What Makes a Great Concert?

Last weekend, I found myself at the Mann Center in Fairmount Park to see the band MGMT. If you haven't heard of them, their music is difficult to describe without referring to other obscure bands, but I've heard them referred to as Indie-rock, pop, electronica, physcadelic-pop, dance-punk, and various other strange genres. Needless to say, I wasn't at all sure what to expect from the concert in terms of the performance, the atmosphere, or the crowd.

My ignorance served me well, though, and allowed the night to far exceed my shaky expectations. When I discussed the event later with other attendees, we decided that, all-in-all, the concert was a blast, but the performance was really nothing special. And that got me wondering, if a top-notch performance isn't all that's necessary to make a great concert, then what is?

That's not to say that a stellar performance isn't important, in fact a great performance can always trump any of the trivial negative aspects of a show, leaving the audience completely content with the night. Take Springsteen, for example-- a person of any age can have the time of his life at a Springsteen concert, despite the monotony of his music and the large portion of grandparents in the crowd, because he is an absolutely terrific performer.

But, if a show expects to get the same high-ratings without such a knockout performance, nearly all of those less-significant factors better be in order.

To start (literally), the opening act has to be enjoyable. To me, the best kind of opening act is some up-and-coming group that's trying to really impress the crowd and possibly draw in some fans for when they're big enough to have their own show. A lame opening by a slightly more popular act immediately puts the audience in low spirits and simultaneously creates a need for a blowout main act to make up for where the opening was lacking.

Even more important is the venue of a concert. There are indoor stadium concerts, like the Wachovia center, that seat thousands and focus more of the audience's attention on the high-tech lighting and big-screens than the act itself, and there's the Susquehanna Bank Center (formerly Tweeter) with a giant lawn area that turns into more of a free-for-all than a concert. In my experience, a larger venue does not necessarily correlate to a more fun or high-energy atmosphere, though. Lots of bodies packed into a small space creates more energy than a huge, echoing, stadium can any day.

At MGMT, the concert was outdoors, though the stage and at least half the seats were covered by a large pavilion. The success of an outdoor concert is obviously dependent on the weather, but in this case the weather held up for the most part. At one point a short spurt of rain hit and threatened to lower the audience's spirits, but the precipitation only served to excite the uniformly young (and slightly grungy) crowd even more.

Which brings us to the crowd, another important concert mood-setter. Sometimes a diverse crowd creates a unique atmosphere, like the annual 4th-of-July concert on the Parkway, where all of Philadelphia comes together to enjoy some fireworks (and hear faintly the sound of whatever bands are featured in the concert, depending on how far away you are from the stage). Or a show like U2 or Dave Matthews Band, where the crowd ranges from die-hard to first time listeners of various ages.

Then there are those occasions where it's nice to know you're in the company of people who share your same, odd interests. A friend of mine loves scream-o music and jumping around in mosh pits, and I'm sure he appreciates an atmosphere free of straight-laced parental types and/or judgmental peers when participating in this wild rebel-fest.

The security is probably not too strict at those type of concerts, too, which is always a plus. I've heard friends complain about the interruptive security guards at multiple concert venues, but particularly outdoor concerts where people aren't restricted to a seat or section. At MGMT, the security guards didn't bother anyone about where to sit and the audience could roam freely throughout the pavilion, up on the balcony, or in the back on the lawn without trouble. When a concert features music that isn't easy to dance to, like indie-rock/electronica, being able to explore the area is a definite positive.

Finally, the price of tickets and merchandise for the show contributes immensely to its rating.

"It was good for the price," you'll often hear people say. Complaints about the price of refreshments are also common (though this could possibly be attributed to the recent decline in CD sales since free online music became popular).

And, since the MGMT tickets were reasonable, I and the other ten or so friends that attended gave the show two thumbs up.

-Zoe Feingold