The bad thing is some are considerably expensive, the good thing is that a LOT are cheap or free.
Back in 2000, during my first trip to New York City, we went to a taping of the Today show. It made for an early morning and there was a lot of standing around but I remember it being a real fun time. So, when I saw that they have a FREE concert series on Friday's and Lady Gaga was going to be there I bid off and decided I had to go.
Friday morning, Geoff and I got up super early (2:30AM) to head down, grab a coffee and find the closest standing place for the concert. Once we got down there, we started to re-think our plan. It was a mess of people, anywhere you could stand was blocked off into sections for people to cram into but the worst part was they were all Behind the stage. The stage was set up so that a small group of the people here could actually see or get close to the stage. Not able to see or hear much we decided to just hang out and see if things got better. Maybe once they closed the street we could all move in closer to the stage? Maybe the sound system was amazing? Maybe, maybe, maybe.
So here is my thoughts of the experience...
IF you want to get up in the middle of the night, head down to stand in hot and humid crowds to be pushed and shoved for 4 hours to not see anything And not be able to hear anything except the music and all the people around you singing- then go ahead and plan your concert morning. If not, stay at home, lay in bed with a cup of coffee and happily watch it in the comfort of your own home. (Did I mention how much I hate crowds as well???)
Granted, the Today Show said this was their largest crowd ever so I get that it was extra insane. However, if you are going to promote a Free Concert, it would be nice to set up the stage so that all the people coming out to see it, could actually see or hear it. In the end, it started raining once Gaga finally got on the stage and we decided enough was enough and headed home. We got home in time to catch her last performance on TV happily inside and dry.
There was this girl with the crazy headband in front of our section. Every TV station came up to interview here so I knew we would end up in at least one shot. Access Hollywood was the winner... can you find Me and Geoff in this photo???
What are your thoughts on large crowds and Free events? Worth it to go or do you just stay at home?
No comments:
Post a Comment