I am pretty short, pushing five feet, and in almost every life scenario, I don’t mind it. However, since I usually always like to be in the pit of a concert, I hate that I am so short. Unless I get to the concert about seven hours early, I will most likely be near the back of the pit, where I can’t see much of the stage. For instance, at the Phoebe Bridgers’ concert, when she was on tour for her second album, Punisher, I ended up being behind a man who had to be 6 feet tall. And even on my tippy toes, I could not see much of our girl, Phoebe.
I never thought that being short and going to a concert could be two things that would ever go together, unless (again), I arrive at the concert extremely early. However, my experience at the Beabadoobee concert changed my perspective about this collective need that many concert-goers seem to have about being at the very front of the pit, nearly arm’s length from their favorite artist. I used to understand this need, and I used to have this need, but now, I don’t.
I went to the Beabadoobee concert on September 13, 2024 in Boston, MA, near my hometown. Beabadoobee was on tour for her most recent album, This Is How Tomorrow Moves, which has some truly remarkable songs. It was at the MGM Music Hall, which has to be one of my favorite venues — I highly recommend it. I went to the concert with my best friend, Lindsey, and we had made the plan to go primarily because the day of the show was also her birthday. Lindsey is a freshman at Tufts, and if you know Tufts at all, you know that the new Green Line station is right near the university.
I wanted to see Lindsey’s dorm, ask her about college thus far, and just catch up in general. I knew because of this, that we would most likely be late to the concert. When we finally felt like we were ready to go, and after we stopped at a place called Nick’s Pizza to get a few slices of cheese pizza (delicious, by the way), we rushed to the Green Line. We were busy eating our pizza, taking birthday photos, and being so insanely excited to see Bea, that we did in fact almost forget to get off the train… whoops! Nonetheless, we finally made it to MGM.
When arriving to the venue, we had made a commitment to get merch, so we immediately hopped into the merch line, which was truly, and I am not exaggerating, the longest line I have ever been in. Now, when hopping into this line, I knew that we were going to be stuck here for at least the first opener, which made me a bit worried about being in the back of the pit. Lindsey was reassuring me, and I knew regardless that we would have a good time, so I did not let it bother me too much.
When we finally made it out of the merch line, and I got my really, really cute Beabadoobee sweatshirt, we met up with some of Lindsey’s friends, and they scored a pretty good spot. But… they were all pretty tall. So a good spot for them did not mean much for us, but nonetheless, we were happy to have finally made it.
Usually in the past, when going to concerts where I am in the pit, once I find a spot, even if it isn’t the best, I don’t tend to move around to find another one because I am just too excited to see the artist. My eyes are usually always glued to the stage, thinking in any second, they will come out. And this time wasn’t any different, but once I heard Lindsey suggest, “Wanna find another spot?”, I was tempted to say yes. So that is exactly what we did.
We tried to be those people, who squeeze through the pit, using the excuse that our friend has a spot at the front (I know, I am not proud of it), but it was just too difficult to do. We knew that Beabadoobee was coming out soon, and we really just wanted to be settled somewhere. So, we had the idea to just go to the back of the pit. I wasn’t sure what the view would be like, and I was, to tell the truth, immediately reminded of my shortness, as I could not see much of the stage. I always thought that so much of that unbelievably excited feeling of an artist walking on stage was due to the fact that I was either relatively close to the artist, or I had a view from above, and both meant that I could see the artist pretty well. However, once Beabadoobee walked onto that stage, that thrilling feeling was still there, and just as strong, even though I was in the very back.
Throughout the entire concert, I wasn’t feeling claustrophobic or tightly positioned within the pit. Because Lindsey and I were in the back, we had what felt like infinite space to dance to our favorite songs. It made the experience all the more special because I wasn’t taking the opportunity and environment for granted. I have always cared too much about being so very close to the artist, sometimes failing to realize that I have the lucky chance to listen to songs I absolutely love, performed live, and in a space where everyone loves said songs just as much. Being in an environment where I had the space to not only listen to my favorite Beabadoobee songs like “Ever seen”, “California”, and “Glue Song”, but also be able to jump up and down and have the space to scream the lyrics in Lindsey’s face, made me feel like I was finally experiencing a concert in the right way. I was taking in the entire ambience, instead of just one part of it. And I was able to do so, because I wasn’t in a confined space like I usually am when I am more deep within the pit.
Because Lindsey and I were able to dance with each other, jump in the air, and dance in circles, it changed how I felt about my height when in concert pits. It sounds cheesy, but I now could not care less about the fact that being in the back of the pit means I can’t see a thing. In fact, because I couldn’t see as well as if I were at the very front, it helped me appreciate what I had instead of the “perfect view”. I had my favorite songs, and an open-wide space to take it all in.
I guess the lesson to come out of this is that if you are short and have always gotten to concerts exceptionally early because of it, I encourage you to try and get there late this time. Maybe take your time in the merch line for a little bit, and then find a spot. Because what you have always considered to be a horrible spot at a concert, just might become the very reason why you are itching to go to another one.
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