Updated July 5 2024. Concert reviews can provide valuable experience to the beginning writer. Here are some steps and pro tips for reviews that will serve fans and non-fans alike.
Done right, the concert review provides a valuable service. Part reportage, part boosterism, a concert review can give both fans and non-fans a glimpse of what it’s like to see a musician or band in action. A review can also validate and/or illuminate (or not) the concert experience for those who were there.
For budding music journalists (or arts reporters in general), covering a show is a fairly straightforward writing practice. Unlike an album review, say, a concert review requires no particular point-of-view, i.e. critical thinking. Nor is it necessary to talk to anyone, as one would have to for an interview/profile piece.
Using journalistic skills like research, observation, and note-taking, the writer can approach a show review as an exercise in straight reportage. (Of course, the writer chooses the facts and observations. So some perspective and context are involved.) Applying these skills to a form that attracts enthusiasm more than technique immediately elevates your review above 90 percent of the others on the internet.
Unfortunately, there are fewer and fewer paying gigs for the prospective concert reviewer. Daily newspapers only cover the biggest arena- and stadium-filling shows. Weeklies, those that survive, devote less and less space to them. Blogs and online magazines have taken up the slack, somewhat, but most can offer only a concert ticket (with a plus-one if you’re lucky).
It’s a labour of love, concert reviewing. On the plus side: experience; a ticket to a show; and maybe a life-changing experience.
On the negative side: for paying rent, you’re better off making lattes.
1. Review a show by a musician or band that you know
A no-brainer, maybe. But it does help to have at least some knowledge/interest in the subject to start. And if you enjoy the artist’s work, you may be more inspired and energized when it comes time to sit down and write the damn thing. On the other hand, don’t let your prior knowledge lull you into thinking that the reader knows what you know. As an editor for my site thesnipenews.com, I can’t count the number of times a reviewer has mentioned a song as though the reader should know it. (A quick workaround – place the song in context, i.e. by mentioning the album it’s from or if it was the first release from said album; even a one-word adjective to describe it – except “ethereal” – helps.) Also, don’t get carried away by your deathless prose. Save the poetry for your journal. Unless you’re an actual poet.
2. Do some research
You can do this after the show. But I recommend researching beforehand. You may or may not use what you learn but at least you have a few facts in your back pocket. Also do this regardless of how well you think you know the band in question. (I’ve been guilty of not doing my research beforehand and I usually miss something and regret it.)
When researching, here are a few things to look for:
• The artist’s latest release. Is it an album, an EP, a song, a video, an art installation? Find out. The show/tour is probably in support of it; check. You’ll want to be familiar with the new product if only to be able to authoritatively drop song titles into the review.
• The tour. Did the performer just roll out of the tour bus or have they been playing The Sphere for six months? Try to find out if the show that you are reviewing is at the beginning, middle or end. Usually, if it’s the beginning or end it will be relevant to the review. Even if it’s just a random date in the middle, it might account for a lack-lustre show. Dropping this kind of info into the review is just the kind of thing to give you credibility with the reader.
• Names. Try to find out the names of everyone in the band, whether there’s an extra or replacement musician on the tour, and what if anything they play (maybe they’re like Happy Mondays’ Bez and just express themselves through, er, dance). An artist’s homepage is usually less up-to-date in this regard than Wiki or social media.
• The opener. It’s not necessary to see the opener, or to include in your review. However, I recommend catching at least the last few songs of their set. That’s when they’ll probably be at their best, for one thing. It’s also especially worth mentioning the opener if they’re a) local, b) extremely good or bad, and/or c) the Next Big Thing. You don’t want to be the reviewer who missed, say, the Strokes opening for Doves at Richard’s on Richards in 2001 because you were too lazy to get your ass down to the venue in time. Not that I know anyone like that.
3. Take notes
I can’t stress this enough. Nothing separates the amateur from the pro like taking notes, whether on your Notes app or a notepad. Do these ramblings have to be legible? No. Just the act of writing stuff down helps you remember.
