Going to a show by yourself?

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I HATE going to places by myself! If I want to go I go...usually by myself because my family and most of my friends aren't into the things I like. I tend to drag friends or family to U2 shows that I'm lucky enough to get pairs of tickets. (mostly GAs) However, ever since going to Slane 1 on the ETS tour way back in 2001 by myself I worry no longer about such things. Going to shows all by your lonesome is awesome!!! I've met soooo many awesome fans in Ga lines that it makes me happy and enjoy the whole experience to the MAX!!! So as Nike states: Just Do It!!!:D
 
Definitely go for it, acrobat, for the many various reasons people have posted here

I've been to shows with people, and by myself. Have enjoyed it either way. With friends we're usually close, or in sync with the level of fandom for any particular performer/band (lucky for us).

Almost always had a great time at shows
by myself as well. While there are times I can be shy (more situational than by nature), I usually talk with the people around me on concert lines, event lines etc, and have a good time.

I will dine alone at times in a nice restaurant (as well as more casual places). I'm generally nice to people and have been treated well by the wait staff. Also enjoy eating out with friends.

Play music on the road home, too. :)

Enjoy!
 
bono2017 said:
The greatest concert I ever saw in my entire life was by myself. It was U2 in Columbus Ohio in May 2001 on the Elevation tour. I just seen them the night before in Pittsburgh PA with a large group of friends, but was determined to go to Columbus even if it was by myself since when I purchased tickets 4 months earlier I had initially thought those shows would be the only two I would see on the tour. But as I said before, it was more than worth it since to this day it is still the greatest concert I ever saw.



I've discovered as I get older I often go to concerts by myself and I still have a great time. If you have an interesting in doing something, going to a movie, a tour of a city, even a vacation somewhere you have never been before, don't pass it up just because you don't have someone to go with. Its what you love and enjoy, don't let the lack of other people around you prevent you from enjoying things you love in life.
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We may have discussed this before, but that 2001 Columbus show is still at the top of all the concerts I've ever seen! It was a standard Elevation set list, but there was something special about it that I can't put my finger on, and that I did not feel a couple days later at the Indianapolis show/
 
You've all convinced me... I'm going to do this! I do have 1 friend who is a casual fan who casually mentioned "next time U2 comes around, let me know, I'd love to see them once." So I'm going to ask him. If he's not interested, I'm gonna buy myself a single floor ticket while they're still available.

Life is short, I work too fucking much anyway, I'm gonna do this for myself!
 
I've been doing shows for exactly 40 years. The first 20 years of seeing shows, I always went at least with a friend and often with a group of usually four friends. Almost always had a lot of fun except for a couple shows one Summer when one friend who had become a raging alcoholic caused problems for our whole group. Then I met my future wife...

I took her to a few shows, but to be fair, it was kind of a drag mainly because the kind of bands I like fall mostly far outside the mainstream into punk, goth, metal, industrial, etc. Once we got married, I could only get her to go to U2, Springsteen and Concrete Blonde shows. Probably not so coincidentally, my friends and I started losing contact, people moving to other locals and then we had our son. So for the following 20 years, I've been going to shows mostly alone. I think the last show my wife went with me was to see David Bowie on his last tour in '04 and a slew of U2 shows in '05. At nearly 60, I'm in still really good shape and don't mind doing GA in a crush of people all day but my wife is short and just doesn't like that sorta thing any more.

I'm pretty outgoing so I never have a dull time alone at a show even if the band itself sucks. I have the freedom to move around where ever I want arrive as early or late as I want, leave when I want and not have to worry about a friend or wife's issues.
 
The_acrobat said:
You've all convinced me... I'm going to do this! I do have 1 friend who is a casual fan who casually mentioned "next time U2 comes around, let me know, I'd love to see them once." So I'm going to ask him. If he's not interested, I'm gonna buy myself a single floor ticket while they're still available.



Life is short, I work too fucking much anyway, I'm gonna do this for myself!
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Good job!


Sent from my iPad using U2 Interference
 
The_acrobat said:
You've all convinced me... I'm going to do this! I do have 1 friend who is a casual fan who casually mentioned "next time U2 comes around, let me know, I'd love to see them once." So I'm going to ask him. If he's not interested, I'm gonna buy myself a single floor ticket while they're still available.

Life is short, I work too fucking much anyway, I'm gonna do this for myself!
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Hey! You're not allowed to be rational on here.
 
The_acrobat said:
Share your stories of going to concerts alone, anybody?
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I've been to several U2 shows by myself and have had a great time. In St Louis, the guy next to me talked me to death and then invited me to go to a U2 party after the show with his friends.

Even better, in Miami I met a guy and his girlfriend standing in front of me in line and had a great time, he later gave me every single U2 recording released (up to that point in time anyway -- this was the Elevation Tour), and so on . . .

People I wouldn't have met had I been with a friend. I tend to jabber away with whoever I'm with and not meet anyone unless I go by myself.

For U2, I try to take someone who wouldn't normally go to a U2 concert (fan or not), but I actually prefer to go by myself. That way I control what time I leave, what I want to do, etc.

So for this tour I did Miami alone, Tampa with a friend.

I'm eyeing the St Louis date and may do that one with a newbie.

Depends on who you are and how you're wired. But going alone has worked great for me.
 
So glad you decided to go! I love going with people who love the band as much as I do. But I did do GA in Boston by myself and I met some great people I'm still in touch with.
 
This is a fairly common dilemma most of us go through every now and then, including myself.

However, my opinion is that not having anyone to go a concert with for whatever reason just plainly sucks; likewise, going also with a friend or a group of friends can suck as well.

