Gig-Tripping. New Trend?
Gig-tripping is the latest travel trend. Or is it?
The phenomenon that is Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour has almost forced fans to look outside of their home countries (more about that later).
Coming from an island where the largest indoor ‘arena’ held a maximum of 3,000 people, gig-tripping is something I’ve done since the mid ‘80s, requiring at least one ferry or plane trip.
As a huge music lover, seeing artists live is a must. There’s nothing else that gives me the same level of mood boost than singing my favourite artists’ songs, with eighty thousand other fans. Unfortunately, the world’s top artists simply never came to play in Jersey.
OK, I’ll caveat that.
The Beatles visited the island in August 1963, just before they hit the big time.
Fun fact - my Dad had a boat and took the group’s kit to Guernsey helping them set up, and partied with them after the concert. In fact, he took several bands’ kits and some artists between the two islands during the ‘60s and ‘70s.
In June 1981, Adam and the Ants stood and delivered on the Gloucester Hall stage at Fort Regent.
Fun fact - They were the first band I saw live. I was 15 years old with Adam Ant posters all over my wall.
Around two thousand young fans crammed into the sports hall, many with the iconic thick white stripe across their nose, and my passion for live music was ignited.
Following them, I saw Depeche Mode who were great, and Paul Young (‘Wherever I lay my hat’), not so great.
I digress.
Gig-Tripping - Paris, France
I left it in my jeans when they were washed (*cries)
My first experience of a ‘real’ concert was a gig-trip to Paris.
In the summer of 1985, Bruce Springsteen was a year into his Born in the USA world tour, with Paris dates set for the end of June.
A local company called Summerday Tours organised concert holidays by coach, to both Paris and London. I can’t remember when the tickets went on sale but it would have been no more than a few weeks before the gig date. Not like today when they go on sale a year beforehand.
I paid for my ticket in cash instalments (no electronic payments back then, only cash or cheque). I can’t recall how much the whole trip cost (ferry, coach, concert and hotel) but, as you might be able to see from the crumpled ticket, the concert was 125F (French Francs) which equates to around £36 in today’s money!
Early morning on the day of the concert, friends and I boarded a ferry for the two hour crossing to St Malo on the Brittany coast, then on to a coach for the five hour drive to Paris.
During the afternoon we visited the top of the Eiffel Tower, then back to the hotel to get the coach to the venue. Originally scheduled at Stade de Colombes AKA Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir, it was relocated to Parc De La Courneuve AKA Parc Georges-Valbon in north of the city. Do the French have two names for every gig venue? And there I had one of the most exciting evenings of my life. The energy and atmosphere created by a park full of music fans was something I had never experienced before - and I fed off it.
Two thousand fans at Adam and the Ants may have ignited the fire, but sixty thousand Springsteen fans threw fuel onto it, and I‘ve never looked back.
Many more trips to Paris, Canada and around the UK followed - details below.
That’s me! A local photographer snapped me and it ended up in the Jersey Evening Post.
I’m 5ft nothing and my friend is 6ft 4in, so I spent most of the concert on his shoulders.
Gig-Tripping - Toronto, Canada
Having good friends in other countries is a double-edged sword. I miss spending time with them in the UK, although look forward to visiting them. It’s a win win if the visit can be planned around a gig.
I enjoy all genres of music, but lean towards rock and punk. In 2013, two giants happened to be playing the day after each other at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, so tickets were bought and flights booked.
10 April 2013 - Muse The 2nd Law Tour
Over the decades, hundreds of artists have produced outstanding music, so picking my top ten is almost impossible, and has had to evolve over the years, as new talent emerges.
However, there is one track that I doubt will ever fall out of my top ten list - Knights of Cydonia - and the chance to see it played live was too good an opportunity to miss. The first twenty seconds of haunting whistle and sound of galloping horses belies what is too come. It makes you patiently wait another half minute and then, boom! In come the guitar and drums. Two minutes in and Matt Bellamy finally starts singing. I couldn’t say how many times I have listened to this song (often at volume) and, in my humble opinion, it is one of the best tracks ever.
11 April 2013 Green Day 99 Revolutions Tour
This was the third time I had seen them (see below) with a fourth time to come almost ten years later.
Booking Tickets by Phone
I’ll get back to gig-tripping in a mo but thought this might be of interest to concert-goers under 40 years old.
Those of you of a certain age may recall the process of buying tickets in the 1980s. I’m not sure if it was easier or harder than today, but it required a different level of determination and patience.
