Hacks to Buying Tickets & Attending Concerts for First Timers

It seems that every weekend (mostly in KL), the hottest music acts are in town whether it was Billie Eilish for her world tour last year or BLACKPINK’s upcoming sold-out show in March. Concerts can cost a lot of money, depending on which seats you’re aiming for, and some fans may wait for years to catch their favourite artists live.

So, if your idol is heading to our shores soon, here are some tips to keep in mind so that you can maximise your concert experience:

Ticketing

1. Keep yourself updated

Concert organisers usually release a teaser of the event followed by a seating plan and ticket prices afterwards. It’s a good idea to follow their official social media pages as they usually release detailed information to the public about the concert that you won’t find just by following your favourite singer on Instagram.

2. Head to a cybercafe

Once you have a date and time for the ticket release, it’s a good idea to head to a cybercafe on the actual date to purchase your tickets. Because they’re rigged for gamers, they typically have the fastest internet connections. Depending on the popularity of the artists, some tickets can get sold out in seconds. For example, tickets to one of EXO’s sold out in a whopping 0.4 seconds!

3. Two computers are better than one

If you want to be extra sure, have a second person come along with you to attempt the purchase on a second computer in case the website crashes on you. In our personal experience while buying tickets for the upcoming SEEN Festival, the ticketing website loaded faster on a Mac than on a computer running on Windows.

4. Have your info ready

It's best to prepare all your personal information such as your full name, I.C. number, address, and phone number in a Word document so that you can copy-paste them into the columns immediately when the tickets are released for sale online. Also, make sure that you have your bank details on hand because time is of the essence. Every click counts.

5. Stick to your budget

Make sure you know the seating area and the exact amount that you want to spend on tickets as the cheapest zones usually get sold out the fastest and you may make a split-second decision in the heat of the moment that you may come to regret later.

6. If all else fails

In the worst-case scenario that you’ve failed to get tickets, follow the social media pages of radio stations and other sponsors listed on the concert poster as they may sometimes have giveaways. You can also try checking back on the website later as tickets that are unpaid will automatically get cancelled after a certain amount of time and will be available for sale again.

7. Think twice before you head to the rock zone

Once you hit the age of 25, everything starts to ache (this is us), so try and check the concert duration by searching up the artist’s previous concerts in other countries. Some concerts can go up to 3 hours or more so it may not be wise to purchase tickets in the standing zone if this is too tiring for you.

Plan in Advance

1. Free up your phone storage

Do this before you go because you’ll want to capture those memories for life. Do note that some events such as fan meetings may have rules prohibiting video and picture taking.

2. Plan your accommodation well

If you’re travelling in from another state, or if you have an extra budget, try booking your accommodation that is 10-15 minutes walking distance from the stadium as people tend to swarm the public transportation available nearby and you may find it hard to catch a Grab.

What to Pack

3. Bring only the essentials

Only bring around your essentials such as debit/credit cards, I.C., a small amount of cash, bottled water, tissues, wet wipes, and your tickets as you’ll be spending hours standing around queuing and walking around even if you are in the seating zone. It’s a good idea to bring along a disposable raincoat if it’s an outdoor concert as umbrellas are bulky and heavy.

4. Use a see-through bag

Some venues carry out bag checks for safety reasons so this will speed up your time in the queue. Some places also ban bringing big bags in so it’s best to bring along something compact.

5. Extra batteries are a must

If you’re attending a K-pop concert where bringing a light stick is a must, make sure to pack some extra batteries in your backpack plus a lightweight power bank for your phone because you don’t want to find yourself stranded after the concert.

6. Invest in a special camera lens

If you’re a hardcore fan, you may also want to consider getting a clip-on zoom lens for your phone like this one from Shopee to snap a shot of your ‘bae’ because chances are, you’ll be quite a distance from the stage.

Attending the concert

1. Fan support

When it comes to K-pop concerts, there are usually fandoms that prepare fan support in the form of posters, cup sleeves, photocards, and even official merch for free so do a search on Twitter before you go. These get snapped up quickly so do head to the venue early.

2. Follow the dress code

It’s a good idea to dress according to the dress code (if there is one) so you don’t stick out like a sore thumb because people will usually go all out in preparing their ‘fits’. When we went for Zhang Yixing’s concert last year, everyone wore purple –– even the parents tagging along.

3. Head to the toilet before the show

It’s important to keep yourself hydrated throughout the show but make sure not to drink too much water, because the toilets can be far away and you may end up missing out on your favourite songs.

We hope these help! Enjoy the show!

Image credit: @BLACKPINK, @sjsofabulous, @wookisakim, @xuan_malaysia, @booptwice, @keeshmatstats