Transcript of Podcast #21: Concerts, Festivals, and Events
In Attendance: Aimee Jiang (she/her), Vidya Venkatesan (she/her)
Aimee: Welcome everyone to another episode of the GIC, podcast my name is Aimee Jiang. I’m the International Student Support Officer for Graduate Division and today, we’re going to focus on festivals, concerts, performances, maybe ballet that often happen I would say more so in Los Angeles down (L.A. is up, Aimee is bad with directions) in L.A. County. But we also do have some in Orange County as well. So we’ll go over a few options for that. I’m gonna pass it over to my co-host, though, to have her introduce herself before we get started.
Vidya: Hi, everyone, I’m Vidya Venkatesan a 3rd year graduate student in the Astrophysics Ph.D. program. I’m so excited to be here today and talk to you about all things, music, concerts and musicals.
Aimee: Yeah, I think you and I, before we started recording we were talking about it, and I think you and I have very similar interests when it comes to like some of the things that we like to do. I think another, podcast we talked about some museums and other like hiking and things and activities that you can do. But sometimes you just want to like, sit down especially during the summer in an air conditioned room that you’re not paying for the air conditioning for and enjoy just kind of losing yourself in music or in a performance. So we talked about a few of kind of the places that we’ve gone to see concerts or heard of concerts happening. But how would you recommend that someone looks for tickets or concert, like places that concerts are happening?
Vidya: Yeah. So for that one, I think usually like it’s like spotify if you have, like a favorite artist Spotify recommends you like it tells you like, hey, there’s this concert happening in LA. And then, if you’re part of like a friends group, and everyone has similar like interest when it comes to music, I feel like I get some recommendations from my friends, they’re like, hey, there, there’s this concert happening here, do you want to join? So there’s that. But I think at UCI like they do, if, if you’re like looking for things to do at UCI specifically, they also have events in like the 2 theater that they have here. So if you just subscribe to them, they do send you events for every month. So that’s also another way to get things.
Aimee: Yeah, there’s some really good shows that happen on campus, so always recommend you check those out. I also follow, like on Spotify, like you mentioned, I get those notifications like one of your favorite artists is drop tour dates in your area. I also follow a few of my favorite artists or comedians, or like performance places on Instagram. So social media is also a way that I’ve found. And sometimes I’ll just Google, like what’s happening in Los Angeles this weekend to see if anything comes up. I would say, for festivals, that’s, I’m not a festival person, but I see a lot of festivals that pop up when I search for like what’s happening in this area on Google, and it’ll usually give you kind of like a calendar of some of the different activities that are happening. So just a simple Google search is a way to go. If you have a specific venue that you really like, you can also check their website to see who else is maybe performing at that venue. So that’s something that I’ve done. I really like the Hollywood Bowl and The Wiltern, which are two concert venues in LA, and sometimes I’ve just searched to see what’s coming up during a certain time of year that maybe I’m interested in going. Hollywood Bowl is kind of a unique place, it’s outdoor so it can get really hot. And parking is terrible. Have, you’ve gone to the Hollywood Bowl. Right?
Vidya: Yes, I’ve been to the Hollywood Bowl. I went to a a Star Wars Music Festival, and I think it was amazing. I forget the the name of the person, which I should remember. But we had all the lightsabers, you know, like the fake ones, and then we were all just like vibing to the music, and it was kind of late like past, past 6 pm. So it was like dark and everything and you could see, like all these different colored light lightsabers, it was, it was a good experience. I loved it overall.
