1. Musically brainwashing your children pays off. This assumes the brainwashing involves real music by real musicians who can play the music…for real. If so - your child will beg to see their favorite band (one of the brain washed ones) perform their own music…and not dance around on stage to a backing track.
2. Don’t let a failed Saturday Night Live performance (or any other TV appearance) determine whether or not you see a band in concert. Bastille basically bombed on SNL last year. Maybe it was nerves or lack of TV experience, but their live show was much more controlled and visually stimulating.
3. Wait to go to the merchandise table after the show. Violate this one and you will end up waiting in line for 30 minutes before the show to buy a key chain and then spend 15 mins after the show in the same line (but now with chemically influenced sweaty neighbors) to buy the owl t-shirt that was transformed from an “eh” to a “must have” (it is a great shirt).
4. Funny, self deprecating banter from the lead singer makes for great transition between songs (Bastille nailed this). It becomes noticeably awkward when a band can’t pull it off.
5. Video at a concert is permissible if you can capture (a) a cat fight, (b) someone in full costume, or (c) the singer coming out into the audience, up the stairs and 5 feet from your daughter. Only (c) happened but eventually I will get all three.
6. When a band only has one album expect at least 2 covers and a few songs “they are working on for their next album.” Enjoy the fact that the band is stretching themselves.
7. If at all possible, and especially with a child, always spend more money to avoid general admission tickets.
8. When the speakers/PA system completely cut out during the most famous song…the last song of the encore…the song everyone has been waiting to hear…carry the band by singing as loud as you possibly can. They will thank you for it and it will turn the crowd into a church choir lifting their voices to support the band they came to watch.
9. Concert tickets make for great bonding time that is never forgotten on either side.