How to snatch the best concert tickets

 

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I am addicted to concerts. There, I said it. I only discovered the immense pleasure of seeing your favorite artist perform live a little over a year and a half ago at the late age of 19, but I’ve made up for the many teen years I’ve missed out on attending concerts by getting my hands on tickets to any and every show that caught my eye–or more like ear.

From One Direction to The Maine to Demi Lovato to the Warped Tour, I went, I screamed, I sang my heart out, I spent all my money on merch, and I suffered from post-concert depression. And because of that I have the most amazing memories.

And here’s the thing, I don’t just go to a concert, I LIVE that concert. Almost always have I had amazing seats where I could see the performer’s sweat dripping from their forehead. And always do my friends say I’m so lucky. But it’s not luck. Okay, well it’s a bit of luck. But it’s also timelines and determination that got me those amazing seats.

Below I’ve put together a list of tips and tricks to help you get the best seats in the house, and for those of you who prefer watching/listening I also made a video!

 

1. Always try for the pre-sale
Most tickets go on sale around three days before the general sale, and this is your best bet to getting tickets to a show that’s bound to sell out. Even though you need a password, you can find it online the day before or morning of on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. Most of the time it’s the artist, the venue or Ticketmaster/Live Nation who post the password. There are also the fan presales that go on sale around the same time and for this, you usually have to be a part of an artist’s fan club (meaning you have to pay $30 for a yearly membership of nonsense) but don’t let this stop you! Search up “xxx presale password” on twitter or Facebook, there’s bound to be one kind superfan who’s willing to share the password. Also, if you or your parents or a really good friend have an American Express card, you get access to special tickets and a presale.

2. Buy on time
Think of it like a job interview, be ready and there fifteen minutes early. There’s nothing worse than getting to your computer at 9:59 and having to power it up and wait for your browser to load. Have your computer on, your internet connection double checked and Ticketmaster open to the page. Then as soon as your clock hits 10 am (You could even set up a stopwatch or get a to-the-second clock ready a minute or two before) hit refresh to purchase your tickets. Also be prepared with not just one but two credit cards on hand (just in case the first one doesn’t work). Though the timer gives you ten minutes to make a purchase, the longer you wait, the more likely the tickets will disappear and become unavailable. And regret sucks.

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3. Enlist the help of your friends
Seriously, two hands can only do so much. Get your parents, siblings, friends, anyone who is up and available at 10 am to help you out, whether it’s on a computer or on their phone. It’s simple math: the more people who are trying to get tickets for you, the greater chances you have of getting A) seats and B) greater seats. If two or more people are lucky enough to find tickets in their basket, you can take your pick at the better section.

4. Don’t settle for the first
You may have gotten tickets with your first click at 10 am, but do you really wanna sit up in section 300 in the 24th row? I (along with Drake) am just saying, you could do better. Tickets come and go as people loose them because they run out of time or empty their basket. Keep searching until you find tickets that agree with your budget and your standards. Because who wants to see an artist look like a tiny ant on stage?

If all this fails or you simply aren’t available when the tickets go on sale there are other ways to snatch tickets to a highly anticipated contest. The most obvious and equally torturous method is contests, whether through radio stations, TV networks or online publications. They almost always exist for every show though the chances of you actually winning are seemingly none. But hey, it doesn’t hurt to try! (Just maybe hurts a bit to lose).

Also even though a show may be sold out, start checking Ticketmaster on a daily basis one to two weeks before the date of the actual show, because more than likely they’ll release more tickets. I’ve gotten the best seats to shows this way (Pit tickets for Taylor Swift hollah!). If you live close to the venue, it doesn’t hurt to check the day of at the box office, because I’ve also gotten pretty awesome seats to shows this way too (sold out One Direction show awwyeah!). There are also other options, though I don’t recommend them because of evil people called scammers, but you can always search up StubHub, or even better Kijiji or Craigslist (because you deal directly with the seller).

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Free the Children’s We Day hits Toronto

While sitting in a classroom, doing homework and listening to a teacher lecture are things most students find themselves doing on a Friday morning, on September 20, thousands of youth were spending their time differently—at Free the Children’s annual We Day in Toronto.

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The Air Canada Centre was packed with 20, 000 students and educators from over 950 schools in the area. Joining them was a star-studded lineup of performers and guest speakers including The Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato, Austin Mahone and Imagine Dragons. Gleestar Darren Criss took over the stage as a co-host along with Canadian TV personalities Aliya-Jasmine Sovani and Scott Willats.

