Rec | SKETCHING AT SHOWS

✏️

show up to a local ass show for a band/artist/dj you barely know, if at all. bring a little sketchbook and have fun! you get practice drawing movement (while moving) and interesting lighting (while under interesting lighting). for a moment you might feel dumb, but if you own it, then people might start coming up to you and telling you you’re sooo cool. these are some of my sketches from something in the way fest in boston, i went in only really knowing the bigger bands and had so much fun moshing & sketching the openers

@verycoolallison

Apr 2, 2025

see likes

Comments (0)

Make an account to reply.

No comments yet

Related Recs

🎸

THROWING SHOWS FOR FUN

local music scenes often suck because everyones trying to sell you something. A band is trying to get tiktok famous, a promoter is trying to make money, clout has poisoned the well that art drinks from. Just find a spot, ask friends to bring amps and drums, tell everyone to get there at 7 and listen to your buddies play music. literally anyone can do it. it can be alot to manage and be responsible for but its worth it

@9TAILSHADOWWOLF

May 14, 2025

🎫

going to concerts alone rocks

i started out in a similar dilemma you seem to be in where i knew i would regret not seeing an artist at all so i'd rather go alone than miss it. now this is how i go to most concerts. my tips are to do whatever helps you feel the most comfortable and try to put as few barriers between you and the direct experience of the music as possible. for me, this looks like putting my phone on dnd, wearing filtering ear plugs (blocks loudness but not clarity), and maybe bringing a film/digital camera to take some pics without having to use my phone and then getting sucked into checking notifs and being taken out of the moment. crowd behavior really depends on the show in my experience, but usually if you're at the same show as a stranger there's a good chance you have at least an affinity for that specific artist/genre in common. so if you're comfortable striking up convos with strangers, start there! make some friends! dress however you're comfortable, but in my experience putting on a fit that you're really confident in is like social armor. you feel better and so you present better, and if you feel like drawing attention it will feel more like good attention than anxious insecure attention, "everyone's noticing me 🫣🤭👀🫦😮‍💨🙂‍↕️😏" vs "everyone's noticing me 🫠😥🫥😣🫨😶‍🌫️😵‍💫" as far as how to act at a DJ set, i have a whole separate rec about that, but in short just try to engage with the crowd and not the dj whose job isn't really to put on a performance as much as it is to curate a vibe in the room and get folks dancin. just do whatever feels better than standing still and engage with the energy of the crowd. if you have a substance of preference to get you out of your head, use it in moderation to grease the joints (especially if you're flying solo do be safe and know your limits)

@royallmonarch

Oct 19, 2024

❗

GIVE FREE MERCH TO EVERYONE AT YOUR SHOW

when u manage to land a gig , even if you bomb, hand out custom bottle openers, stickers, or business cards if need be. (preferably the former, something that isn’t easy to throw out. but IS easy to pocket or add to a keyring.) make sure nobody leaves the venue without a piece of you - this method helps me hack my crippling social anxiety. the pretense of a gift or offering acts as a shield in the face of dread and uncertainty, allowing me to approach people in a way which often feels impossible. this is inevitably not viable for a lot of creatives. you are taking a net loss in the hopes of creating a personally memorable moment for the people in your scene. you could call it a percbuddy psyop, but i also see it as proactive realness.