Going to gigs abroad - what are your experiences
Discussion
It's often difficult to get tickets for gigs in the UK, and I often find myself thinking about going to Europe where it might be easier to get tickets, and even if not perhaps there are just great experiences to be had?
Keen to hear of any experiences of venues, crowd 'vibe' - that felt different (whether better or worse) than perhaps seeing the same artist in the UK.
Posting as Imagine Dragons are touring Europe next year with tickets on sale this week - only one UK date in London, but they are also playing Budapest, Madrid, Amsterdam and more, and I'll need to travel from Scotland anyway....
Keen to hear of any experiences of venues, crowd 'vibe' - that felt different (whether better or worse) than perhaps seeing the same artist in the UK.
Posting as Imagine Dragons are touring Europe next year with tickets on sale this week - only one UK date in London, but they are also playing Budapest, Madrid, Amsterdam and more, and I'll need to travel from Scotland anyway....
I saw Trivium a couple of years ago in San Antonio, Texas at the Aztec Theatre. They happened to be playing across the road from where we were staying! Only difficulty was trying to book tickets on Ticketmaster as it kept saying I was in the UK and I couldn't get tickets, so had to set up an account on Ticketmaster.com.
Anyway, we had seated tickets and weirdly the crowd remained seated and were all generally polite and non-raucous, which was surprising. One thing though, likely just a USA specific issue - couldn't get served at the bar as they are mega strict on ID - I was 38 or so at the time, Miss Badger was 42 and neither of us could get served alcohol without ID, which we didn't happen to have on us when we went.
Anyway, we had seated tickets and weirdly the crowd remained seated and were all generally polite and non-raucous, which was surprising. One thing though, likely just a USA specific issue - couldn't get served at the bar as they are mega strict on ID - I was 38 or so at the time, Miss Badger was 42 and neither of us could get served alcohol without ID, which we didn't happen to have on us when we went.
Saw U2 in Paris in the early 2000's and am just back from Dusseldorf with the daughter after seeing Coldplay.
Both really good nights and also made a wee holiday of it.
Got away from the drunken Uk yob / drunk mentality and enjoyed the concerts.
Getting trains etc back from the concert was much better organised / infrastructure.
Go for it
Both really good nights and also made a wee holiday of it.
Got away from the drunken Uk yob / drunk mentality and enjoyed the concerts.
Getting trains etc back from the concert was much better organised / infrastructure.
Go for it
Interesting comments on the non-raucus seated crowd.
I have been to a gig in the US - The Who supported by Liam Gallagher at the Hollywood Bowl so a bit of a bucket list gig, and it wasn't what I expected.
Most people sitting down, drinking wine and conversing whilst the artists were onstage.
90% of the crowd were totally disinterested by Liam Gallagher, which royally pissed him off - "here's another one you don't know"
I have been to a gig in the US - The Who supported by Liam Gallagher at the Hollywood Bowl so a bit of a bucket list gig, and it wasn't what I expected.
Most people sitting down, drinking wine and conversing whilst the artists were onstage.
90% of the crowd were totally disinterested by Liam Gallagher, which royally pissed him off - "here's another one you don't know"
I find it better organised and ‘cleaner’, although I have only been to a few concerts / festivals abroad.
Don’t agree with escaping drunken crowds though, although it might be because the two countries in question were The Netherlands and Germany.
My parents travel relatively frequently around Europe to see various bands, etc, they seem to love it and they are 60 odd now.
Don’t agree with escaping drunken crowds though, although it might be because the two countries in question were The Netherlands and Germany.
My parents travel relatively frequently around Europe to see various bands, etc, they seem to love it and they are 60 odd now.
Pando99 said:
Both really good nights and also made a wee holiday of it.
Got away from the drunken Uk yob / drunk mentality and enjoyed the concerts.
This is also part of my thinking - go to a City we've never experienced, and avoid the pissed up UK crowds.Got away from the drunken Uk yob / drunk mentality and enjoyed the concerts.
However, Ive been in some great crowds in the UK, really busy, raucus, bouncy crowds and you can tell from the artist/band reaction that they are feeling it too and it can make for a better gig I think - I wouldn't want to go too far the other way and be in a dull flat crowd again!
I've been to two gigs abroad. First was Radiohead in Florence in 2017 and kicked-off a week's holiday in Italy. Met up with some friends who were also going and at the end of their holiday. It was outside and this was the main benefit over seeing them in the UK - nice, hot weather. Generally a good vibe but we were so far back that could hardly see them.
