By: Olivia Chavez
Plan ahead!
Try to plan all of the dates you can and want to attend ahead of time. This helps a lot with saving money, especially if you book places to stay far ahead of time. I have tried to drive home the night of a show many times, and it is never easy. It gets harder (but not impossible) to book hotels or Airbnbs if you do it last minute.
Make safety a priority!
Crowd surfing and going into the pit is very fun, but make sure you scope out the crowd surfing situation and the crowd before you do either of these things. If you're thinking about crowd surfing, watch the crowd and see if they are helping catch and hold up crowd surfers, so that you know you will not end up hurt or get dropped. And if there is a barricade at a show, make sure you see if security is helping catch crowd surfers safely so you can make the right decision on whether or not to crowd surf!
Also, most bands are there to help if you really need it, so if at any point you feel at all unsafe, do not be afraid to find venue staff or the band's crew members to help you out.
Especially when staying in Airbnbs, make sure you read reviews of a particular stay before you book it, and look at things such as whether or not it has a private entrance, who the host is and the area it is in. If you get to an Airbnb and do not feel safe, do not compromise your safety!
The more, the merrier!
Not only is following tours with friends more fun, but it makes traveling and figuring out logistics a lot less stressful. For one thing, if you are driving, having a friend who can switch off with you during drives is a great safety precaution. You will get tired on tour, and it is never safe to drive if you are tired or distracted. Having friends with you is generally a lot safer than being alone, on tour and just in general!
Don't be afraid to be impulsive!
I know I said to plan ahead, but don't be afraid to be a little bit impulsive too! As I learned on the last tour I followed, once you go to a few shows, you realize at the end that you do not want it to be over. If you can make more dates work without too much trouble or interrupting your life, be a crazy young person and make an impulsive decision once in a while! If nothing else, it will make for a good story. Make sure you try to find a place to stay overnight (none of that distracted or tired driving!) that you feel safe at and make sure that you do not have anything that you cannot miss at home during those dates.
Check out the opening bands before you go!
This goes for any concert you might go to, but try to listen to the opening bands on a tour before you go. Every headlining band got where they are by opening for other bands a thousand times, and that's what every opening band is trying to do. For a lot of bands it means a lot to see even a few people who know their lyrics or enjoy their set, so give them a look before you go see them. Chances are that by the end of following a tour and seeing the openers multiple times in a row, you will end up liking their music anyways, even if just for the nostalgia. Plus, you never know if an opening band might just become one of your favorite bands, so check them out and give them your attention!
Following Grayscale's Nella Vita North American Tour was one of the most positive and fun experiences of my life thus far, and I would highly recommend taking the plunge and following a tour if it is something you have ever considered doing. I promise you will not regret it.
