Kris Ogungbemi | Staff Writer

Experiencing live music is not always convenient, but chasing favorite bands to concert settings is a top priority for some students at Mason High School. The end for these students justifies the sometimes extreme means. Ticketmaster, a popular ticket vendor, reported selling “more than 141 million tickets valued at over $8.3 billion on behalf of its clients.”

Senior Rebecca Herman said she has a weakness for live music. Having seen more than a dozen concerts, Herman said that she enjoys live performances because of the visual aspects that aren’t available in sound recordings.

“I love concerts because it’s fun to see your favorite bands live, and if they put on a good show, it just makes you love them even more,” Herman said. “[My favorite bands] put on a really fabulous show. It’s very entertaining.”

Herman has gone to great lengths to see these concerts, whether it is driving hundreds of miles or paying dozens of dollars.

“I was driven five hours to Toledo, Ohio and then instead of spending the night, we drove home,” Herman said. “So we got home [at about 2:00 a.m. and] usually [concerts cost] 20 bucks. If we spend the night, it’s [about] $45 total.”

Senior Shane Riley said he has attended over 70 musical concerts and festivals. Riley said he has gone well out of his way to see his favorite bands in concert.

“I went to a music festival in New York City so that was a hassle,” Riley said. “It took about 11 hours, [and] we [had to stay] with my girlfriend’s aunt, so that was kind of a hassle.”

Riley is a musician and said because of this, he can value a musician’s ability to play in a live arena.

“I make music, so I can appreciate someone who does that and does it as well as most of the bands I’ve seen,” Riley said. “It’s just good to see bands I like in person.”

Senior Ethan Brown has attended over 30 concerts. Brown is a musician as well, and enjoys the feeling that comes with sharing a musical environment with one of his favorite artists.

“I’ve been to between 30 and 40 concerts,” Brown said. “I’m a musician [and going to concerts] makes me feel like a part of the music. There’s something intimate about sharing the experience with the musicians.”

Brown said his favorite part of concerts is the energy the crowd provides.

“I like the crowd to be into [the concerts],” Brown said. “I can’t stand going to a concert where everyone is just standing there awkwardly watching [the artists] perform. If it’s a rowdy song, I like the crowd to be pushing and shoving. The crowd should be playing their role in the artwork.”

Brown explained that Radiohead is his favorite band to see in concert because of its commitment to keeping concerts more about the music instead of visual details.

“My favorite artist to see in concert is Radiohead,” Brown said. “They’re one of the few artists that have kept innovation about the music. A lot of times, concerts turn into a show or a trapeze act where it’s not the music– it’s about the fireworks and the way they’re dressed. Radiohead still gives you goosebumps.”

Because of his love for concerts, Brown said he has gone through considerable hassles to get to a concert he really wanted to see.

“The tickets [for a Dan Deacon concert] were originally for [me and Senior Ian Free], but he lost his football pants so I asked [Senior Tyler Plank] if he wanted to go,” Brown said. “We had a football meeting and the meeting went an hour longer than it was supposed to. We were watching the clock and shaking because we wanted to get out of there so bad.”

Brown said the late football meeting made him arrive in just enough time for one of the best concerts he’s seen.

“That show was nuts,” Brown said. “We didn’t think we were going to make it there for awhile. We didn’t miss one song; as we walked in [Dan Deacon] was walking out on stage.”

Though he puts in a lot of work, Brown said will keep doing so because he is continually amazed by an artist’s ability to innovate.

“No show is the same,” Brown said. “There’s never been a concert where I’ve said, ‘Oh, I’ve already seen that concert.’ Sometimes, [the artists] get predictable in their acts, but the atmosphere is always different,” Brown said. “[I’m] still blown away by what [artists] are able to do with instruments that have been around for years.”

Want to see this story in print?