Nowadays, we set up multiple devices, join a virtual queue, fervently watch the queue bar progress as the queue number decreases, and, if your lucky, the seat choice option appears and tickets are secured - other than when the site collapses halfway through the payment process!
My most distinct memory of buying concert tickets in the ‘good old days’ was for David Bowie’s Glass Spider Tour at Wembley Stadium, London.
As I’ve shown earlier, it was possible to buy tickets through an agent, or directly from the venue if you lived nearby, but they could also be bought independently over the phone.
There was no social media back then, only the radio, newspapers and magazines giving any indication about when tickets might go on sale. I can’t recall exactly how far in advance it was but think it was only around three months before the gig date.
I was 21 years old and sitting in the kitchen intently listening to Radio 1. At a specific time they were going to announce the telephone number to call for tickets, and then count down to when the phone lines went live. I wrote it down as soon as it was announced and started dialling immediately.
I can’t remember if we had a dial phone or touch tone by then, but it was a cream colour with a handset and long cord. I sat at the table for well over an hour, dialling and re-dialling until eventually I no longer got the engaged tone, and an actual person picked up the phone. I squealed.
The person took my details and how many tickets I wanted. I can‘t remember if I was able to choose the date or if I found out when the tickets arrived. You certainly couldn’t choose a seat. Payments were made by cheque (£16 each - approximately £48 today) and posted to the organiser and, all being well, a few weeks later the physical ticket arrived through your letter box.
Gig-Tripping - UK
London
20 June 1987 - David Bowie Glass Spider Tour (round 1)
Quite simply my music hero.
I had been too young to travel to see his Serious Moonlight Tour in 1983 and could only hope that he would tour again. Four years later my dream of seeing him live came true (twice as it happens, as I went to Paris to see him two weeks later).
I had never been to a concert in London. My uncle dropped off my cousin and me, and we walked towards the two iconic original Wembley Towers. I took a few photos (on my camera - no phone cameras back then) and specifically remember him signing ‘Heroes’, one of my favourites.
11 June 1988 - Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute
This was organised to celebrate imprisoned Mandela’s upcoming 70th birthday and raise awareness of apartheid. It is the only concert I have attended with multiple artists playing (like millions, possibly billions, of others, I watched Live Aid from my sofa).
Similar to Live Aid, it was televised to a global audience. There were many speakers and the artist list was impressive including George Michael, The Eurythmics, Simple Minds, Whitney Houston and Dire Straits, along with acts from Africa.
The Wikipedia page states that, “The estimated audience for the Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute of 600 million in 67 countries was arguably an underestimate in that several broadcasters in Africa were given a free licence. However, the apartheid government did not allow the event to be broadcast in South Africa. But news of the event and its popularity reached Mandela and other political prisoners. In time, the strong ripple effect is thought to have increased pressure on the government to release Mandela, and it became increasingly likely that he would be released, albeit 20 months after the concert and 27 years after he was put in prison.”
Manchester
31 May 2022 - Queen
My biggest regret is never seeing the original Queen line up live, even though I had the chance to see them in June 1986 playing in Paris. To this day I can’t fully understand why I said no to my friend when he asked me if I wanted to go. Perhaps, I couldn’t afford it at the time; perhaps I thought they were no longer relevant; or perhaps I was just a bloody idiot. He still teases me about how it was the best concert he ever saw - and he’s been to many concerts over the years.
So, thirty-six years later, I eventually saw Brian May and Roger Taylor, with their new frontman, at the AO Arena, Manchester. Adam Lambert made it clear from the outset that he is not a replacement Freddie Mercury, and is simply honoured to have been chosen to perform with the band and sing their songs.
He was brilliant. Truly worthy of the position he holds with the band. It was wonderful to hear the classics, Bohemian Rhapsody inevitably receiving the biggest cheer.
Cardiff, Wales
6 June 2023 - Coldplay Music of the Spheres Tour
Since moving to the UK around 18 months ago, gig-tripping in the UK is a lot simpler. The first concert I was able to drive to was Coldplay in Cardiff.
They’re one of the biggest bands in the world and have won the most BRIT Awards for a group (I know Adele and Robbie have won more), yet they’re a band that seems to divide opinions.
I’ve extolled the virtues of Bowie, Muse, Green Day and others, who have all delivered fantastic performances and shows, but none, literally NONE, put on a show like Coldplay. Chris Martin’s feel good energy is unsurpassable. The fact that he and the band are probably knackered from performing their songs night after night all around the world, doesn’t jade the performance level. He truly looks like he loves every single minute, and it’s infectious. He bounds around with a smile that can’t not be genuine.