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The daylong event didn’t just offer up motivational speeches from people like Martin Luther King III, who exemplified the importance of education or Molly Burke, who spoke out against bullying, but it also kicked off the Year of Education; every year, We Day jumpstarts a year-long fundraising commitment, launched by Free the Children co-founders Craig and Marc Kielburger. This year’s goal is to build 200 new schools in Free the Children’s overseas communities. With different campaigns, including a coin drive, cross-Canada road tour, online celebrity challenge and ABC Education Rafiki Friend Chains, the goal to raise $10, 000 to build one new school or school room in a developing country can easily be met with the help of donations.

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It wasn’t just the kids in attendance who were inspired; Darren Criss also walked away from the event with the desire to do good.

“It’s somewhere in between completely inspiring and completely frustrating because I’m like, man these kids and these people are doing so much. I am so lazy and I need to get off my butt and do more with my life. But it’s absolutely more inspiring than anything else,” he says. “It’s cool when you see this very concrete example of youth empowerment and people doing things that you hear about, but you see it in real life and you can’t help but be invigorated by this idea that we really can make a difference.”

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For Demi, her involvement with Free the Children has made a great impact on her life, as she has “started a new chapter.”

“When I went to Kenya with Free The Children, I did a lot of work with them, and it changed my entire perspective on life and what I want out of it,” she said. “I’m here today not only to thank Free The Children for everything that they’ve done, but also, We Day in particular is such an incredible event because everyone in the audience has done good for their community and that’s inspiring.”

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Whether you’re a 10-year-old elementary school student or an award-winning singer and actress, We Day made it clear that everyone can make a lasting change in the world.

And while you couldn’t buy a ticket to We Day to watch the action live (you had to earn your seat through service), you can catch the event broadcast on MTV and Much November 11.

#MyMendoMoment Event

It’s every shopaholic’s dream to attend a private shopping event, and on Thursday, May 16 I was fortunate enough to experience just that thanks to Mendocino, TextStyles (Stefania Yarhi) and a very awesome Twitter contest.

To promote their new line, Mendocino (a Toronto based chain of stores that sell the best of  brand name merchandise that one would usually only find in New York, Paris and LA) teamed up with a group of Toronto fashion bloggers to share their “My Mendocino Moment” styles on mannequins in their store windows.

A simple retweet (or three) got me a VIP invite to their #MyMendoMoment launch party at the Eaton Centre and I was able to shop like a star. Greeted by extremely friendly staff, offered great tasting champagne and tempted by a colourful candy bar; the night was definitely a memorable one. The best part about winning the contest though? Getting a $100 gift card to buy whatever my heart desired in the store. Unfortunately for me, my heart wanted everything, but in the end I was able to make a decision and buy two pieces.

Check out my pictures from the event:

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photo-9What’s in that Mendocino shopping bag?
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(Left: Chiole Denim Architect vest, $85 Right: Freeloader tank, $52)

There were seriously so many beautiful items, Mendocino has earned it’s spot on my “favourite stores” list. (If I wasn’t a financially starving student I’d be shopping here every week!) Be sure to check out their website and lookbook and if you live in Toronto, visit one of their many locations!

Thanks again to TextStyles and Mendocino for hosting this amazing contest and event!
-Naomi

 

April 2013 Playlist

This is new monthly post that I thought would be nice to start up.
Call me weird or call me a genius, but I like to organize my playlists on iTunes by the month and year. I’m someone who tends to listen to the same couple of songs for a good while, and they usually tend to last a month. So last year I shifted from categorizing my playlists by genre, to monthly mixes that feature a variety of artists. And from now on, I’ll share it with you all. I hope that at least one song will please your ears, because I literally listen to everything so I should have a good variety! Not all songs are going to be brand new, or chart toppers, there will be some way back playbacks.

Now for April’s playlist:

I Want Crazy – Hunter Hayes

Alive – Krewella

Girls Love Beyonce – Drake

Man on the Moon – Phillip Phillips

Can’t Hold Us – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (Ft. Ray Dalton)

This Is What It Feels Like – Armin van Buuren (Ft. Trevor Guthrie)
Let me know if you enjoyed any of the songs, and what music is on your current playlist! Always love listening to new artists! :)
-Naomi