Second time was a year later in 2018 and I went to Motreal on my own to see... Radiohead, this time an indoor arena. I started queuing early and there was good craic from the die-hard fans. Got a couple of feet from the front. Crowd was... respectful. I had space around me, which would be unheard of in the UK. People were happy to just stand and watch, maybe a little harsh but not far off. That was actually the second night, the first night I was seated and it felt dull. I think they just have a different culture of gigs in Canada.
I like a bit of action from the crowd but not the drunked surges (not far from the front at an Arctic Monkeys gig in Sheffield and by the third song I'm making my way backwards - I get the fear I'm going to fall down and not be able to stand back up). So I'm not sure if I would travel as far as North America again, but Europe yes.
Second time was a year later in 2018 and I went to Motreal on my own to see... Radiohead, this time an indoor arena. I started queuing early and there was good craic from the die-hard fans. Got a couple of feet from the front. Crowd was... respectful. I had space around me, which would be unheard of in the UK. People were happy to just stand and watch, maybe a little harsh but not far off. That was actually the second night, the first night I was seated and it felt dull. I think they just have a different culture of gigs in Canada.
I like a bit of action from the crowd but not the drunked surges (not far from the front at an Arctic Monkeys gig in Sheffield and by the third song I'm making my way backwards - I get the fear I'm going to fall down and not be able to stand back up). So I'm not sure if I would travel as far as North America again, but Europe yes.
In my youth I saw Metallica two years in a row abroad.
First was Moscow in 1991 - amazing, enormous crowd with massive vibe - never experienced anything close since.
Saw them again, opening for Guns and Roses in Montreal a year later, Aug 1992. Ended in a riot with the stadium being trashed. Hetfield taken to hospital with burns. Quite an experience and again never repeated. The police car being set alight at the exit was quite something.
I dont think they do them like this anymore.
First was Moscow in 1991 - amazing, enormous crowd with massive vibe - never experienced anything close since.
Saw them again, opening for Guns and Roses in Montreal a year later, Aug 1992. Ended in a riot with the stadium being trashed. Hetfield taken to hospital with burns. Quite an experience and again never repeated. The police car being set alight at the exit was quite something.
I dont think they do them like this anymore.
Zaichik said:
In my youth I saw Metallica two years in a row abroad.
First was Moscow in 1991 - amazing, enormous crowd with massive vibe - never experienced anything close since.
Saw them again, opening for Guns and Roses in Montreal a year later, Aug 1992. Ended in a riot with the stadium being trashed. Hetfield taken to hospital with burns. Quite an experience and again never repeated. The police car being set alight at the exit was quite something.
I dont think they do them like this anymore.
Was that the gig where the stage pyro/fireworks hit him?First was Moscow in 1991 - amazing, enormous crowd with massive vibe - never experienced anything close since.
Saw them again, opening for Guns and Roses in Montreal a year later, Aug 1992. Ended in a riot with the stadium being trashed. Hetfield taken to hospital with burns. Quite an experience and again never repeated. The police car being set alight at the exit was quite something.
I dont think they do them like this anymore.
That Moscow show would've been awesome.
TCEvo said:
Was that the gig where the stage pyro/fireworks hit him?
That Moscow show would've been awesome.
It was. There were three bands that night in the Montreal Olympic Stadium, Faith No More, then Metallica, then Guns n Roses.That Moscow show would've been awesome.
All good with Faith No More, then a quick handover to Metallica - twenty mins into their set the pyrotechnics hit Hetfield (he was stood over a firework type thing). It wasn't clear what was going on, but they left the stage, then the lights came on and the crew started to dismantle the stage - lots of confusion.
Over the course of about 90mins they dismantled the stage and put up the guns and roses one - so about two hours after Metallica left, GnR came on.
They only managed about three or four songs and something was way off with Axel Rose, who then left and shortly later the band followed.
An announcer came on asking everyone to leave.
The French Canadian crowd didn't like this and chaos ensued. Fires inside the stadium and the crowd throwing chairs etc. A firetruck turned on hoses into general admission to clear the crowds.
The stadium concourses where a war zone with concession stands trashed and burning, bathrooms destroyed. The Expos store (baseball team) ransacked.
Outside a largish crowd was throwing bulbs, bottles and anything else they could find at a lone police car and police woman. The police car was eventually overturned and set fire to. The crowd ran away when the police woman advanced with her night stick (tough French Canadians eh!).
Quite a night.
The Moscow one was just something else. At a military airbase on the outskirts of the city. Unimaginable numbers of fans (and loads of police/military). Everyone really into it together. No tickets really as far as I could tell. Crazy day, but those days in Moscow were kind of all like this. Completely impossible for anything remotely like this to occur in Russia today. So sad.
