Sneaking In: Ninja concert attending

The target:
http://www.finelinemusic.com/images/map_main.gif

(this is all mostly tongue-in-cheek, the chances of me actually attempting this are slim. But I'd still like to hear about all your experiences)

If you walk in backwards the people at the door will think you are leaving! Works every time.

dress up like kim deal

I hopped the fence at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach, CA to see a sold out Frank Black & the Catholics show for my friend's birthday. There was a smoking patio out back with a segment seperated from the parking lot by a chain link fence. I just had to hop up on this concrete wall, shimmy over a little bit, and over the top I went. It helps to have a light build and a couple of beers in you.

It helps to have a light build and a couple of beers in you.
-- Famous Athlete (klintve...), March 29th, 2004.

And being a famous athlete! *ba-doom-ching*

Dan I.: I think you and I would make GRATE fwends.

get one of those shirts that says staff on the back.

I don't know, but my friend J once got free beer by flashing his nipple at the old man in the off license.

For shows that are at bars, bars have back doors that I go into.

my buddy and i have snuck into fine line shows more than once just by trying the back door (the one in the alley where the bands load in). luckily, the hallway with the bathrooms leads right to the load-in area and it's easy to pull the old "i was looking for the bathroom" trick if you're caught. but then, i haven't really tried this since that fire they had and they may have figured out how to stop such things. i hope not, cause i was planning the same tactic for this show; god damn them for announcing ticket sales thursday night and selling out in 10 minutes friday morning.

Sneaking into shows is the only way to go. I have many secrets but I can't reveal them here.

I will tell you about one I'm very proud of, though - a recent show required ticketholders to wear those bright green fluorescent wristbands. Now, a truly savvy anarchist type would already own a stash of these in every color (and tons of Admit One tickets, too), but I have better things to do with my time. Anyway, we had a friend who paid come outside to have a cigarette, while three buddies and I ran up to the copy shop and made three color copies of her wristbband. We then cut them and taped them to our wrists. They didn't look perfect so we hit the Pharmacy across the street, boosted a green highlighter (the PERFECT SHADE!!) and touched it up. Totally, 100% fool proof even on close inspection!

Nowadays if I can't get in for free, I don't go. It's guest list, ninja, or stay home watching Torque on DVD. No offense to the bands playing (I've BEEN that guy who gets 'half the door' for performing and I know how much it sucks to go home with less than you paid to gas up the car getting there), but chances are there's no one in the club poorer than me (and my immediate crew) so it's gotta be every man for himself, yaknowhutumsayin?

Before you think me a total asshole, the money I save by sneaking in almost always goes to pay for merch once inside.

I once got kicked out of a Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 show twice for being underage, then snuck back in a third time. Sat underneath a stage for two hours once to see the Jesus Lizard.

Sneaking into shows was a much greater pastime when I was underage. Doing it as an adult seems kinda pussy and/or cheap (esp. if I was to say, live somewhere where the cost of living was cheaper).

oh and sneaking into a De La Soul show at Vassar (!) was really fun and funny because they had this huge security setup frisking everybody, but we just waltzed right in through a side-door.

But as a one-time promoter and tour manager worried about actually making money for the bands playing, it's kind of a dud.

declare yourself a music writer about a week before the show, draw up a nice signature footer for your e-mail--replete with magazine cred and shit--and hit up the publicist. works like a charm

Well to get into clubs, DJ sets, etc, just bring some old crappy white label 12", and take a black sharpie and write the name of some artist on it, then tell the bouncer "hey, this is the new Superpitcher record that the DJ asked me to bring". And then when you get inside, just toss the record away! easy.

When I was underage, I used to sneak into college-radio-station sponsored events held in bars. As long as I was in a group of three or more fellow DJs or station members, I never got kicked to the curb.