LAST MINUTE MELOMANIAC

Last Minute Melómana by Dew

For music lovers like me, it is not always enough for us to just listen to recorded music, sometimes we want that live visceral experience. But what does one do when the show is sold out when you want to go at the last minute and/or there are no tickets left? I show you the tricks of the most expert rookie in last-minute-plans.

From your weekly news to making the cover for a playlist you have created; design lists for

every occasion and create collaborative playlists, to have a shelf full of records. Every story,

in this case of music lovers, begins with something.

My music journey began with the most inveterate, cool and funniest music lover I know - my father.

His passion for vinyl records, and fiddling around with all things electrical, as well as his keen sense of the ridiculous, have been a constant in my life since I can remember. I have learned many things from him. For example:

• I've started my own vinyl collection (which will never surpass his) But it is a lot of fun!.

• I have begun to learn to appreciate the analogue life, not just on vinyl, but a slower-living and appreciating every minute to dedicate it to a specific thing. I think the buzz word is 'mindfulness'. Thanks Dad.

• Seasonal music. My father's musical taste changes depending on the season of the year we are in. An example of this is that I knew that autumn was coming because Mike Oldfield's The Voyager was already playing in my house. (Its old, google it.)

• The importance of music as the soundtrack of your life. At home, in the car, with family, or maybe clubbing with friends, or even during err.. those intimate moments with a special someone - songs to which you can assign life's little memories, forever. And every time you listen to them again, they take you back to those moments.

• An ultimate appreciation of live music, and delving into the history of those artists.

This last thing has led me to even enjoy going to concerts alone, or attending concerts by artists on bands I don't even know! I find the big cities myriad of choices in live music one of the strongest reasons for moving to one there may be.

Bad Gyal's concert Madrid 7/4/24 at Wizink

Living in Madrid, this is a constant and fortunate (not so much for my pocket). But many times, concerts, especially by big and international artists, make it impossible to get tickets, or they go on sale so far in advance that you don't even know if you will be able to go or not.

For last minute planners like myself, and for those who manage to save the money but there are no tickets left , here are my tricks to be able to go to the concerts, regardless if they are sold out months in advance or even if you decide a couple of hours before.

Step 1 is to have all the apps that sell tickets to concerts and events that may interest you. In many you can highlight cities, genres or types of event so that as soon as something comes out they will notify you without having to pay too much attention. In addition to finding out about concerts by artists you like, it is a huge door that opens to discovering new genres and artists, and even getting to know them.

When I go last minute, my go-to, the basic of the basics for me is Stubhub. It is an app that belongs to Ticketmaster for legal (and 100% safe) resale of tickets. If they are sold out, many people resell their tickets and that day or the days before, people usually lower the price quite a bit to get them out of the way, plus if they are not sold out, they can be cheaper than normal sales. This way I have been able to go to concerts both inside and outside of Spain for an affordable price or to concerts where tickets have been sold out for months.

Similar to Stubhub is Ticketswap. I'm only just new to this one but I know that many people now use it, and works in pretty much the same way and is a good option. Use both!

And finally, as an 'anti-recommendation', I'd forget about the app Viagogo. They have been reselling duplicate tickets for years, ie you get to the gig and someone else has the same seat/ ticket number as you. And its legit. And yours is not. Disaster. So If you want to save yourself that risk, I recommend that you avoid it. (no matter how desperate you are).

This is all for now. Let us know if you have more tricks! (a crowbar in the backstage entrance door? haha) I have some kick-ass music to go listen to.