Europe - ime generally similar vibe to uk. If it’s a band you wouldn’t tend to associate with euro fans then can be even more so as it tends to drag the hardcore followers from a wider net. Can’t go wrong with a traditionally party nation, such as Italy or spain. Usually a good after party also given a gig is still ‘early’ for going out if you’re Spanish.
US. Went to Coachella about 10yrs ago. Very strange. We had VIP tickets and camping in their pre-erected tents.
Searched twice on the way in, one involving all the cases out of the car and opened. Airport type security each time you went into the arena. Queue for that day’s 21+ ID wristband and could only buy and consume alcohol inside a fenced off area from where you couldn’t see any of the stages. Very strong police presence, zero tolerance towards anything untoward. Crap vibe as a result.
Here in UAE gigs are just plain weird. I’ve seen the Stone Roses, Charlatans, New Order, plus a load of other Indie bands, got Kasabian coming up in a few weeks. My main fear was that these bands would phone in the performance but they didn’t. I say weird as it’s a decent sized crowd of mainly older Brits who are genuine fans who drink a lot and sing along but very placid and zero drama.
For the charlatans the organizer (1 day indie festival) deigned to put them on at 2pm to a crowd of about 1000 bucket hat wearing middle aged Brits. Even Tim burgess was amused by it but absolutely belted it out and gave a ton of audience interaction. I think the Kaiser chiefs headlined that one (v strange running order) by which time the crowd was maybe 20k strong.
US. Went to Coachella about 10yrs ago. Very strange. We had VIP tickets and camping in their pre-erected tents.
Searched twice on the way in, one involving all the cases out of the car and opened. Airport type security each time you went into the arena. Queue for that day’s 21+ ID wristband and could only buy and consume alcohol inside a fenced off area from where you couldn’t see any of the stages. Very strong police presence, zero tolerance towards anything untoward. Crap vibe as a result.
Here in UAE gigs are just plain weird. I’ve seen the Stone Roses, Charlatans, New Order, plus a load of other Indie bands, got Kasabian coming up in a few weeks. My main fear was that these bands would phone in the performance but they didn’t. I say weird as it’s a decent sized crowd of mainly older Brits who are genuine fans who drink a lot and sing along but very placid and zero drama.
For the charlatans the organizer (1 day indie festival) deigned to put them on at 2pm to a crowd of about 1000 bucket hat wearing middle aged Brits. Even Tim burgess was amused by it but absolutely belted it out and gave a ton of audience interaction. I think the Kaiser chiefs headlined that one (v strange running order) by which time the crowd was maybe 20k strong.
Going to concerts abroad is something I really enjoy and often use it as an excuse to visit somewhere I might otherwise have not thought about. The Killers in Mexico City is my next one.
I saw the Stones in Copenhagen and thought the audience were very flat so my only piece of advice would be to go somewhere else in Europe.
I saw the Stones in Copenhagen and thought the audience were very flat so my only piece of advice would be to go somewhere else in Europe.
Zaichik said:
TCEvo said:
Was that the gig where the stage pyro/fireworks hit him?
That Moscow show would've been awesome.
It was. There were three bands that night in the Montreal Olympic Stadium, Faith No More, then Metallica, then Guns n Roses.That Moscow show would've been awesome.
All good with Faith No More, then a quick handover to Metallica - twenty mins into their set the pyrotechnics hit Hetfield (he was stood over a firework type thing). It wasn't clear what was going on, but they left the stage, then the lights came on and the crew started to dismantle the stage - lots of confusion.
Over the course of about 90mins they dismantled the stage and put up the guns and roses one - so about two hours after Metallica left, GnR came on.
They only managed about three or four songs and something was way off with Axel Rose, who then left and shortly later the band followed.
An announcer came on asking everyone to leave.
The French Canadian crowd didn't like this and chaos ensued. Fires inside the stadium and the crowd throwing chairs etc. A firetruck turned on hoses into general admission to clear the crowds.
The stadium concourses where a war zone with concession stands trashed and burning, bathrooms destroyed. The Expos store (baseball team) ransacked.
Outside a largish crowd was throwing bulbs, bottles and anything else they could find at a lone police car and police woman. The police car was eventually overturned and set fire to. The crowd ran away when the police woman advanced with her night stick (tough French Canadians eh!).
Quite a night.
The Moscow one was just something else. At a military airbase on the outskirts of the city. Unimaginable numbers of fans (and loads of police/military). Everyone really into it together. No tickets really as far as I could tell. Crazy day, but those days in Moscow were kind of all like this. Completely impossible for anything remotely like this to occur in Russia today. So sad.
