1. You actually remember the concert

Despite all the shaky, drunken videos you may have on your phone of a concert to keep as semblances of “mementos,” some of the best things about concerts are the actual memories, especially when you can actually remember them.
I will never forget how excited I was when Billy Joel started playing “She’s Always A Woman” in the Dome last year, or when Flea from The Red Hot Chili Peppers ripped his shirt off and flipped onstage at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

2. You can actually enjoy them

You’ve paid money to see an artist, usually because you enjoy them, right? (Unless you’re trying to impress someone, which probably isn’t a good idea in case you hate the artist and somehow find yourself stuck at a Nickelback concert).

Why not be lucid enough to appreciate the nuances of live music? Why go if you don’t want to be fully in the experience? Granted, if you’re surrounded by a bunch of not-sober people at an event like a rave, I imagine things might seem a little different.

But at least you won’t be like that Hawaiian murder suspect who claimed that Jay-Z’s music ‘possessed’ him, causing law enforcement officials to speculate that he may have been on drugs. You also won’t be that girl who has to hold her own hair up while puking because all her other friends are too drunk to do so for her. Not only will you smell better in the end, but you’ll probably have good memories, (or at least actual memories) of the night.

Isha Damle is a junior television, radio, film major. She rarely knows the actual lyrics to songs, but is good at faking it until she makes it. Plus, her version is probably better. She can be reached at idamle@syr.edu or on Twitter @ishadamle.