Aimee: It’s got a pretty cool view, too, because it’s like stadium style seating, outdoors like the, the seats, basically like, go up the side of a hill. So the acoustics are really good for an outdoor place, which I was really surprised at the first time that I went, because I was like outdoors sometimes when you have, like a lot of festivals, and things will just happen like a random park like they’ll just throw up a stage, and the acoustics aren’t always super great, because you’re outdoors, and there’s, you know traffic and random noise, but the Hollywood Bowl is like nestled into this very quiet hillside and the acoustics are pretty amazing, and you get a variety of people that perform there. Like you mentioned, like, sometimes it’s orchestras performing music from movies. I know I’ve seen a couple of times, there’s been like the music from the Little Mermaid that’s been performed there. Encanto was performed, like music from Encanto was performed there not that long ago. But they do some of those like big movies out there. But you’ll also see, like Andre Bocelli came and performed there. I think he usually comes like once a year. And then you’ll it’ll go from that to like rock bands and other types of artists like I saw Florence and the Machine perform there once. She was amazing, and it was a, a cool place to see concerts, but they do a lot of different types of things. I would say the majority of them are at night, I think, because it’s kinda warm here, generally during the day. So you might get there as like the sun setting, which is kind of cool. And then it’s usually dark at the concert. But I’ve parked there a few times. I definitely wouldn’t recommend parking there. It’s hard to get out. It’s as hard to, I would say, probably even harder to get out than it is to get in, but there are places that you can park further away, and I think sometimes they even have a trolley service depending on the concert, or you can take like an Uber that little bit of a way from a parking structure, someplace, else that might be a little easier, to get to. So plan that ahead of time. You don’t want to last minute be trying to figure that out. I’ve also noticed in Hollywood Bowl and some of the other places as well, sometimes you’ll get last minute deals. So if you’re like I would see this concert but I’m not spending that much money to see it. You can wait to like the day of, and see if they have last minute tickets on sale that sometimes drop in price. So we’ve done that for a few concerts there and I believe at The Wiltern too. But there are a ton of concert halls for music of all of varieties in LA. So I’ve been to The Wiltern. Did you say you’ve been to The Wiltern as well?
Vidya: Yes, yes, I was there recently for Half Alive concert shout up to Half Alive, they’re from Long Beach they’re amazing. And recently the gained so much fame. But yeah, it’s, it’s a beautiful place to like be. And yeah, the sounding and everything like it was, it was amazing. I had a great time there.
Aimee: Yeah and I was looking at there because I am trying to think of who I saw there. But they have, I would say, one of the bigger varieties of people that perform there because they they have, like some Spanish bands that perform. They have some more like electronic bands like, I’m looking through the list right now, like, it’s a very interesting mix. So I think that’s kind of cool, because they and they they kind of categorize it to like sort of pop band, is it electronic, is it rock, is it in another language other than English? So they they specify that. So I think that’s kind of cool indoor venue. Kind of near Korea town. In another, podcast you and I talked about LACMA it’s kind of over in that area. So that’s always a good place to check out. If you’re into more of like orchestra music, the Philharmonic, there’s the LA Philharmonic in downtown, and it’s kind of cool. I’ve been to the Paramount. They again have a pretty decent variety of bands that perform there. I’m trying to remember who I saw there. It was Lake Street Dive that I saw there kind of like a jazz, jazzy r&b band. They were really cool, like a big cello. The Troubadour is kind of a legendary tiny, it’s in West Hollywood. It’s a smaller club I’ve seen Johnnyswim perform there. But that definitely, I would say, has kind of smaller bands. So up and coming bands will often play there. So that’s kind of a cool place to go to. I’m trying to think of oh, we also talked about so that would be more like concerts. Dolby Theater has some.
Vidya: Yeah. And then the Disney Concert Hall. That’s another one, especially during Christmas. They have some like discounts, and then you can go see like, like, local people perform. So that’s that’s pretty good. A Capella groups like come and perform. So that’s like if you’re into something like that that that could be interesting.
