There’s an undeniable thrill that comes when you attend a concert. Seeing your favorite artist on stage, knowing you’re in the same space as them and breathing in the same air, is enough to give you chills. But then, before you even realize that your favorite songs have been sung, the unthinkable happens: the concert is over. You have to leave the venue, which means leaving the music and your beloved artist behind. Everything in your mind is telling you to stay, but you know it’s time leave. You are still in that euphoric state of mind, when the emotion hits you full force. Then the sadness really sinks in. For years, I didn’t know what to call this unidentifiable sorrow until recently: post-concert sadness.
As you’ve probably already guessed, today I’ll be discussing this topic that myself and many others are all too familiar with. If you’re a huge music/concert lover, you’ve dealt with this before. For those who aren’t familiar with post-concert sadness, it’s the immense sorrow one experiences after seeing an incredible concert, especially after seeing a band you’ve been dying to see live. There are many factors that contribute to this; the band, the venue, the crowd, as well as the overall experience. I think the biggest factor of all is the band’s tour schedule, when you know that you may not see them for at least another year.
This past summer, I attended the Philly leg of One Direction’s Where We Are tour (1D 4ever <3), and the sadness was in full force. There were the lads right in front of me, yet I knew that later that night they had to leave to go to a new city, ready to inflict sadness onto unsuspecting others. My latest experience with this was at The 1975 concert in Philadelphia. I laughed, I cried, I sang. Before I knew it, the concert was over.
Let’s break down the several stages of post-concert sadness:
1.) There are many stages when coping with post-concert sadness, beginning at the concert itself. You think to yourself ‘This concert is AMAZING, I am loving life”, basically pure disillusion.
2.) The band plays their final song and says “Thank you and goodnight!” when it hits you – the show is over. You immediately push through the crowd to try to make it to the barriers first to meet the band while simultaneously looking up their tour schedule, seeing when they’ll be back in your town.
3.) Then it really hits you: the show is over and the band has moved on to their next city. You stand in disbelief, wondering what to do next.
4.) The next few days are a whirlwind of emotions, and people cope in different ways. Some will watch Youtube videos of concerts while stalking the band’s social media accounts, while others will stay away from listening to the band altogether, not quite ready to relive the amazing concert they witnessed.
5.) Finally at one point, we come to realize and accept that it’s over, but it’s not the end of the world. You begin to feel #blessed that you were able to see your fav band live, a privilege others may not have had. You can finally listen to their music without the waves of emotion going through your body. You’ve accepted that it happened; you can’t deny it any longer, you have to embrace it.
So was this post just a tad bit too dramatic? Perhaps a bit, but we’ve all felt this way at one point or another. Music is a universal joy; it’s something we all love and can relate to. And we’re certainly sad once something we love it over. But fear not friends, there are many more concerts out there to enjoy and much more music to ease through your period of post-concert sadness. Until next time, happy blogging friends xx
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