Going it alone at a show

[Brian_Wallace]

My God.  You're all "bowling alone."
 
 This is an obvious question.  Since there's been about twenty or thirty people responding on this thread that they go to shows alone, why don't you meet up somewhere in the club beforehand and just STAND near someone you sort of know?  Exchange names and shake hands or something.
 Just a suggestion.
 
 Brian

[Random Citizen]

Originally posted by Brian_Walalce:
  This is an obvious question.  Since there's been about twenty or thirty people responding on this thread that they go to shows alone, why don't you meet up somewhere in the club beforehand and just STAND near someone you sort of know?  Exchange names and shake hands or something.
 Just a suggestion.
 
 Brian

Of the people who said they go to shows alone, the majority don't mind doing so for a number of reasons. Some may have had an initial fear, but once you attend a few shows solo, that goes away rather quickly. At least, that's been my experience over the past several years.
 
 Earlier this month, I attended a Joseph Arthur show. I ended up chatting with a couple standing next to me who drove down from Seattle for the show.
 
 Could I have gone on some message board and "arranged" that? Sure, but I prefer the more organic approach to getting to know people. *shrugs*

[sonickteam2]

is it really going alone to a show if you know you're gonna see people there?

[Bombay Chutney]

Originally posted by Brian_Walalce:
  My God.  You're all "bowling alone."
 
 This is an obvious question.  Since there's been about twenty or thirty people responding on this thread that they go to shows alone, why don't you meet up somewhere in the club beforehand and just STAND near someone you sort of know?  Exchange names and shake hands or something.
 Just a suggestion.
 
 Brian

I'm certainly not against meeting up with folks, but I'm not going to base my show attendance on whether or not I can find someone I can stand next to in advance.
 
 Some people refuse to go out alone.  Some people don't really care.  If my choices are "go alone" or "miss the band", I'll usually go see the band.
 
 The rollcall threads are great for arranging to meetup with boardies.
 
 Besides - All you really need to do is meet Bags.  She knows everyone and always has about 5 people with her.  

[Frank Gallagher]

Originally posted by Reod Dai:
  I couldn't believe it when I saw this thread.  I saw one just like this at another forum a couple years ago.  The guy who started that one said he'd never gone to a show alone, and acted like it was a completely unheard-of concept.  I'm glad to see so many people here who do.  I go to shows alone all the time.  Looking over my show list, it looks like I've been alone about half the time over the years (70 solo shows, by my count).  But that's a bit skewed by my changing situation over the past few years.
 
 While I was in the Navy, I was always going to shows alone.  The vast majority of shows I saw in Seattle I saw by myself.  I had a really good friend out there (who lives in New York now) who went with me from time to time, but I was flying solo probably about 80% of the time.  And for the year I lived down in Virginia, I was alone for almost all of my shows.  That inludes every show I saw at The NorVa or Relative Theory Records, every show at Jaxx, and a ton of DC shows.  As a matter of fact, I did a lot of things alone while I was in the Navy.  I went solo in almost every port I ever visited, even though we were never supposed to (the "buddy system", yeah, to hell with that).
 
 Since I left the Navy and came home, I've had a show buddy, though.  It's my mother.  She took me to shows while I was growing up, and thus she's the main reason I'm such a concert junkie.  We still went to shows together while I was in the Navy whenever I'd come home on leave, and we really started up again when I moved to Virginia, but now that I'm home we go together all the time.  I suppose it might seem odd to some of you that a guy in his mid-twenties goes to shows with his 50-something mother, but you have to understand our relationship.  We're like best friends.  And unlike many other people her age, she's actually interested in today's music.  In fact, she says that she's more interested in music now than she's ever been in her life, that there are more bands making great music out there than there have ever been before.  And she still loves going to shows.  So if you ever see a short, gray-haired woman in her late fifties (probably wearing some hip band shirt you'd expect to see on a teenager) with a shaggy-headed kid in his mid-twenties, it's most likely us.  Sweetcell's met us, ask him.    
 
 And since I've just moved back home after six years in the Navy, I hardly know anyone at all around here anymore.  I really have no one else to go with, and it's nice to have company after years of going to shows by myself.  I still do go to shows alone, though.  My mother and I listen to a lot of the same stuff, but I like certain bands (and whole genres, actually) that she doesn't.  Plus, it's just nice to go by myself sometimes.  I got used to it over the years.  And as you can imagine, as much as I love my mother, there are times I'd rather see a show without her.
 
 I'm ridiculously shy and self-concious, though, so I almost never really meet or talk to anyone when I'm by myself.  I always hope to, to be honest, but just never do.  If someone strikes up a conversation with me, I'll be more than happy to talk up a storm, but I never initiate anything.  That's probably why I'm alone so much of the time to begin with, and not just at shows.
 
 On the subject of movies, I go alone to almost every one I see.

I'm 46 and I have a daughter who's 18 and we talk about music all the time. If I didn't live so far away from her we'd be going to shows together too so I don't think it's weird you go to shows with your mother. I've taken my daughter to a few shows at the 930 already but I know we'd go more often if I lived in DC still....Funny story, my taste in music has influenced her's a little bit so she's a huge Smiths fan. Last christmas I was living in Ireland so we mailed christmas gifts to each other. We bought each other the same Smiths t-shirt as a christmas gift!! (I thought it was funny anyway)

[Frank Gallagher]

Originally posted by le sonick:
  is it really going alone to a show if you know you're gonna see people there?