For note-taking, I prefer the old-fashioned way, a lined notepad to a cellphone. Sure, it looks dorky, but it’s also empowering – like wearing a fedora with a “Press” card in the hatband. (Okay, maybe that’s not that empowering.) Whatever you decide, here are some things to note of:
• how many people were onstage? What did they play? Did they switch instruments? Was it one guy with a laptop?
• what were some of the songs played? If you’re not sure, write down some lyrics so you can Google them later. Or ask the nearest rabid fan who is mouthing the words. You don’t have to make note of all the songs, but first, last, and encore song titles should not go ignored in your review.
• were there any surprise guests? I.e., did Courtney Love show up and disrupt the set?
• were any cover songs included? Admittedly, this is one of my favourite things about attending a show – the chance someone might play a totally unexpected cover. I especially like it if it’s obscure and I recognize it!
• what was the energy like on the part of the performer(s), on the part of the audience? Did it change?
• did anyone say anything memorable between songs? Of course not, they’re musicians. Still, including some between-song banter scores credibility points. Incorporating quotes is also another handy journalism technique that requires practice before it becomes second nature. Plus: quotes breaks up the straight-text copy and add a you-are-there feel.
• how many people in the audience? Was the show packed, sold-out, half-full? Were they begging people to come in off the streets? How is this different from the last time the same act played in town?
• Was there anything interesting/unusual about the stage set-up? I.e., video projections, go-go dancers, an office chair for the lead singer to sit in?
Pro tip: never mind about the sound. No one cares.
4. Arrive early (but not too early). Stay until the end
Your ride is leaving, buses stop running soon, you can’t afford a cab, the bouncers have your boyfriend down on the ground and are kicking his ribs in. It doesn’t matter: stay until the end. You don’t want to find out later that the band had a fistfight onstage or Lady Gaga came out to sing “Bad Romance” right after you left.
If you do have to leave, be transparent and make a note of your curfew in the review. However, be aware that your credibility score is at risk in the mind of the reader.
Likewise, arrive early. I mentioned catching the opening band(s). But an early arrival also lets you stake out a decent spot. It also gives you a chance to take stock of your fellow-concertgoers, the venue, the stage set-up, etc.
5. Work on the review ASAP
I like to get something down on paper, or the screen as it were, as soon as I get home. Doesn’t matter if you spend 10 minutes or an hour, although a good 20 minutes should suffice. The reasons for this are twofold:
• no blank page to face in the morning. You’ve already got a rough draft. Pro tip: how would you describe the show to a friend? Write it down.
• these first impressions are the real raw material that’s going to make your review.
Then, sleep on it. You’ll be amazed to find, when you sit down to writing the actual review, how much of the work has been done. Not to mention, you may wake up with some additional thoughts. Don’t bother consulting your notes until your second draft – to compare with what you’ve already written and to determine if you missed anything.
Twenty minutes spent writing directly after the show is worth at least an hour in the morning.
6. Write a second (and third) draft
For many writers, the first draft of anything is only a starting-point. They get it all down, then see what needs to be cut or added or moved (see “Structure,” below). Work on a through-line; does the end flow naturally from the beginning? What is the story of the review? (Come to think of it, this might be a whole other post.)
Pro tip #1: don’t spent a lot of time on the first draft . This isn’t for public consumption, it’s just sense impressions. Pro tip #2: Cut the first three or four paragraphs of the first draft and let the review begin at this new starting point. If there was any important info in those first three paras, you can include later in the review. Often, in a first draft the first three paras are full of either factual (“The band is on its third album”) or personal (“I arrived at the venue but had to stand in line for an hour”) info that can (and should) be excised.
7. Assume the reader knows nothing
Just because you know that the band is suddenly playing arenas because a bunch of TikTok furries started dancing to it in videos doesn’t mean your reader does. Write so that both fan and the uninformed can get something out of the review. Include enough detail for the former and enough general info for the latter.