FNM were the only piece of that tour that I wanted to see so gave it a miss when it came to the UK (by which time I think Soundgarden were also on the bill) - some of my mates went to the one in Milton Keynes though. First time I saw Metallica was at Donnington in '95.
Recently saw AC/DC in Bratislava and made a few days out of it.
Getting to the gig was OK but afterwards was pretty much pandemonium with the promised travel not existing! With an estimated 110k people in an airfield a few miles outside the city itself, the organisation was pretty much non existent. Apart from unhelpful Police / random folks giving no information!
Great experience apart from the getting back to the hotel bit!
Getting to the gig was OK but afterwards was pretty much pandemonium with the promised travel not existing! With an estimated 110k people in an airfield a few miles outside the city itself, the organisation was pretty much non existent. Apart from unhelpful Police / random folks giving no information!
Great experience apart from the getting back to the hotel bit!
Speed Badger said:
I saw Trivium a couple of years ago in San Antonio, Texas at the Aztec Theatre. They happened to be playing across the road from where we were staying! Only difficulty was trying to book tickets on Ticketmaster as it kept saying I was in the UK and I couldn't get tickets, so had to set up an account on Ticketmaster.com.
Anyway, we had seated tickets and weirdly the crowd remained seated and were all generally polite and non-raucous, which was surprising. One thing though, likely just a USA specific issue - couldn't get served at the bar as they are mega strict on ID - I was 38 or so at the time, Miss Badger was 42 and neither of us could get served alcohol without ID, which we didn't happen to have on us when we went.
I bought tickets in the UK for Aerosmith in Vegas, they were playing while we were on honeymoon there a few years ago. I think buying the tickets through Ticketmaster wasn’t an issue but downloading them/printing them in the US was a complete nightmare. Similar issue to you with the whole .co.uk and .com nonsense. We even went to the venue on the morning of the gig and they couldn't help us.Anyway, we had seated tickets and weirdly the crowd remained seated and were all generally polite and non-raucous, which was surprising. One thing though, likely just a USA specific issue - couldn't get served at the bar as they are mega strict on ID - I was 38 or so at the time, Miss Badger was 42 and neither of us could get served alcohol without ID, which we didn't happen to have on us when we went.
Eventually got it sorted somehow (can’t remember how) and saw them but very traumatic as they were huge money. Steven Tyler was 115 at the time but still outstanding. Then we sat down at a blackjack table straight after the gig. Chatted to a couple who’d also seen them, who were mightily impressed we were British and had come over to watch them on honeymoon. But they top trumped us cos they’d got married that morning
Also went to Barcelona a few years prior to see Joe Satriani. Hiccup there was that they wouldn’t let us in cos we didn’t have our passports which were apparently a condition which we were told about. Much pleading/swearing and asking why tf would we come over from England if these tickets weren’t genuinely ours and we ARE the people named on the tickets? They let us in.
But, in spite of some trauma I’d absolutely recommend it. Makes for a terrific short break in a fabulous place.
Edited by DaveGrohl on Wednesday 18th September 07:18
I did Benicàssim in 2017 with a bunch of a dozen or so blokes (50 somethings, some known, some not) & my godson (17) as I was fed up with not getting Glasto tickets. It’s gone way downhill since but the lineup that year was great: Stormzy, Weeknd, RHCP, Biffy Clyro, Kasabian, Years & Years, etc. Brilliant villa with pool, bbq huge terrace overlooking the beach, great restaurants in town. Gigs from 21:00 to 04:30 because of the heat. Day trip to Valencia with the godson & his dad before coming home. Blimmin marvellous. Wife said I smelled way better than my return from Glasto.
DaveGrohl said:
I bought tickets in the UK for Aerosmith in Vegas, they were playing while we were on honeymoon there a few years ago. I think buying the tickets through Ticketmaster wasn’t an issue but downloading them/printing them in the US was a complete nightmare. Similar issue to you with the whole .co.uk and .com nonsense. We even went to the venue on the morning of the gig and they couldn't help us.
When I started this thread I'd forgotten that I'd seen quite a few acts in Vegas - Aerosmith, Lionel Ritchie, Jennifer Lopez(!) - but they just happened to be playing whilst we were in Vegas rather than us travelling there specifically to see them.Anyway, we did end up getting tickets to see Imagine Dragons in Madrid next year - only 5 people in front of me when I joined the Ticketmaster queue. Also tried to get them for London (curiosity to see if I could), and 15000 people in front of me in the virtual queue when they went onsale so I logged straight off again. The tickets were also far less expensive for Madrid, we get to see a new City, and the weather will probably be nicer
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