NO!
 
 If you go on a date to the movies and you meet your date at the movie theatre....did you actually go on a date?

[sonickteam2]

Originally posted by Roadbike Mankie:
   

Originally posted by le sonick:
  is it really going alone to a show if you know you're gonna see people there?

NO!
 
 If you go on a date to the movies and you meet your date at the movie theatre....did you actually go on a date? [/b]

but did you go to the movie "alone"?

[miss pretentious]

i'm 23 and my mother is 46 and we go to shows together as often as possible (which is about never since we live 7 hours apart).
 
 but anyway, we talk about music all the time growing up she influenced my musical tastes a lot. it's cute now because it's the other way around... i got a call from her a couple weeks ago telling me she saw a video for the cold war kids and had remembered me talking about going to see them.
 
 

Originally posted by Roadbike Mankie:
 

I'm 46 and I have a daughter who's 18 and we talk about music all the time. If I didn't live so far away from her we'd be going to shows together too so I don't think it's weird you go to shows with your mother. I've taken my daughter to a few shows at the 930 already but I know we'd go more often if I lived in DC still....Funny story, my taste in music has influenced her's a little bit so she's a huge Smiths fan. Last christmas I was living in Ireland so we mailed christmas gifts to each other. We bought each other the same Smiths t-shirt as a christmas gift!! (I thought it was funny anyway) [/b]

[Charlie Nakatestes, Japanese Golfer]

I visited my mom in April and took her to see a guitar duo that did classical and Brazilian music. She said she was ready to go after half an hour, complaining that the band and the music weren't lively enough.

[sweetcell]

Originally posted by Brian_Walalce:
  My God.  You're all "bowling alone."
 
 This is an obvious question.  Since there's been about twenty or thirty people responding on this thread that they go to shows alone, why don't you meet up somewhere in the club beforehand and just STAND near someone you sort of know?  Exchange names and shake hands or something.
 Just a suggestion.
 
 Brian

brian, i take it you're very selective in your reading of this board     i've suggested several pre-show meet-ups, and have met several boardees who i am happy to hang with at a show... should i be in the mood to hang.  
 
 attendance at the meet-ups have generally been low, indicating that (a) people are not interested in meeting up, (b) the meet-ups aren't at the right time/the right show, or (c) i've scared them off.  probably a nexus of all three     if anyone does want to put a face to the sweetcell name, do drop me a PM.  i'm always happy to make a new acquaintance.

[Charlie Nakatestes, Japanese Golfer]

Some people don't want others to find out how dorky they are in person compared to the way they portray themselves here.    
 
 
 

Originally posted by Brian_Walalce:
  My God.  You're all "bowling alone."
 
 This is an obvious question.  Since there's been about twenty or thirty people responding on this thread that they go to shows alone, why don't you meet up somewhere in the club beforehand and just STAND near someone you sort of know?  Exchange names and shake hands or something.
 Just a suggestion.
 
 Brian

[sweetcell]

Originally posted by Charlie Nakatestes,Japanese Golfer:
  Some people don't want others to find out how dorky they are in person compared to the way they portray themselves here.    

[xneverwherex]

Originally posted by sweetcell:
   

Originally posted by Charlie Nakatestes,Japanese Golfer:
  Some people don't want others to find out how dorky they are in person compared to the way they portray themselves here.      

soooo... are you going to brmc?  

[sweetcell]

Originally posted by xneverwherex:
  soooo... are you going to brmc?                

not sure if you're talking about webster in NYC or 930 in DC, but currently the answer is "neither".  i can't make the nyc show (what with it being a thursday, and i'm not THAT much of a fan), but if you're in town for the 930 then i'd definitely want to join you.  dunno what your plans are before the show, but you'd be most welcome to drop by my place for pre-partying.  or dinner somewhere ("somewhere" being BEN'S CHILI BOWL, of course).
 
 EDIT: sh*t, just realizes that BRMC is the same night as the pipettes at the black cat (june 2), a show my GF expressed interest in.  dang.  maybe there will be a Blowoff that night, and BRMC will be an early show so we can do both?!?  and before you ask: no, julian and nkotb, i do NOT trust you enough to let you accompany my sweetie to the pipettes while i go to the 930  

[xneverwherex]

Originally posted by sweetcell:
   

Originally posted by xneverwherex:
  soooo... are you going to brmc?                  

not sure if you're talking about webster in NYC or 930 in DC, but currently the answer is "neither".  i can't make the nyc show (what with it being a thursday, and i'm not THAT much of a fan), but if you're in town for the 930 then i'd definitely want to join you.  dunno what your plans are before the show, but you'd be most welcome to drop by my place for pre-partying.  or dinner somewhere ("somewhere" being BEN'S CHILI BOWL, of course).
 
 EDIT: sh*t, just realizes that BRMC is the same night as the pipettes at the black cat (june 2), a show my GF expressed interest in.  dang.  maybe there will be a Blowoff that night, and BRMC will be an early show so we can do both?!?  and before you ask: no, julian and nkotb, i do NOT trust you enough to let you accompany my sweetie to the pipettes while i go to the 930      [/b]

well guess it wasnt obvious, but i meant the DC show. I figured not many people would be going to the NYC show. The Pipettes put on a good show, but I'd personally go with BRMC.
 
 I dont know yet what my plans are before/after the show, just that I will be going to the show in DC. Meeting up with Kurosawa at some point at the show or before the show or after or all of the above. But if you'll be around, surely would love to meet.