8. Write in third-person
First-person reviews are okay for a blog. But writing in third-person guards against the review becoming too much about the reviewer. (This isn’t a hard-and-fast rule. This Butthole Surfers in Vancouver concert review is written in first person and sort of works.) And a review written in the third-person reads more professionally – the writer comes across not as some gushing fan but as someone who’s done his/her homework.
Pro tip: If I’m writing a review and find it absolutely necessary to bring in my personal bias, I often refer to myself as “this reviewer.” I.e.: “The fans loved it, but for this reviewer, the addition of a 20-minute version of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’ sung by children in angels’ costumes was over-the-top.” This provides some much-needed distance and also sounds kind of funny (in a good way).
9: How to structure your review: a simple, easy-to-use template
Staring at a blank computer screen for what seems like an eternity? Here is one way to structure an opener.
1st (and maybe 2nd para) – A grabby opener. Something dramatic or interesting/unusual that sets the scene or even mise en scene. This could be something about the artist, or the tour, or the show or even an overheard quote from an audience member. It could be a particularly telling bit of audience interaction (“Without warning, Chris Martin jumped into the audience”) or dramatic/humourous incident in the performance (“Midway through the set, Martin broke down and told us about his mom”).
2nd & possibly 3rd paras – Actual info/context. This is where your research comes into play. I.e.: “With their viral video, Mouthbastard is the hottest band out of Salt Lake City since the Trepanning Satanists,” followed by some evidence to back up the statement. Info might include the context of the show – part of a tour for a new album – or change in lineup: “This was Groper’s first show since the loss of their founding tympani player, Hiram Phinbottom.”
4th and 5th paragraphs – Songs played, atmosphere (Slipknot aggro or Sarah McLachlan mellow or Dead Kennedys mosh), individual musicianship, highlights and low-lights (this is usually where your opinion begins to emerge, unless it’s so strong that you fee the urge to open the review with your two cents), onstage banter, crowd interaction. Remember those notes?
6th para – Wrap-up. Sometimes (often) the hardest para. It’s easy to slip into cliché here: “Hopefully, they’ll be back again soon” is a standard and deathly dull way to wrap things up. In a well-constructed review, the end will tie-in (perhaps answering a question posed) with the opening paragraph, and conclude the arc of the review.
Random notes on how to write a concert review:
Genres – Most of my experience is writing rock/pop concert reviews. Most of the same rules apply, however, across genres. Exceptions are hip-hop and EDM shows, which as younger genres come with a different set of expectations. I.e., it’s perfectly acceptable for artists in either genre to rely on pre-recorded music, something that is (or would have been) anathema at a rock show.
Photos – You can try taking your own, if you can get close enough or find a decent sightline of the stage between the heads of your fellow concertgoers. You can also make friends with a photog at the show – identifiable by their camera and photo pass – and ask if you can use a photo. Some will say yes, as long as you credit them. I wouldn’t recommend downloading random live shots from Google Images as these are the property of the photographer and/or artist. You can also request publicity images from the band’s publicist or reach out to the concert promoter to see if they have any images you can use. Publicist contact info is sometimes but not always found on an act’s website, if they have one.
Style guides – If you’re writing for a publication, make sure you know their style guidelines. Do they put song titles in quotation marks song titles and italicize album titles? Do they, like the New York Times, refer to even scoundrels like Marilyn Manson as “Mr. Manson”?
Check in with yourself – During the performance, periodically ask yourself what you are experiencing. Are you mesmerized, or are you thinking about that load of laundry you forgot to take out of the dryer?
Fact-check EVERYTHING. But this really goes for any piece of writing. Also, proofread, and look for clichés, i.e. anything you feel like you’ve read in countless other reviews. Assuming you read concert reviews. And if you don’t, you probably shouldn’t be writing one yourself.
Finally, run everything through Hemingway or a similar app. This will help you avoid passive sentences, unnecessary adverbs and lengthy sentences that just go on and on with no break thereby irritating the reader who finally gets fed up and stops reading and…
Next: how to write a press release