Going to a concert for the first time

[Adora]

Next year my husband and I will be going to see one of my favourite bands Iron Maiden here in Australia, this will be the first ever concert I have ever been to and I’m both excited and nervous at the same time, is there any other fans of Iron Maiden here and also have you ever been to any concerts in the past?

 

[Richelle-H]

Hello Adora, I have lost a great deal of my hearing thanks to the many concerts I went to starting in the 70s.

I believe I have experienced an Iron Maiden concert, but I am a bit unsure. I am a metal fan to some degree, but there is not a musical form that I do not like at this point of my life, to greater or lesser degrees. I think it is about many things beyond the music that are intangible, but I never say never about anything having to do with music.

Concerts I have Seen:
Bruce Springsteen twice, the first time around 1980

I have seen Peter Gabriel live on three separate occasions during his early solo years.

Went to a solo concert of Mike Nesmith of Monkeys fame performing his own songs.

Have always been into electronic music as well and have seen concerts by Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream

Saw a concert headlining Prince with opener Sheila E

Have seen U2 live

Saw the very first live performance of Pink Floyd's 'The Wall'

I could go on and on as I was quite the live music junky back in the day, thus the hearing loss I am experiencing in my later years. Bruce Springsteen concerts were louder than 120 db at the height of his arena tours.

Do enjoy the concert, the music should dispel your nerves once they start to play.

 

[tazz]

Big Iron Maiden fan, since the early 80s. I've seen them in concert several times.

The first time I saw them was at Donington Monsters of Rock 1988. That was my first ever concert. Basically a big field and a huge crowd. Utter chaos. Two people died there when crushed in the crowd.

I much prefer arena/stadium concerts, or smaller events. I saw Steve Harris play at a small bar with his British Lion project, which was excellent. There are a couple of albums available: British Lion and The Burning.

I also met Chris Dale from Skunkworks, which was Bruce Dickinson's solo project. They did a gig in Sarajevo in the middle of the war in the 90's. And Chris maintained a lot of connections with Bosnia and Herzegovina. I met him while working for a children's charity there and he raised some money for us by auctioning a load of original swag from the event - t-shirts, posters etc.

Chris recently wrote a book about the experience:

Chris Dale / New book details Bruce Dickinson post-Iron Maiden Skunkworks project

Chris Dale - Inside The Skunkworks Machine. The fascinating and detailed story of how Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson and his band formed the Skunkworks project

www.metaltalk.net

And there's a good film about it:

Scream For Me Sarajevo

A story of hope in a time of war. Available to order now the DVD, Blu-ray, Digital & Soundtrack. The astonishing story of the most unlikely of rock concerts, performed by Bruce Dickinson and his band Skunkworks in 1994, in the midst of the Siege of Sarajevo.

www.screamformesarajevo.com

 

[Rodafina]

Sounds fun, Adora!

I haven’t been to a concert in a long time, but I used to go a lot in my 20s. It was such an amazing sensory experience being in a large place with a lot of people and hearing music that I loved. It could sometimes be overwhelming, no doubt. But, it can be worth it at the same time. Sometimes I would have to leave early, but it was still worth it to go for a little while.

Would you care to say a little bit more about what part of it is making you nervous?

 

[Mary Terry]

Take earplugs and enjoy yourself!

 

[Adora]

Sounds fun, Adora!

I haven’t been to a concert in a long time, but I used to go a lot in my 20s. It was such an amazing sensory experience being in a large place with a lot of people and hearing music that I loved. It could sometimes be overwhelming, no doubt. But, it can be worth it at the same time. Sometimes I would have to leave early, but it was still worth it to go for a little while.

Would you care to say a little bit more about what part of it is making you nervous?

Just the crowds and noise, we got VIP tickets so we will probably have good seats, I have had recommendations on getting loop earplugs which are good for concerts so I’m trying to be prepared but will still look forward to seeing Iron Maiden.

 

[Rodafina]

Just the crowds and noise

Understandable.

I use loops. I love them.

VIP tickets? Awesome! Hoping you enjoy the show!

Maybe you could plan on some sensory quiet time leading up to the show and right after it so that you're not overloaded beforehand, and you have time to recover afterward.

 

[chincey_james]

To me, the musical artist's genius has to justify the annoyances: high cost, loud, crowded, and usually late at night.

Still, I have been to a number of concerts that were amazing experiences and worth the trouble:

Morrissey
The Cure
Dolly Parton
Florence and the Machine

Earplugs can help with overstimulation. Shutting your eyes to take visual breaks helps too.

Good luck to you!

 

[Sherlock77]

In the past I've gone to large stadium concerts a few times... I was always okay with them, I don't generally have too many sensory issues...

