Advice!-GA or nosebleeds for seattle?? 9-year-old going

[GirlElevated]

Hey all! I'm planning to take my 19-year-old and my 9-year-old to the seattle show. I took my 19-year-old to a u2 show in Portland when he was about her age and we had GA. It was amazing in some ways (they gave him a guitar pick!) but I felt like I missed half the show because I couldn't see half the time..but he loved the expereince.

BUT..having said that...I don't know if I want to try GA again with my 9-year-old there. She's super excited to go but want her to experience the show without any issues. But wondering if the nosebleeds will be worth it? Is there a large screen? Would the side nosebleeds interfere with seeing the screen? Better to get nosebleeds on side or directly across from stage? Anything in between might be out of our budget.

I just haven't had time to get up to speed on this tour. Any advice would be appreciated!

 

[corianderstem]

From what I've heard, nosebleeds at Century Link have *terrible* sound. The issues with GA are obvious with short folks, but it will at least sound good on the field.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

GA's fine but i'd hang towards the back...

 

[bizkit34]

GA's are fine with kids. you can get as close as you want or hang back and enjoy all the space. U2 fans are usually pretty cool with kids and so is the Band. Bono likes to bring kids up to the stage.

 

[d.darroch]

SPOILER, pics of the stage below.

Hmmm. That's a hard one. Normally I'd say GA all the way, but 9 is quite young. My nephews went to 360 at about that age. In the stands, quite close behind the stage. So saw the claw in all its glory, plus the band looking out into the crowd. Great views for cheap seats! But still both managed to fall asleep half way through the show!

Yeah there's a big screen. HUGE, like Popmart! But as this show isn't 360 there's no cheapish seats near the band (behind the stage). As you say, the only cheap seats are nosebleeds, which will be miles away!

So I'd vote for GA. Just not too close in the centre, where it's crowded. Problem is finding a spot where the sight lines are OK, with nobody directly in front of your daughter. There's a couple of sneaky spots which may be good .

The first one is on the outer rail of the Red Zone. The back of RZ won't be crowded, so behind it should have a good view. You'll be reasonably close to the main stage here, & very close to the b-stage. Plus the rail's great to lean against before & during the show.

Second spot would be further back down the field. On the rail of one of the relay towers. Quite far away here, plus you'd want to get the angles right, so you're views aren't blocked by the relay tower, & there's nobody directly in front of you.

If they don't work out just wander the field, you'll find a spot with views.

But my recommendation would be the first one. Off to the side, on the RAIL BEHIND RED ZONE. So aim to get in line reasonably early (a little before gates open I guess) & head to the far left, Edge's side of the stage.

Here's a picture to help. Aim for the far left, just around the corner from the guy in yellow.

Here's a picture for comparison, from 360. Showing the area I'm talking about behind RZ. The area right at the bottom of the picture. It should get reasonably crowded, but the rail should be available for quite some time, & there will be nobody directly in front of you. Note, the single RZ for this tour looks about double the size of a 360 RZ. I think there will be plenty of unoccupied space at the back of it, giving you good sight lines.

 

[sharky]

So kind of a tangent, but how young is too young? We're taking our 7-year-old and I want to take our 4-year-old as well. We have seats so I'm not too concerned, just wondering if 4 is too young. My husband and I have been to quite a few shows together already -- we even met at a U2 concert! -- but this would be our first with the kids. (and yes, they'll have earphones for the noise)

 

[d.darroch]

Etymotic Research make good earplugs (so you can actually hear the music, unlike foamies). They come in a small size too. Though I doubt they'd fit a 4 year old's little ear canals. Might need earmuffs for them?

Is 4 too young? I guess only you can decide what's right for your kids. Will be a very late night for them, so I'm guessing there will be some sleep involved.

 

[corianderstem]

I don't have kids, but I'd be concerned about a 4 year old getting tired and cranky and not wanting to stand, and that would make for a shitty concert experience for you.

But OBVIOUSLY you know your kid better than I!

 

[Hewson]

So kind of a tangent, but how young is too young? We're taking our 7-year-old and I want to take our 4-year-old as well. We have seats so I'm not too concerned, just wondering if 4 is too young. My husband and I have been to quite a few shows together already -- we even met at a U2 concert! -- but this would be our first with the kids. (and yes, they'll have earphones for the noise)

Each kid is different, but I'd venture that 4 is on average too young for a rock concert. Taking the 4 yr. old might ruin/compromise the experience for you. Could have to leave early if they can't handle it. Remember it'll be loud, crowded, late and there will be plenty of folks drinking, smoking pot and so forth. (Not to mention the Irish fool likely to toss a few F Bombs out to the crowd during his between song political ranting) While most will be respectful of nearby children, every crowd will have its share of ignos.
You know your kid better than anyone, so you know whether they can handle it. Noise cancelling headphones are a must.

 

[jrcjohnny99]

I would say for the 9 yr old, do GA, that way you can move about and find the best spot, plus dont have to worry about poor sight lines from your seat; lots of room 2/3rd of way back in GA;
As for the 4yr old; every child/parent is different, I have a 6 yr old and I still think she's too young for a show.
I think 8/9 is a good age to start kids with rock shows

 

[Roland of Gilead]

I was 6 when my dad took me to Johnny Cash. I still remember it. All the cigarette smoke everywhere, but still it was cool. Whatever you decide, good luck. Expect to miss some of the show.

 

[sharky]

Yeah, I want to take him and it breaks my heart to take my older kid but not him, but you confirmed my suspicions that he may not be ready. Poor kid -- his name is Joshua too so he thinks this is his album and his tour. Of course, he thinks the band's name is Bono so we have some work to do. Thanks for the feedback!

 

[Martinski]

In Sweden you cant even take your kids to a concert until they are 13! Theres even a law that prohibit this.

 

[Hewson]

In Sweden you cant even take your kids to a concert until they are 13! Theres even a law that prohibit this.

Wow that's kind of crazy.
I mean there's all kinds of concerts, some where definitely kids under 13 don't belong, but plenty where it would be fine.
We took my son to his first real concert (he saw a few kid type concerts) at 11. He just turned 13, saw 3 shows beforehand, Van Halen, Guns n Roses and Green Day. He sees U2 in June.
I'd hate for the government to have somehow prevented him from seeing those first 3 shows, as he might never get the chance to see EVH & DLR together again or Slash & Axhole together, both situations are volatile enough to blow up for good at any time.

 

[jrcjohnny99]

In Sweden you cant even take your kids to a concert until they are 13! Theres even a law that prohibit this.

I don't think that's exactly true;
I have friends who took their son, who was under 10 at the time, to see Bruce a couple of years ago in Goteborg...

 

[Martinski]

I don't think that's exactly true;
I have friends who took their son, who was under 10 at the time, to see Bruce a couple of years ago in Goteborg...

Usually that depends on how loose the security is that day. Sometimes they let in kids younger than 13. But the law and rules says you cant. It even says 13 yrs age limit on the tickets when you buy em.

 

[jrcjohnny99]

Usually that depends on how loose the security is that day. Sometimes they let in kids younger than 13. But the law and rules says you cant. It even says 13 yrs age limit on the tickets when you buy em.

Interesting; I wonder how they could enforce that?