Hello all!
So this post is about a concert unlike any concert I have ever been to before. On Tuesday, February 9th, my friends Emily and Viktoriya (they also have blogs, check them out) and I headed out to the Marquee to see a band that the two of them had heard of before but I myself had not had the pleasure of being familiar with.
Guster is an alternative rock band from Boston, Massachusetts, originally formed in 1991 when the members were students at Tufts University. So clearly, they have been around for a long time and subsequently draw an older fan base. The band stayed underground until the release of their third studio album, Lost and Gone Forever, in 1999 which ranked on the Adult Top 40.
Doors opened at 6:30 p.m., and at that time only eleven people had been lined up for the show. In fact, we arrived at the venue 10 minutes before doors opened, but upon seeing the lack of people in the line, we decided to make a quick In-n-Out pit stop. When we actually got to the venue, it was about ten minutes after the doors were opened, and there was barely a first row against the barricade.
That was my first indication that this show was gonna be unique. Only 700 tickets were sold to this show, and most of the people in there were older (like in their 30s and 40s). The Marquee has a capacity of about 2,500, and seeing the venue more than half empty was a very rare occurrence for me.
When the people did in fact start arriving on the general admission floor it was probably 30 minutes to 8 (the opener went on at 8). What blew my mind was the amount of space I had despite standing second row in the center of the stage. Most of the people around me stood stationary during the openers' set, and everyone was at least two steps away from the people around them. The concert itself was mellow and relaxed as were the attendees. Between the opening band and Guster's actual performance there was a thirty minute intermission.
It is typical to have thirty to forty-minute intervals between when one band will end and the other will begin to play. The stage techies will often use this time to dress the stage for the next band and check the sound mixing for the performance (I'm not an expert on this aspect of the experience so forgive my lack of extensive terminology).
When the headlining band finally came on, everyone was hyped. They played an hour and a half long set of all their classic hits. I really enjoyed Guster live but being at that concert really led me to a realization about the venue. The reason that the concert went so well was because everyone had an ample amount of space. Maybe building venues with a bigger expectation than their set capacity would allow for a safer and more comfortable concert experience. It's definitely something I will bring up in my conversation with the venue's general manager.
Until next time,
Sabrina
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