in January or February and don't have strong preferences regarding genre or era.

Does anybody know the band Paper Lantern?

msbrauer — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 18:36:22 -0800

Where I can buy music by and information about the band Paper Lantern? I saw a band called Paper Lantern play a show in Montana in 1998 or 1999. I bought their ep but lost it a few years ago. I've rebuilt my music collection from the cd theft, but one band I'd like to hear again is Paper Lantern. Google doesn't give me any answers.

I can't remember the ep's name, but the disc was blue and said "Index Records" on it. The music was a bit like early Pavement with some Yo La Tengo thrown in, though I may not remember it very well. One of the four songs on the ep had a stanza that began "Computer, computer..."

The band was obviously on a tour and needed a gig to fill a space between shows in the wasteland up north (I love the area and the people, but good live music was hard to come by at the time) between the west coast and Chicago. They may have been from California. Their equipment was all top-notch and they had a polished sound; the music and their stage presence was a lot different from the local punk and garage bands playing in the basketball gyms, community theaters, and local fraternal organization halls. Would love to get to know the band's music a bit more.

When will John Reiss start rocking?

Andy Harwood — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 06:34:36 -0800

I'm going to see the Night Marchers in Bristol this evening and my tickets say it starts at 7.30. I've been to two other shows in Bristol (at different venues) and they both said they'd start at 7.30 but the bands didn't start playing until around 9. Is this a standard thing for small rock shows? I don't want to show up at 7.30 and have to wait around for an hour and a half.