Aimee: That would be cool. I have heard that they have really incredible acoustics. I haven’t had the opportunity to go there. I think that is definitely a big one. And like I mentioned earlier, I think some of the parks, especially during like, I would say during the summer a little bit, but I would say fall in spring a little bit more, because it’s less hot. There’ll be like pop up festivals and stuff at some of the parks in Southern California in general. The Rose Bowl in Pasadena is a pretty common one for concerts. They get some big names. They’re much like, I think, SoFi stadium. I’m trying to think if the LAFC soccer team has a stadium, I feel like there’s been some concerts there, but there it definitely holds less people. But so if I stadium is huge. UCLA holds some concerts, too. They’ve got some theaters there if you’re looking like in LA but I would say the Rose Bowl is a little bit closer than LA for us. And they have a lot of big artists. like I have some friends that went and saw a Coldplay play there a little bit ago. So that’s always a big one. Any other concert venues that you’ve been to or can think of?
Vidya: I feel like you covered it all. But there’s also like in in Irvine especially, I think it’s called at The Observatory OC. It’s behind Ikea. So that was a little suspicious when I went there. But they also have, they also have, like really cool concerts, like, I think I’ve seen again, I think I saw the same band that I saw in like The Wiltern here in the, the observatory, too. And like it was, it was iconic. That’s closer, that’s an Irvine.
Aimee: Yeah definitely closer. Yeah, and I would say when you think of LA concerts like, there’s those big concert halls, big venues where people like Taylor Swift or I’m thinking of her because she’s coming here soon and my friend is going to her this weekend. So thinking about that, there’s definitely some bigger places that people go. But there are a lot of small local venues in Irvine, Orange County in general. Sometimes there’s just kind of like pop up concerts that happen. So keep an eye out for those, because, like you mentioned, you might see a band when they’re like, not famous and then you like, watch them get big, and you’re like, wait, what happened? I was just. I was just watching you in paying way, less for your concerts before. So it’s kind of fun just to try out a new band. Go see somebody. I definitely done that a few times where it’s like you go see a small band, or like the opener for a band, and then you see them later on in the on their own and that’s been pretty cool experience. So definitely take a look at the different types of venues the LA has to offer indoor, outdoor Plenty of varieties, if you like concerts and music. Talked a little bit about orchestra, but you and I also talked about musicals. So there are a lot of musicals. We’re not Broadway, but Broadway shows do travel. So there are some places to see musicals down here. Have you had a chance to see any?
Vidya: Well UCI has some some like so like past quarter, I think during, at the end of the quarter, like some some of the people from theater, like, I think, master’s students, and also undergrads like they not only choreographed it, but they also performed. So UCI has it, and they have student discounts. So that’s that’s a good place to start. There’s also the Segerstrom Center performing arts theater or something. It’s, that is in Costa mesa. I saw The Sixth is that the main one to musical?
Aimee: I think so.
Vidya: I saw that I saw that there and it’s, it’s amazing. I also saw Hairspray there, like last month or 2 months ago. Yeah, they, they’re pretty good, and once you subscribe to them like they send you information every month, so you can like, figure out what, what to do next. So these are some, some theaters that are close by, and then in LA, there’s also the LA Theater where they do have a lot of musicals. And then there’s also the Pantages, paint. I don’t know how to say that I don’t know. I don’t know if I’m pronouncing that right.
Aimee: I don’t either, I’ll link it in the Transcript.
Vidya: Yes, and Pantages. I think that’s a little bit expensive. I’ve never seen anything there myself, but they seem to have a lot.
