The Best Three Concerts I’ve Ever Been To

I've had the luxury of attending quite a few concerts in my 22 years of life thus far, and I wanted to share my three favorites with you guys!

3. Mitski, Beacon Theatre (February 2024)

First up is the phenomenal Mitski show I went to with my sister at the Beacon Theatre in Manhattan.

The only downside for me about this one was the actual theater we were in. I did like the actual venue—when I wasn’t sitting down in it. The concession stands and merch lines were orderly and easy to navigate, and the actual room made for there being no bad seats in the house. But on a comfort level, it was just not it. I was wedged into that teeny little seat with no room to put my bag or my jacket, basically crushing my poor sister. I’m not sure if the theater was tiny or just super cramped, but there’s barely any room to move your arms once you sit down in your seat, let alone your legs.

The opening act, Tamino, was by far the best opener I’ve ever seen in concert. He was amazing; I’ve since got into his music and it’s great. Mitski sure knows how to choose them.

I was so, so excited for this concert. Not only do I love Mitski, but I absolutely adored her latest album The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We. All of the songs on it landed on this set list for the tour to promote the record, and she did not disappoint. All of the new songs were amazing live. I loved looking forward to hearing the next one, having to guess which one was coming up next. Her backing singers and band sounded great as well. They gave all her songs a folk-like twist, and while I prefer the original instrumentals in her recorded songs more, I absolutely loved the way they all came together.

Now—the elephant in the room. Mitski concerts are a tad bit famous on God’s good Internet for having bad show etiquette. Fans often take it upon themselves to interrupt her show by being very loud, hysterical, and sometimes inappropriate. Which happens at a lot of people’s shows, a hundred percent, but I don’t know what it is about Mitski fans in particular (and Lana fans as well, I’ve noted) actively disrespecting and sexualizing her during her sets, especially when she tries to create such an intimate and serene listening experience during her performances. A lot of it is the younger fans who think it’s funny or cute to shriek “mommy” and things of that sort during her sets, like she isn’t an actual human being.

Fortunately, I am happy to report the audience was very respectful at my show, at least all around me. The atmosphere was very quiet and peaceful, and Mitski’s voice sounded beautiful. Her performances were uniquely quirky and creative; all her little dancey dances for each track were so cute and cool to watch in person. It was all so visually appealing as well. The guy controlling the lights on the stage, who Mitski gave a shout out to mid show, did such an amazing job. Each song had its own different stage lights, design, and color, and the mood and vibe were constantly changing along with the music. Mitski played for about an hour and a half, fitting in all her new songs and a good deal of her classics too. All in all, it was a great experience that I enjoyed very much.

Song: Buffalo Replaced by Mitski

Song: Working For the Knife by Mitski

2. Korn and Evanescence, Jones Beach Theater (August 2022)

As someone who grew up on Evanescence, I was incredibly excited to go to this show, and for good reason. This concert rocked.

The venue was awesome. It was a beautiful summer day, so intense heat wasn't an issue. The theater was so nice and spacious. There was so much room to move and be comfortable, and getting up to buy drinks or food or merch was super easy and not a problem at all. Super easy to navigate. It also had the most variety of food and snacks I've ever seen at a concert, which was a huge plus. There also wasn't a single bad seat in that theater. We were fairly far away, but we saw the stage perfectly even from where we were. The crowd was super lively and loud, but never to the point of being too crazy or too much. There was definitely a respect you could sense for the two legendary 2000s rock bands amongst the crowd, which I really appreciated and admired.

I don't remember the name of the opening artist, but his energy was so fun and contagious. He was also super funny, and he really got the crowd riled up. This coupled with the easy navigation of the theater made the two hour wait for the headliners to finally start not matter all too much, whereas if the venue had been less large and more confusing, we would have started to feel a little restless. It was actually fun walking around there since we were on a beautiful boardwalk on the water. My sister and I took our sweet time looking at merch and taking pictures; it was really fun even before the show started.

When the concert finally started, Evanescence came out first. Amy Lee is so, so stunning in person, and her vocals were absolutely killer. She played a ton of her hits, My Immortal, Bring Me to Life, Call Me When You're Sober, Going Under, etc. and she sounded so good. The whole crowd was rocking with her so hard. It was awesome. She even played Imaginary, one of my favorite songs from the band, and my sister and I freaked out. She was great.

