For those of you who don't know, concerts are so much fun to attend. The first concert I ever attended was back in 2015 for MARINA's "Neon Nature" tour. I have been a huge fan of MARINA, formerly Marina and the Diamonds, and I was very excited to see her perform in person. I attended the concert with my good friend Kristen and her sister, as they were also huge fans like me.
The concert began at 8 p.m. and school ended at 2:05 p.m, so naturally, the concert was all I could think about all day. Quite frankly, it was way more important to me than the average person, considering the concert would be the first time I would "fangirl" over my favorite singer with other people who adored her as much as I do. It was also culturally important to me because MARINA is such a huge ally of the LGBTQ community and her shows always brought together people that were just like me that I could relate to. I was thrilled to even be in the same state as my favorite singer.
MARINA performing "Immortal" in Los Angeles, CA.Daulton Beck
So, I went to the concert and had a blast. I was at the front of the stage and was able to get some great shots of MARINA as she glided and bounced around the stage, greeting us and singing to us. Since that concert back in 2015, I have developed a craving to attend even more concerts and of various artists. I was bitten by the "concert bug."
My next concert was in 2017, at the Bryce Jordan Center at Penn State. The headliner for this concert was Lana Del Rey, who was on her "LA to the Moon" tour to promote her latest album at the time, "Lust for Life." It was a surreal experience for me and a day that I will never forget. I can still smell the subtle fragrance of marijuana in the air and the angelic vocals that Lana Del Rey is known for. It was a performance of a lifetime and there were thousands of people there, all to see the same singer that I was into. For me, this concert holds a special place in my heart because it was the site where I had met my then-boyfriend, who was standing in the same spot next to me during the concert and things took off from there. Since then, we have been broken up for quite some time, but I will never forget where we were and who was on stage. This is another reason why concerts are so much fun, because not only does it bring together a group of like-minded fans, but concerts can be a way to meet people–– which can be a good or a bad thing depending on how it turns out. For the next concert, the experience could not be any more different than from the previous I had mentioned.
Lana Del Rey performing "Video Games" in University Park, PA.Daulton Beck
The third concert was of a much smaller scale and more intimate. It was was the first time I had met a celebrity and had the opportunity to have an in depth conversation about music and various artists' visions of it. That celebrity was Carly Rae Jepsen and I will say, she is a total sweetheart and is very articulate about everything she says. We were both there to watch MARINA perform for the first time since her "Neon Nature" tour and we talked until it was time for her to make her rounds again, and time for me to secure my spot again for MARINA.
Once I secured my spot, Marina came on stage and it was at that moment when I realized how small she really was. In that moment I also realized that no matter how large or how small the venue was, I still had a good time and felt something particularly attractive about seeing a live performance in a small venue. It was then that I had an epiphany and decided I wanted to ditch my major and instead do something where I could plan events and host people, rather than debating with them. It was here at this smaller concert that I realized it didn't matter how big or small your steps in life are, you are still taking those steps forward. Afterwards, I began looking into marketing and social media as more of a career. This brings us to the third and final reason why people should experience concerts: you never know what kind of experience you will have and that is okay.
MARINA performing "Emotional Machine" with BROODS in Queens, NY.Daulton Beck
So, I urge all of you, especially those who have never experienced a concert before, to go out and finally book those tickets to go see your favorite artists in action. You will not regret it.
