Concerts are incredible-- just last night I had the opportunity to see one of my favorite bands, From Indian Lakes. It was a small venue, so the room was standing room only and since I had a VIP pass, I was directly in front of the stage. It's all kind of surreal now looking back on the whole show, but I did learn a few things about going to small venue concerts that would've helped me a ton.

1. Wear comfortable shoes!! I cannot stress this enough. I stood from 7PM to 2 AM-- no breaks. I thought I was going to die if I didn't sit down, so I ended up leaving slightly early because I was in so much pain.

3. Don't expect anything to start on time. The sound decided to jack up, so the band had to do complete sound checks right in front of us, so the two front bands took up two and a half hours even though they only played just a few songs each.

4. Eat RIGHT before you go. I devoured some chicken nuggets from McDonalds at 2:30 in the morning.

5. Bring plenty of money--you're going to want to buy a lot of merch. I dropped $100 on merch from my favorite band and didn't even blink or feel pain. It's just how it goes.

6. Be prepared for rowdy individuals. Some drunk guy decided to stand as close as he possibly could next to me and yell random lyrics that did not follow the current song, and there was absolutely no room for me to go anywhere so I just had to deal with it and try to sing louder than him.

7. Also be prepared for the obsessed fan girls. There was this one girl...

8. Don't be shy. If you get an opportunity to get a picture with the band, JUMP ON IT.

9. PUT THE PHONE UP. Don't video the whole thing. Sneak some photos, get a few short videos, but make sure your phone is away most of the show so you can really live in the incredible moment you're in.

So, next time you find yourself at a less than mainstream concert, you know what to do.