If You Enjoy Gigs, Here Is Why Everyone Should Go To At Least One On Their Own

If you're into music like myself then you surely love seeing live music. However I used to miss out on gigs that I was dying to go to as not many of my friends share the same taste in music. So one day I decided to be brave and try going to one on my own. Here's what happened:

Image reference: https://www.visitlondon.com/things-to-do/whats-on/music

So, late 2019 there was a band I really wanted to see live in their own headline show, as I had previously seen them do a short set at Slamdunk Festival 2019 and was super impressed by the energy and talent that they brought to the stage. When I saw on their Facebook page that they were doing a small show at a tiny venue in Birmingham I thought, 'hey, why not try going on my own? If I don't get on with it then at least I'll know.' So I bought the tickets and tried to push it to the back of my mind as I have bad anxiety about being places on my own. I can't even walk around my local town without feeling extremely uncomfortable, so to decide to buy a ticket was a big deal for me. 

Well, eventually the day of the gig came and I wasn't feeling too nervous which surprised me. I got my partner to take me and drop me off outside the venue so I didn't also have to stress about finding the place and parking and such. This is where the nerves started to kick in. There was a short queue as we all waited to for the doors to open. I didn't realise how truly tiny the venue was until I got inside. This made me feel a little better as I knew that I could choose exactly where I wanted to stand and it would be reasonably easy to change my mind and find somewhere else if I got too uncomfortable. 

Luckily, most people went straight to the bar first so after a quick visit to the merch stand, I headed straight through towards the stage and managed to find myself a nice place right on the barrier front and almost centre. From there began the awkward wait for the first band to come on stage. I started to look around and saw a girl that looked of similar age to me also waiting awkwardly and looking at her phone a lot so I drew up my courage and asked her if she was here alone and if she wanted to come up front to the barrier and stand in the gap next to me. She agreed and we made small talk about which of the bands we were here to see and whether we'd seen them previously and before we knew it the lights went down and the first act came on. 

Now I had never heard of this band before but it was safe to say that although not really what I would choose to listen to normally they put on a hell of a warm-up show and I could finally start to feel myself relaxing and beginning to enjoy myself a little. 

There was short wait between this band and the next one so me and the girl started chatting again about the sheer craziness of the first band and discussing the next one to come on which I had checked out briefly in the weeks running up to the night and quite enjoyed. Well, I got the shock of my life when the singer walked out on stage and it turned out that when I went to the merch stand before finding my place on the floor, he had been the guy to handle my purchase! They played a decent set and by now I was very much ready to see the final act. The band I had come to see. The warm-ups had done their job and loosened me up and I. Was. Ready.

See what people don't tend to talk about if they are socially awkward, such as myself, is that they often feel like they have to adjust their behavior and personality to better fit in with those around them and ensure that they don't stand out too much. People like me rarely get to let their true self out of the box we keep them locked away in 95% of the time. Let me tell you, if you are looking for the perfect opportunity to do this, go to a gig alone.

I had no idea until the band came out how I would react, but the perfect recipe of being there on my own with no one who knew me, being a huge fan of the music and being right at the front meant that I could feel totally comfortable in being myself for the next 45 minutes. They came out on stage and the crowd erupted! They started straight away playing their newly released song that I had been listening to pretty much nonstop since I first heard it. 

The atmosphere was electric as everything exploded into life around me. All of a sudden I was being pushed around whilst jumping up and down and the security staff had to hold the barriers upright as us at the front were forced into them. When I had seen moshpits and front lines at rock concerts before it had always terrified me. I just couldn't imagine being able to enjoy a concert whilst being that kind of environment, but once I was there.... Oh boy! My soul immediately began grinning like the cheshire cat. I threw my arms up in the air and began singing along and jumping around like everyone else around me. The best part was that not once did I feel embarrassed about what I was doing and what I looked like. I never once thought about what other people might be thinking of me because I was completely consumed by the loud music, the band's presence and my own enjoyment.

The rest of the show continued in much the same way and when it had finished, me and my brief friend hugged and parted ways never to see each other again and left the building. As the fresh night air hit my hot and sweaty body I felt on top of the world. I found my partner down the street waiting in the car and could not stop beaming. I immediately gushed about how incredible my evening had been and how I now couldn't wait to do it again.

Something changed in me that day. Throughout my entire life I have struggled with low self esteem and have had absolutely no confidence in myself for so long and since leaving school and working in retail, I had started to build up this fake confidence that I use at work to help me deal with customers both good and bad, but I still was yet to find a place in life where I could be confident with who I am. Well I finally found it. Music had always been my go to escape from reality and I have been to many gigs in my life but have always never been able to enjoy them 100% because of being with people I know and feeling like I have to tamp down that part of me that wants to just let go and enjoy the music the way I want to, for fear that I'll embarrass myself in front of people that I have to see regularly. 

So, the next time a gig came up that I wanted to go to I tried to find people that would go with me however no one was available, so instead of forgetting it and missing out like I would have done before I bought one ticket and went on my own. This time knowing what to expect I was much more comfortable in the run up. It was a bigger venue but still reasonably small compared to some places I have been, and I didn't get a space up front so I stood off to the side and had my own little space. Again it was an incredible evening filled with great loud music and no judgement from people around me. 

What should you take from my story? Well, whatever you enjoy doing the most find a way of getting to experience it on your own at least once. Whether it is gigs, holidays, driving, whatever. If you truly want to find a place in this world where you can be 100% yourself and not have any worries about what you look like or what you're doing then take my advice. You never know what it may awaken in you...

All you have to do is take that first step and be brave.

Hi my name's Beth and I love writing so give my stuff a look and hopefully you come across something you find interesting!

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