Korn came on after. Now, even though this show was technically a Korn show with Evanescence as a special guest, I wasn't a huge Korn fan. I only knew a couple of songs; I was here for Amy. But I have to say that this was the day that changed, because Korn's energy was absolutely electric. Jonathan Davis was super hyper and had a great time up there. If the crowd was hyped up for Evanescence, which they were, they went ballistic for Korn. It was so fun overall and a great experience. I'd love to see both of them again.

Song: Going Under by Evanescence

Song: Freak On A Leash by Korn

1. Ethel Cain, SummerStage NYC (June 2024)

Yeah, this show was incredible.

I always suspected this concert would end up being the best for me, because Ethel is by far my favorite musician out of everyone on this list. I do not exaggerate when I say Ethel Cain is one of the greatest, most creative artists of our current generation. If you don’t know who she is, I beg you to please check her out, specifically her album Preacher’s Daughter; it is nothing short of perfection. She's one of my favorite singers of all time, and she's only just begun what I know will be an amazing, world-altering career in alternative music.

I was going through it before this show. It started at 7pm, and by 7:20 my sister and I were still stuck on the bus in the worst NYC traffic I’ve ever seen. When we finally got off in Central Park, where the concert location was stated to be, I realized I actually had no clue where it was. I put the exact location for SummerStage into Maps only to discover it was a nearly 20-minute walk away.

My sister and I ran through Central Park like a couple of crazy people, decked out in these ridiculous long white Ethel Cain-esque dresses. We followed the directions with the help of the sound of the opening act from the distance. You know, the act that we were missing. It was so, so stressful—and that’s before my sister notified me, horrified, that she could hear that Ethel had started singing in the distance. We ran to the opening gates once we finally found them with the help of a sassy security guard. To our relief, the Ethel song we’d heard was only a backing track, and there was still about 15 minutes after we arrived until she started.

I'm not going to talk much about the venue, because it sucked. Everyone knows SummerStage sucks and is always so crowded and so cramped, and a bunch of angry New Yorkers will gladly mow you down and shove past you to get closer to the front of the stage whether you've been camped up there holding in your pee for twelve hours or not. But none of that was important to me. Even standing there in the very back of the massive crowd could not have put a damper on this night. The people around my sister and I were so funny and charming and beautiful, and above all, they were so happy to be there.

When Ethel came out, she was glowing. She looked so, so beautiful and so happy to be there, almost as happy as the crowd was to see her. Her voice was so smooth and gorgeous live, and the crowd was so amazing. You could tell how much each and every person loved her and how happy they were to be experiencing her in that moment. She played her unreleased song Dust Bowl from her upcoming EP as the first song, one of my absolute favorite songs from her, and I instantly cried.

Listening to some of your favorite songs in the entire world right there in real life with no headphones, no speaker, no phone, just the artist who wrote and brought the tracks to life in front of you, singing it to you, is such an incredible experience. That is how I felt all throughout this concert. Every single song had me emotional, feeling and hearing and experiencing something so special that it can only remain unspoken. Hearing the crowd sing all together and singing with them all night, with no thoughts about insecurity or shame, the way we did just made the concert even more powerful. I know Ethel Cain meant something so significant to every person in that audience, especially every young queer person. I don't really have the words to express how much this night meant to me and how ethereal it all felt. I'm still taking it all in. It was beyond incredible.

Ethel played nearly every song from Preacher's Daughter (not including Western Nights, to the girl in front of me's massive chagrin) and three unreleased songs. Two I was familiar with, because I'm crazy, and one I had never heard; it was amazing. She also played Crush, her massive, more poppy fan favorite, and did an incredible cover of Bette Davis Eyes. I was delirious and probably screeching out every lyric through all of it. I never wanted the night to end.

As silly as this may sound, this concert reminded me what a blessing it is to be alive, and to have music and passion and laughter and community and life. It was the greatest concert I have ever been to. More than that, it was one of the greatest nights of my life. Ethel Cain, you did that.

Song: Crush

Song: Family Tree

(watch minutes 4:30-6:00 and just know I was CRYING in the back of that crowd)

-

Have you guys been to any concerts? What were your favorites?

Thanks for reading! ❤️