These days I like being at a small local cafe where I can take in the local music scene, and/or traveling musicians that are more genre specific (ie. folk music/singer-songwriter) and don't attract large crowds

Also some music festivals too where it's in the open

 

[Jumpinbare]

You guys are sturdier than me. I went to ONE concert. George Harrison. I had an invite and free ticket from a friend. I had no clue I was autistic then, but I knew enough to take earplugs. I couldn't wait to leave. But my friend drove, so I stuck it out. After that experience you couldn't PAY me to go to a concert. (Well, in theory if you offered me a huge enough sum, I would get the noise cancelling headphones, get the most out-of-the-crowd seat, etc. But it would have to be a really huge sum).
I'd much rather sit at home and read. If I like the artist, I can buy a CD or mp3s.

 

[DaisyRose]

That sounds awesome! I’m so excited for you and your husband going to a concert. I’ve never been to one as well. I would love to see a rock band.

 

[tkcartoonist]

I've been to a couple of different concerts over the years. I saw Meat Puppets once when they were in Milwaukee at a small club, I saw Weird Al at Summerfest one year, I saw ZZ Top when I was younger (they were touring with Ted Nugent on a double bill at the time), and I once saw the grindcore band Misery Index at some small standing-room-only venue down in Chicago. I've been to several others as well, but there's only so many I can name. My favorite show was seeing one of my favorite bands - Voivod - playing at a place in Cudahy a couple years back. I would love to see Killing Joke or Death Grips live some day, but I need to wait for them to come around again.

 

[MNAus]

Next year my husband and I will be going to see one of my favourite bands Iron Maiden here in Australia, this will be the first ever concert I have ever been to and I’m both excited and nervous at the same time, is there any other fans of Iron Maiden here and also have you ever been to any concerts in the past?

Not a big fan, but fancied seeing them at the Qudos.... then saw the prices. And you got VIP tickets? To the pre-party too? They're crazy priced, but that should be great fun. I've just bought tickets to QOTSA, which should be great.

Take some earplugs. Pay a bit more and you'll get something that doesn't destroy the sound quality.

I've been to a LOT of concerts. Sadly I have to go on my own now cos I have no friends and my wife hates concerts. Highlights for me have been Tool a few times, QOTSA, Slayer, Carcass, Fear Factory, ISIS. Even went to an Iron Maiden concert back when I was a kid. They're great fun. Nine inch nails were great, Ministry interesting, Mastodon fantastic. Alice in Chains back on their Dirt tour were just wonderful. Pantera I didn't enjoy as much. Sepultura great. Anyway.

It's going to be a blast. Nothing to worry about at all, except the prices for the food and drinks

Concerts I have Seen:
Bruce Springsteen twice, the first time around 1980

I have seen Peter Gabriel live on three separate occasions during his early solo years.

Went to a solo concert of Mike Nesmith of Monkeys fame performing his own songs.

Have always been into electronic music as well and have seen concerts by Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream

Saw a concert headlining Prince with opener Sheila E

Have seen U2 live

Saw the very first live performance of Pink Floyd's 'The Wall'

Wow, great roll call.

The first time I saw them was at Donington Monsters of Rock 1988. That was my first ever concert. Basically a big field and a huge crowd. Utter chaos. Two people died there when crushed in the crowd.

Ahhh yeah, that GnR set. Such a shame. Used to love Donnington when I was a kid. Getting picked up by a coach at 2am in some deserted car park.

 

[Adora]

Not a big fan, but fancied seeing them at the Qudos.... then saw the prices. And you got VIP tickets? To the pre-party too? They're crazy priced, but that should be great fun. I've just bought tickets to QOTSA, which should be great.

Take some earplugs. Pay a bit more and you'll get something that doesn't destroy the sound quality.

I've been to a LOT of concerts. Sadly I have to go on my own now cos I have no friends and my wife hates concerts. Highlights for me have been Tool a few times, QOTSA, Slayer, Carcass, Fear Factory, ISIS. Even went to an Iron Maiden concert back when I was a kid. They're great fun. Nine inch nails were great, Ministry interesting, Mastodon fantastic. Alice in Chains back on their Dirt tour were just wonderful. Pantera I didn't enjoy as much. Sepultura great. Anyway.

It's going to be a blast. Nothing to worry about at all, except the prices for the food and drinks


Wow, great roll call.

Ahhh yeah, that GnR set. Such a shame. Used to love Donnington when I was a kid. Getting picked up by a coach at 2am in some deserted car park.

Yeah we got the Trooper package, it gives you good seating and also vip entrance and you get Iron Maiden merch, my husband isn’t a Iron Maiden fan but he doesn’t mind some of their songs, also heard Bruce Dickinson can still sing well live and really love his operatic style voice.

 

[Slime_Punk]

I haven't been to a legit concert in about 10 years and I don't know how I used to do it. Crowds, loud noises, sometimes walking through shady parts of the city at night just to get there...

But honestly, none of the above used to bother me at all. Not sure how that's possible, but whenever someone I love tours my area I just have to say, "Aw, too bad I don't like shows anymore". Stuff happens.

Personal opinion though, if you think you'll have a blast, you probably will. Most of the really loud shows I've been to were either indies or dive bars, and it was just a load of sound problems causing the issue. But from that, I think it scarred me a little.

 

[Mary Terry]

Another tip is to bring your own toilet paper in addition to earplugs.