Are stadium concerts worth the ticket price?

[BooseysMom]

Can anyone tell me if i have been a twat by never seeing my fave metal band live?! A crazy question i realise! But i've never been able to afford to go and now they're not even touring any more. Also my other fave band Iron Maiden. I has the chance to see them at Knebworth with the Cult about 7 years ago but missed that and since then things have been too difficult to go. So that was really my last chance... So what i'm really asking is for anyone who has been to these massive stadium shows to let me know is it as amazing an experience as they say? Is the huge ticket price worth it? Can you even see them properly? Or did i do the right thing just being an armchair fan and watching them on tv?!
Cheers x

thecoolerQueen , I’m pleased it’s a good line up for rambling man as I can hear it from the delightful surroundings of my garden ! We’ve also got an 80s weekend to enjoy next year .

I'd say no. I've found it such a hassle - queuing to get in, queuing for toilets and (overpriced) drinks, poor sound quality, often poor visibility due to being so far back, then a big scrum to get out at the end

Rammstein. Worth every penny. Never seen anything like the show they put on. Ruined me for any other band

I went with my daughter to Download (just for the day) to see System of a Down. It was amazing. All the bands were great, the atmosphere was really good. I was 58 at the time!

Live music performed well is brilliant. It's a completely different experience to listening at home.

Floralnomad I think they should give you free tickets to make up for the noise and inconvenience.
Just announced a headliner, hope you like Sweet Home Alabama suspect there'll be a few thousand drunks singing along.

I think it’s a personal preference. I don’t like stadium shows at all but I adore intimate gigs and festive shows. Gigs in smaller venues are my absolute favourite though.

Download is flippin awesome! Went to Paris DL for the Foo Fighters a couple of years ago & had an absolute blast. Ozzy Osbourne, Marilyn Manson, Guns & Roses...
Muse at O2 & London Stadium - both utterly epic.
Green Day in Hyde Park & have tickets to see them again this summer.

For festivals, I aim for being behind a barrier or pathway so that there's no-one directly in front of me. I'm short. I'd rather be further back with a space, than closer & jammed up against some 6'3" blokes!

For stadia, I go for mid-priced seats high up, not the cheapest at the far end.

I think it depends on the artist and the venue.

I have seen Beyonce live twice, at Wembley and at the Olympic park and she was amazing, so was ED Sheeran.

Saw my favourite band, Stereophonics at our local arena and it was rubbish. Took DS to see James Arthur and it was crap (but he was awful anyway).

@hotcrossbun4321 ..that's what i think tbh. I can't justify spending that sort of money to have a crap time.

@BringOnTheScience.. that does sound particularly awesome. I would have loved to see the Foos and Ozzy. Kiss will be playing their last ever gig at DL next year and i would have loved to see them ..last chance too

I’m not a fan of stadium gigs. I saw Springsteen at the Ricoh in June one year and while him and the band were extraordinary good, the fact that it was broad daylight meant that the atmosphere wasn’t anything like as good as it would have been in a smaller indoor venue.

I saw the Foo Fighters at the London Stadium last year and they were brilliant. From where I was Dave Grohl looked as though he was handbag-sized but it was amazing. Also saw the Eagles at the old Wembley Stadium and the started with Hotel California just as the sun was going down. It was magical. Basically I'm saying go for it if it's someone you really want to see.

Probably not, though if it is the only chance of seeing a particular band then worth it.

Probably not, though if it is the only chance of seeing a particular band then worth it

Well today i listened to an interview with people who were at one of the first gigs AC/DC did at a small theatre where i live in 1977. I was just 5 then. Joy Division were also there. Now it's impossible to see the band i have always worshipped. It's just a dream. Tonight i watched a concert at the River Plate in Buenos Aires back in 09. Now that would have been worth seeing. The crowd were mostly young in their 20s-30s, and to see them going crazy like that to a band of guys in their 50s was tremendous..to be there would have been out of this world. Whole Lotta Rosie actually made me cry! The guitar in that is unbelievable!

I grew up in a part of the US where hard rock/metal was king. I've seen Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Ozzy with Randy Rhodes, Rainbow, Scorpions, AC/DC and my favorite, the softer Def Leppard and so many others back in the 80's of all genres. They performed at a venue we affectionately called "The Barn" because it was where we used to watch the rodeo. It had a capacity of around 5,000. I feel quite privileged that the tickets hardly cost more than $15 (£11.50).

I've done my share of huge stadium gigs of all sorts of genres and I still love those gigs in small venues. There's something about the energy of a small place that just leaves you energized for days!

However, I'll catch a gig of my favorite band anywhere no matter what. I'll probably complain the whole time too but I'll still love it.

Enjoy the Maiden OP and head bang for the rest of us!

Dear God no. My maximum venue would be the Roundhouse in Camden, fits 1700. I've done Brixton loads, SB Empire, Hyde Park, loads of festivals. About 7 years ago i went to the Ally Pally to see the Black Keys, decent gig, just about as big as i enjoy, 12 months later their El Camino album went massive and i saw them at O2. Awful, just awful: sitting in chairs with cup holders watching someone on a screen, no thanks.

I saw ELO at the Manchester Arena, it was amazing - they know how to play a huge venue. And I've got tickets for Aerosmith next year, they are on my "bucket list of bands to see live"

The worst thing about seeing long-standing bands is the age of the audience. They're old, and have small bladders.

I’m lucky to have been to many gigs and seen many artists live and I don’t know about stadium gigs in general exactly, but I would say avoid the o2. Have seen a few bands there now and vowed never again after the last one where once again it was an atmosphere-free snooze fest and I felt like I was seeing a band that I know are brilliant because I’ve seen them elsewhere sound like they were performing from six miles away with no sound equipment.

I’ve been to lots of rock/metal gigs, from small pubs to stadiums. Each has their place but they’re something about 30,000 people singing at the top of their voices.
I saw the Foo Fighters a couple of years ago in Manchester and they absolutely blew my mind, Dave Grohl knows how to put on a show. Apparently it could be heard over 10 miles away!

@elp30.. they must have been awesome times Thank you.

.... I don’t know about stadium gigs in general exactly, but I would say avoid the o2

...saw them at O2. Awful, just awful: sitting in chairs with cup holders watching someone on a screen, no thanks.

I was thinking of seeing Ash next year at the O2 in Bristol but not if i'm trapped in a seat with a cup-holder! I may as well save my pennies and stay at home

OP:

My current city hosted Maiden in September at an outdoor venue and put a reminder on FB just a few minutes ago so I thought I would share the photo with you. I missed the gig as I ended up looking after grandkids but they rocked that 16,500 venue and sold it out! I'm sure that they were amazing!

@elp30.. fantastic photo, thanks for sharing . Shame you missed that one. Yep they surely would have rocked!

My O2 experience was London, not sure what other O2 sponsored venues are like