Aimee: I think that’s where a lot of the traveling Broadway type shows go. I was looking at their events earlier, and they have like Les Miserable there, Mama Mia is coming up, Aladdin. I know, that would be amazing. So like Chicago is gonna be there, Peter Pan. So they’ve got some really cool stuff coming up there, so that would be bigger. There again same with like concerts. There are some smaller kind of more local things that you could see as well if you like musicals. Segerstrom, I was looking at kind of what events they have coming up. They do have some kind of smaller bands. They have some little festivals. If you like Jeff Goldblum. He is actually not just an actor and comedian, he’s a musician. He’s gonna be performing there looks like with like a orchestra. So random things that you might find. But they also have ballets and musicals and it looks like sometimes they even show movies there. So interesting options to kind of check out. They have a calendar of events that you can kind of look ahead and see what’s coming up. And I was looking at special ticket offers. So some places do offer discounts for students, so you can always check, a lot of places, don’t. But you know it’s always best to check and see if there are some discounts available. And it looks like for some of the same day tickets at Segerstrom. One hour before select performances, if you’re a full time student, there are some discounts on what they call rush tickets. Or if you get a group of 10 or more to go so if like you and a bunch of your friends want to go, maybe, for, like a holiday thing, you can sometimes qualify for discouned seats depending on the performance. So there’s information on their website. But I always recommend checking that out. I know we use that sometimes when you go to movies, my husband’s a student, so he’ll get a discount on going to movies. So yeah, I would say, there’s quite a few options for things that people can do in terms of orchestras, musicals, kind of getting out and seeing a show. I also will say that it gets lumped into Southern California. And it is Southern California but it gets lumped into like LA area, which its not. Coachella is a huge festival that happens. I think it’s usually in like April, like end of a mid, mid to end of April before it gets too hot. It’s close to, if you listen to our podcast on the National Parks, it’s really close to Joshua tree National Park. It’s over in like the palm springs, kind of area in the town called Indio. It was just funny, because if you go to Indio when Coachell, it’s not happening. It’s empty. It’s just big fields. They put up a big thing inside the field. I’ve been to Indio just to get like gas and snacks while driving out to Phoenix. So it’s kind of an interesting little town, that is nothing unless big festivals are happening, and Coachella is not the only one that happens out there. I think burning man also might happen out there. There’s some other stuff that happens out there. so Coachella is a big one. And then we’re not that far from Las Vegas as well, and they have a lot of outdoor festivals similar to Coachella, that happen out there for a variety of music types. I know I have some friends that go to festivals there all the time that are more into like rock music. So you could definitely check out kind of what’s happening. And you can check out our podcast on Travel Deals for some cheap, easy ways to get to Vegas. It’s not that long of drive either, but there are some cheaper airlines that fly into Vegas, and you can go for a short little weekend and check out some artists out there for festivals. But I would say, that’s a pretty common thing for springtime generally, because Las Vegas, our area can get really hot during the summer. But sometimes some of those big places that we talked about have festivals as well like the Rose Bowl. I think it’s this next weekend, obviously, not when the podcast comes out. But when we’re recording this it has an Asian artist spotlight festival coming out. So there’s very unique and interesting festivals that happen around here as well. Any tips tricks for kind of checking out concerts?
Vidya: I’d say up until now I didn’t think about this, but now that you mentioned it, I think it’s always a good idea to check if they have any student discounts to save money, and then again planning, planning it beforehand, checking, parking. Because that’s something I think we struggle with. Yeah, these are these are some of my tips.
Aimee: Yeah, parking is terrible and most concert venues. So if you can use public transportation or like, have a group together, and you want to like Uber out, I will say, with Uber and Lyft there will all, often be increased prices at the beginning or the end of the concert, so sometimes I’ll just like hang around for a half hour after a concert ends. Maybe check out some of the tables that sell like merchandise or see if the band comes out and like this little meet and great stuff. If it’s a smaller venue and like a, a smaller band, sometimes they do. I’ve had, I’ve had the opportunity to meet a few small bands that way, maybe like openers, for, like the main that will come out. And like booth their table and then prices for Uber and Lyft go down at that point. So my advice would be to try and get there maybe a little bit early, or be okay with missing the opener and come a little bit late to try and save some money on that kind of fee that comes along with going. But the hassle for parking can be pretty hard, but it does depend on, if you’re going to something kind of longer, like Coachella. You’re gonna have to probably drive to go to some of these places so definitely plan ahead for for what it looks like. But thank you for joining us. I think you and I talked about this and our other one, too. It’s really important for grad students to get out and take their mind off the school sometimes. So knowing that you have some on campus options, some things in Orange County, but also you can go to LA, or maybe to Vegas, or some of the other areas around where we live and get out and explore is always a fun option.
Vidya: Yeah, thank you so much for having me. It was so much fun.