From MetLife to Madison Square Garden, large concert venues like these are homes to some of the most popular artists like Taylor Swift and Billy Joel.
But are these venues the best the entertainment industry has to offer? I think otherwise.
After attending seven concerts this year alone along with a festival, I’ve been to concerts ranging from monstrous outdoor stages to a dingey basement with a stage. Through this I have formed an opinion on where I feel concerts are best viewed, and that is the small hole in the wall venues.
But with this opinion I can’t deny that stadium concerts do have an appeal to them.
First off, the effects, equipment, and sound are higher end at these large stadiums.
The artist preforming at these places have a higher grossing income and more name recognition. This allows them to have more thoughtful and technically advanced sets especially when they’re going to be playing different stadiums that all resemble each other.
For example, the crystal structure above the stage at Childish Gambino’s, properly known as Donald Glover, farewell tour couldn’t be asked for by some low-ranking artist because it was hard to construct. This is especially proven as one of his shows in Las Vegas was cancelled because the arena couldn’t support it.
Personally, I find with most of these monstrous sets for concerts it becomes ingenuine and really feels like people who are just putting on a show to make money.
Before everyone starts to state the obvious, yes that is what everyone who is preforming is trying to do, but with some artists it’s still clear that they care about the art form that they are creating.
Three years ago, I saw Harry Styles during his two-week residency at Madison Square Garden. It was an amazing show, but it felt less like a labor of love and more like he was walking in his sleep preforming.
The teenage girls I was sitting next to too had seen three other of his shows and had the show memorized to the point where they knew the exact order of songs in between the opener and his set, and every night they were the same.
But I’ve been to other shows where you can see the artist’s passion for the art and the performance of it. While a few have been large stadium tours the majority have been small shows.
Small venue shows allow for such an intimate experience. Watching someone less than 70 feet in front of you pour out their souls on stage in songs that they’ve crafted really changes the meaning of music.
When I saw Hippo Campus a week after they released their new album Flood, I was on the floor at the Bowery in Manhattan. When they came out, they stood and played the entirety of the new album with a fun but minimal light show, forcing you to pay attention to the thoughtful lyrics.
But just because this show was like that doesn’t mean every small concert is.
I have been to multiple smaller shows that had an interesting and engaging set. One show that sticks out would be when I saw Dayglow at the Filmore in Philadelphia.
He had seven streetlights, and each one had a letter that spelt out Dayglow. The lights were synched up with the beats from the opening song flashing with the beats to reveal the letters.
After that he had many different light sets per song enhancing each performance and engaging the crowd almost cuing them to sing along.
One thing that large venues fail to do is directly support their communities, but this isn’t a problem for small venues as they tend to have sponsorships with local businesses.
This can range from food and snack sponsors to drink sponsorships that all go directly back into the community.
Some people will complain that they want designated seats, so they have a guaranteed spot for the show, and the idea of standing room only is a deterrent.
To this I’m glad to break the myth that all small venues are standing room only. I’ve been to plenty of places with large balconies that had not only chairs but tables as well.
I’ve also been able to see many artists leave the venue after shows, and they will come over and give autographs and take photos. Of course, this totally depends on the artist as I’ve been to many shows where they’ve just walked right by or hidden inside until everyone left.
But the general atmosphere of these venues allows for the artist and the audience to feel like one, a feeling that I’ve yet to capture at a large venue.
So, before you splurge on those tickets to a show at MetLife look into a smaller venue with tickets that will be less than half the price and show that could change possibly your outlook on live music.