I've been to several concerts, not just of U2, and have found out that if you don't go with friends or relatives who are fans of the band or enjoy the music, then it is difficult to get them into the same level of enthusiasm and excitement; therefore it can be better to go by yourself and socialize at the GA queue or with the crowd in general at the venue, that way you can have more fun by yourself even though this is also lame in my opinion.

Friends can also bail out at the last minute or bring an endless baggage of complication towards going together to a concert, such as not sharing expenses, arriving together, arriving on time, following the protocol and basically sharing the experience the way we expect.

The solution for this is to form friendships with similar music tastes and interest who are willing to join you in seeing your favorite band/artist live and share that experience with you; but this brings another package of forming and maintaining close friendships which as an adult in this day and age is harder than ever.

Just remember that you're not alone in this dilemma, we all crave close and intimate friendships to share our happiest moments and experiences in life.
 
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I go to gigs alone all the time and will be going to London alone.

Last week i went to see Guns N Roses - 3 hours travel there, around 4 hours hanging around time (inc the gig) and 3 hours travel back.

You can talk to others if you want or you don't have to.

As others have said you have a lot more freedom to do what you want if you go alone.
 
Well i have gone to most concerts by myself except for a few exceptions. Thing is im perfectly fine doing things just by myself, for example i am currently on a 13 day trip to the US where 2 U2 shows are booked for New York. Doing it all by myself, all 4 IE shows in Stockholm i went to myself.

No way José i am missing out doing things and going to shows because i cant find someone to go with. But im introverted, like alot.
 
So I was at the Cleveland show the other night, with 3 friends. We were on the floor, not far from the b-stage. Anyway, during RHMT I could feel the urge to use the restroom come along, but I ignored it because we were just starting to get to the songs I'd never seen live before. But once they started playing OTH, it became apparent to me that I was not going to make it until the end of the concert, or even the end of the Joshua Tree portion! So I bolted to the back of the floor area, to the port-a-jons. Sitting in a port-a-jon while U2 blasts "Exit", with all the strobes going, was a rather unique experience, and I'm still pissed that I missed it.

I then realized that there was NO WAY IN HELL I was going to try to fight my way through the crowd back to my original spot, where my friends were. So I texted them that I was just gonna hang back for the rest of the show. So there I was, at a U2 concert, all on my own. It was great! I just kinda hung out at the back of the floor, had plenty of space. I even bought a much needed bottle of water, and found myself a nice rail to lean on. I walked to a few different spots during the encore just to take in different views, it was such a surreal experience. Eventually my friends found me, and I was kind of annoyed that my moment of blissful solitude was over. I am going to that Indy concert by myself, and I am LOOKING FORWARD TO IT!

My wife will probably think I'm a weirdo, but we've been together 11 years, she should know that already! I'm trying to work out a scenario where she and the kids come with me, we get a hotel and she and the kids can do whatever while I go to the concert. Then the next day we can take our kids to the big children's museum in Indy. Thus making the trip more justifiable by making it a "family trip"... I AM GONNA THINK ABOUT THIS!!
 
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I stood back for a few songs at the end of the Arlington show because I was getting a bit tired, and bracing myself for the 1% gradient spiral ramps to get out of the dang venue.
 
The_acrobat said:
So I was at the Cleveland show the other night, with 3 friends. We were on the floor, not far from the b-stage. Anyway, during RHMT I could feel the urge to use the restroom come along, but I ignored it because we were just starting to get to the songs I'd never seen live before. But once they started playing OTH, it became apparent to me that I was not going to make it until the end of the concert, or even the end of the Joshua Tree portion! So I bolted to the back of the floor area, to the port-a-jons. Sitting in a port-a-jon while U2 blasts "Exit", with all the strobes going, was a rather unique experience, and I'm still pissed that I missed it.

I then realized that there was NO WAY IN HELL I was going to try to fight my way through the crowd back to my original spot, where my friends were. So I texted them that I was just gonna hang back for the rest of the show. So there I was, at a U2 concert, all on my own. It was great! I just kinda hung out at the back of the floor, had plenty of space. I even bought a much needed bottle of water, and found myself a nice rail to lean on. I walked to a few different spots during the encore just to take in different views, it was such a surreal experience. Eventually my friends found me, and I was kind of annoyed that my moment of blissful solitude was over. I am going to that Indy concert by myself, and I am LOOKING FORWARD TO IT!

My wife will probably think I'm a weirdo, but we've been together 11 years, she should know that already! I'm trying to work out a scenario where she and the kids come with me, we get a hotel and she and the kids can do whatever while I go to the concert. Then the next day we can take our kids to the big children's museum in Indy. Thus making the trip more justifiable by making it a "family trip"... I AM GONNA THINK ABOUT THIS!!
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That sounds heavenly! Glad you had a good experience. Can't wait to hear about Indy!
 
I, myself, with be travelling to Indy alone to catch the show - as apparently the band don't want to come back to Atlanta. I am going with a couple of girlfriends, but because I didn't get tickets at the same time (hoping for an Atlanta date), I will be sitting alone. No worries though. At least I can cry (I always do at U2 shows) now without being teased incessantly. :lol:
 
So it's settled; I will drive to Indianapolis with my wife and 2 kids (ages 6 and 4). Our hotel is a hop, skip and jump from the stadium. So we'll go to Indy, goof off during the afternoon, have some dinner, then I'll go to the concert by myself, then hop, skip and jump to the hotel. Then we're taking the kids to the world largest children's museum in Indy the next day. I am extremely excited for this!
 
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