And then there’s the wristbands!
Each ticketholder is handed a band as they enter. When I first saw them in 2016 at Wembley with Kelly, we wondered what the bulky off-white coloured bands were for. Perhaps we had to scan ourselves in. We had no idea that they were going to add the most insane dimension to the night. It’s impossible to explain so I can only recommend you take a look at some of the videos on TikTok etc. It can’t even scratch the surface of actually being there but you’ll get the idea.
So, if you’re not a fan and have never been to see them, here’s my plea to you - get tickets!
Mind you that’s easier said than done. Their shows sell out in minutes. It took me several attempts over four years to finally secure tickets.
Gig-Tripping - Taylor Swift The Eras Tour
And, finally, we get to the unstoppable Miss Swift, and why the term gig-tripping is trending.
Last summer she announced the European leg of her tour and, like millions of others, I spent a lot of time ensuring I had my devices fully charged and ready to go, somewhere with excellent signal and absolutely no interruptions.
Getting gig tickets has never been so stressful!
My youngest daughter, a young Canadian relative and I worked as a formidable and determined team. We registered for London, Liverpool, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Amsterdam. We failed to secure tickets the first time round and envied (despised) those that had been fortunate to get them. Think about that for a minute - three people trying for five locations over multiple dates, each stadium with a capacity of at least sixty thousand, and we couldn’t get tickets.
And we weren’t the only ones. It has ‘forced’ fans from all over the world to think outside the box and arrange vacations around the city in where they have been able to get a ticket.
We prayed Taylor would release extra dates and she did!
So, on 18 June, we will be at The Principality Stadium, Cardiff, which is only a two hour drive away - although my Canadian relative will be flying nearly 6000km to get here.
Mind you, I was at an Olivia Rodrigo Guts gig at The O2 London last week and stood next to a man who had especially flown in from Bogota - 8,500km! He wins.
Other Paris Gigs
3rd July 1987 - David Bowie The Glass Spider Tour (round 2)
4th July 1987 - U2 The Joshua Tree Tour
Such a shame that it was this way round.
I loved U2 and had been blasting out their rallying songs, such as ‘I will follow’, ‘Sunday, Bloody, Sunday’ and ‘Pride’, since 1981, having discovered their ‘Boy’ album. But, they simply didn’t stand a chance against Bowie.
Weeks earlier, I had already bought my tickets to see him in London, and then Summerday Tours released details of a double concert trip to Paris. Unfortunately, I was on such a high from seeing Bowie again on the Friday night, that the brilliant U2 faded into insignificance.
September 2007 - The Police The Reunion Tour
My brother has never been into music as much as me, but The Police were his favourite band in the ‘80s, and he followed Sting’s solo career too. So when the opportunity to see them arose, we had to get tickets. I had my doubts that these 50+ year old rockers would still have the power and charisma, but I shouldn’t have worried. They were brilliant, belting out hit after hit.
June 2010 - Green Day 21st Century Breakdown Tour
During Kelly’s, my eldest daughter, emo stage, she introduced me to many new bands, one being the American punk gods known as Green Day. They were the first band I paid over £100 for a ticket - £150 to be exact, from a fan resale site. Kelly was a huge fan so I bought tickets for her birthday, and we saw them, for the first time, at The O2 Arena, London, in October 2009.
They were so entertaining we booked to see them at Parc des Princes, Paris, in June 2010. I’ve since seen them twice more in London and Toronto.
Other London Gigs
Too many to mention but here are ones I remember. They were all excellent in their own way but the stand out performances were by Imagine Dragons and, of course, Coldplay.
2014 One Direction
2016 Muse
2015 & 2018 Imagine Dragons
2018 Bruno Mars
2019 Take That
2022 Sam Fender, My Chemical Romance, Green Day, Coldplay
2023 Harry Styles
Who and where next?
Perhaps Oslo whilst visiting Kelly, or in near by Stockholm or Copenhagen. Coldplay have a few available tickets for their November dates in Auckland, New Zealand!
Outside of the UK, I‘ve only been to France and Toronto for gigs, but my final observation is that UK audiences seem to be the most enthusiastic and loudest. The energy level is much higher. And it seems I’m not the only one who thinks this, as gig-trippers from other countries have told me the same.
So, when you’re looking for your next gig, why not give the UK a try, just please leave a few tickets for us locals.
Wherever you go, have fun.
15 May 2024 - Olivia Rodrigues at The O2, London