Going to a concert by myself

Last October I saw Banks and it was incredible. My feet hurt like hell and I was so hungry, but when she came out I never wanted it to end. For those who don’t know Banks she’s an American singer of alternative R&B and Electropop and one of my favourites. When I saw she was performing in Birmingham I got tickets straight away without even thinking how much money I had left. It was then that I made the decision to go by myself, given that everyone I knew hadn’t heard of her and I had no idea how long the tickets would last.

So what were the bad things about going alone? Well waiting outside was more boring as I had no one to talk to, and getting lost trying to find the O2 Institute was more stressful being by myself. It was when I got inside did I start to see the benefits. It easier to weave my way closer to the front, and because I was standing it wasn’t obvious that I was on my own and it seemed to give me a sense of freedom. When the performance started everything was perfect. I didn’t have to think about anything else because my complete focus was on the artist. The following hour was spent watching her haunting dance moves, belting out lyrics I knew and yelling with my arms outstretched whenever she came to my side of the stage. Watching the performance was exactly the same if not better than if I was with people, because either way I felt an invisible unity with the rest of the crowd from watching her. The best moment had to be at the end when she left and two minutes later she came back to perform her new single which I was not expecting.

However when it was over I did wish that I was with someone. I was filled with that indescribable buzz that you get when you’ve just seen a concert, like I couldn’t stop thinking about how amazing Banks was and I just wanted to talk about it to someone and share it. Instead I sat on the train listening to songs that she’d performed, trying not to alarm the man next to me with my massive smile. By the time I got home all my house mates were asleep, so I continued to listen to her songs whilst eating an enormous slice of cake.

Overall I think I’d prefer to go with someone, although I would definitely be up to do it again given a similar situation. So to anyone considering going alone to a concert, it is definitely worth trying. If you don’t enjoy it that’s fine, but at the end of the day it’s still a concert which is guaranteed to be amazing.

Until next time x

P . S Listen to Bank’s new single “Underdog” it’s so cool.