That is how I by no means miss a live performance from my favourite bands in my metropolis

For the primary 35 years of my life, I lived in Lebanon, the place huge worldwide bands and artists hardly ever maintain any concert events. We’d get one or two huge names a 12 months, and it was straightforward to know who was coming and when as a result of it could be everywhere in the radio, billboards, and WhatsApp teams.

Shifting to Paris, nonetheless, opened up a complete different world of reside music for me. What was a once- or twice-yearly exercise grew to become a month-to-month — weekly when you have the price range for it! — risk. Each artist, each band, huge or small, will cease by Paris on their “worldwide” tour (which probably solely features a few US cities, Paris, London, and Berlin, however I digress.)

The primary few months I used to be right here, I missed alternative after alternative to nab tickets for a few of my favourite artists. Every time I’d study of a brand new live performance, I’d open TicketMaster and different native websites, naively hopeful to seek out some tickets, solely to be slapped with the “offered out” discover. How very first-world downside of me, proper?

Finally, after lacking out on Think about Dragons, Metallica, and some different huge names, I made a decision that sufficient was sufficient. Absolutely, somebody had solved that downside already? In spite of everything, there’s an Android app for every thing. So, I began taking a look at companies that might alert me each time one in every of my favourite artists would put up tickets for a live performance in Paris. The 2 companies that I settled on are Bandsintown and Songkick, they usually each have web sites in addition to Android and iOS apps. Why two apps as a substitute of 1? As a result of there are just a few indie artists lacking from this one or that one. Having each covers all of them.

Bandsintown and Songkick are extraordinarily related. I arrange my location as Paris, related my Spotify account, and allow them to import all of my adopted artists. Growth, carried out. For those who don’t use Spotify, you possibly can manually go in and seek for any artists to manually add them. Oh, I nonetheless rapidly went by the lists as a result of I needed to take away just a few artists that I do hearken to however wouldn’t prefer to see reside.

I did that just about three years in the past and let Bandsintown and Songkick do their magic. I selected to be notified by electronic mail, too, not simply by an Android notification (as a result of I’m afraid I’ll dismiss that after I’m busy after which utterly overlook about it). The primary emails began arriving quickly after, often two or three days earlier than the tickets went on sale. So, I made it a behavior to test the small print and snooze the e-mail till quarter-hour earlier than the tickets really go reside; that manner, I all the time get a brand new electronic mail notification on my Android cellphone and nab my seats earlier than they promote out.

I nonetheless bear in mind the primary electronic mail I bought for Kyo, a French different band I used to be hooked on within the 2000s that break up up after which rejoined forces. Whoa! I might’ve by no means identified about their live performance or remembered to test tickets for them if I had carried out my analysis manually. Accomplished, purchased, attended, and liked each second of it.

Then it was The Faim, an Australian alt-rock band that I might’ve by no means anticipated to return to Paris. However they did, and I noticed them. Then, a joint tour by Evanescence and Inside Temptation, Tarja Turunen’s solo live performance, the Italian singer Diodato, the Ukranian folktronica band Go_A, Jack Black and Kyle Gass of their Tenacious D band, and extra. I even managed to catch the little-known Blind Channel once they had been opening up for the extra common Electrical Callboy as a result of, you guessed it, I bought the e-mail about it. How uncommon is it to learn about one in every of your favourite indie bands’ appearances not in their very own live performance however as a gap act?

Because of Bandsintown and Songkick’s reference to my Spotify account and their emails, I’ve attended greater than 20 concert events and seen a few of my and my husband’s favourite artists and bands reside. From smaller indie artists doing a pop-up live performance at a 200-person membership venue to well-established bands filling up the Stade De France and Accor Enviornment, I’ve caught all of them.

I’ve additionally made it a behavior to open up Songkick and Bandsintown after I’m planning a brand new journey. I begin monitoring the town I’m going to, simply in case an artist is displaying up whereas I’m there. That’s how I caught Three Days Grace in Luxembourg, Keiino in Turin, and Dawn Avenue in Berlin — three bands that just about by no means come to Paris.

And final 12 months, when Think about Dragons introduced a live performance in Paris, I used to be heartbroken as a result of I knew I’d be in a foreign country and miss them once more. Nevertheless, a brand new date was opened up due to excessive demand, and I bought the e-mail when nobody else knew about it but, so I caught some fairly good seats earlier than the official gross sales rush.

During the last three years, I haven’t observed that both Bandsintown or Songkick have abused their entry to my inbox. Most emails I get from them are related, and if typically I obtain one thing a bit outdoors of my wheelhouse, I simply cease monitoring that artist/location. In alternate for just a few further emails from time to time, I’ve gotten dozens of very helpful notifications about reside reveals I can attend and lots of of enjoyable reminiscences with my husband singing and rocking to our favourite tunes. You possibly can’t put a value on that.

Subsequent on my record? Sum 41, Gåte, Smash Into Items, The Kolors, and Anastacia. Sure, my music style is in every single place, and I’m glad I get to take pleasure in it reside with out lacking out on concert events as a result of I didn’t learn about them.