I think many of us have experienced what life is like after going to a concert. It’s easy to say that the first week after is the best and worst week. Obviously, everyone experiences it differently, but these are what I call the 7 Stages of Post-Concert Life. It is also commonly referred to as post-concert depression but I am aware that some find that term offensive.
To give the full impact of what post-concert life entails, I really have to start at the beginning, long before the day of the event. *Warning* I may reference One Direction a lot in this post seeing as my concert was just a week ago.
Your favourite artist announces a new tour and you feel alive again! You mark your calendar and patiently await the day to buy tickets. If buying tickets isn’t your first rodeo then you know what a mad dash it can be. Fingers flying on keys, refreshing like a mad man, wiping the sweat from your brow as you watch the pesky timer count down. Let me just say, don’t ever make the mistake of not signing in or not having an account for the ticket site before sales open. I made that mistake once. Never again!
Finally, you have tickets you’re content with and you make the purchase, surrendering your bank account to a presumably pretty penny. Now it’s time to play the waiting game. I had to wait 10 months for my concert which went by surprisingly fast, but still long nonetheless.
Fast forward to the day of the concert, the day you’ve been waiting for! Fighting the crowds you make your way to the venue, go through security, buy whatever merchandise catches your eye, and make your way to your seat. You take a sigh of relief knowing that nothing else can stand in the way of you seeing your favourite people in the world. The supporting act performs and the time comes, the lights go out, your heart starts racing, adrenaline pumping through your veins. It’s time.
And then like that *snap* it’s over. The past two to three hours were an amazing joy and tear filled blur and surely this will be a night you will never forget. But there is something bittersweet about watching your favourite people say goodbye and walk offstage. They were so close, so incredibly close, yet still so far. You’ve barely had time to process that they’re actually real, that they’re more than just people in videos you watch obsessively on your phone or computer.
The lights come back on and you fight your way through the crowd as the smoke settles, leaving behind the beautiful chaos of the past few hours. Like herds of livestock you trudge your way back to your car or hotel, a persistent ringing in your ear, the numbing silence invading your senses.
And then it’s no longer before. Or during.
It’s after.
The 7 Stages
Day 1 – Adrenaline: This is probably the day that most people are traveling home, especially if they stayed in a hotel. Adrenaline is still clinging onto you as you chat with your friends or family about what happened during the concert. You revel in the fact that only 24 hours ago you were watching an amazing show with a crowd of strangers, yet you felt more at home than ever before.
Day 2 – Minor Sadness: The adrenaline begins to wear off and by this point you are back home, most likely going back to work or school. Something I call “the slump” starts to kick in at the realization that the show is over and you’re not breathing the same air as your favourite human being(s) anymore.
Day 3 – Intense Sadness: The worst stage by far! You reach the climax of “the slump” and the only thing that feels right to you is sitting in a dark room, eating copious amounts of unhealthy foods (or wine, pick your poison), and re-watching concert videos or any relevant video you can get your hands on. And if you’re like me, there is crying. Lots and lots of crying. If you reach the point of tears, not even wine can numb the pain. And don’t pretend like you didn’t shed at least one tear!
Day 4 – Desperation: You are now on the decline from “the slump” and you begin itching for just one more taste of the excitement and joy you felt. In other words, you get VERY desperate. You begin the process of searching for more tickets online, checking prices and weighing out the pros and cons of each possibility. You feel excited at even just the prospect of seeing them again.
Day 5 – Denial: You begin convincing yourself it’s going to work out, looking at tickets, hotels, and travel options. You begin thinking things like, “Oh, 9 hours of driving, that’s not too bad!” or, “Well maybe I can just take out an extra loan!” or even, “$400 for a catwalk ticket? That’s worth it to have Harry Styles dump a bottle of water on me that he took one sip out of!”
(In reality, I would absolutely pay $400 for that opportunity. I’m weak, what can I say?)
Day 6 – Realization: You take a look at your bank account and realize how truly broke you are after the first concert and come to the understanding that it probably isn’t going to happen. You blame your poor savings skills and hope that by some miracle you win the lottery. You make a few last stitch attempts at searching for options until you finally throw in the towel and accept your fate.
Day 7 – Acceptance: It is now a full week after your first concert. All desperate plans have fallen through and at the realization you won’t see them again for the time being, you make the absolute most of your experience and revel in your concert videos. Happiness finally squeezes its way back into your life by some odd miracle.
On my personal Day 7 I was watching Tinkerbell and the Legend of the NeverBeast and there is a quote in the movie that I felt fit perfectly with how some might feel after a concert, especially if you’re a mega-fan.
Fawn, who is an animal fairy, has to say goodbye to Gruff, the NeverBeast. He is about to go back to sleep for 1000 years until he is once again needed to protect Pixie Hollow. Her words to him are:
“I won’t see you again, but I know you’ll always be there when we need you. I’m really gonna miss you.”
And I felt like this resonated so much with how I and many others feel. For so many people, their favourite artist is their source of happiness and whether the artist knows it or not, they are there for their fans when they need it the most. Whether through music or funny videos, their presence is an inspiration, a motivation, and an escape for so many fans.
Yes! Even Tinkerbell can be relatable.
So no, we don’t always know when we’re going to see them or be in their physical presence again. And we’re going to miss them so incredibly much, so much that it even hurts. But we can rest happy knowing that no matter what we may be going through in our lives, they will always be there for us when we need them the most.
