Oct 6, 2022
Tips for making the most of a live performance at The Holland Project
Olivia Sullivan, a journalism student and music fan, lists her top five tips for anyone going to a live show at The Holland Project for the first time.
The Holland Project hosts bands and artists from Reno all the way to Australia, showcasing unique sounds from “killer psych cumbia” to “abstract folk” and more.
Upcoming shows are posted on their website months in advance, along with the time, address, and small excerpts about the people performing. On the music page of their website they also provide a link for their specific “common sense rules.” While these rules and tips are very important in ensuring everyone stays safe and has a good time, I have five tips I’d like to tack on to their preexisting list for any first timer attending one of these concerts.
- Bring cash with you.
The first, and most important tip in my mind, is to make sure you bring cash with you. If you plan on buying a ticket at the door, or merchandise from the artists performing, you’ll need to have cash on you. If you are unfortunate enough to forget this tip, you might just be stuck waiting outside while all of your friends get to enjoy the concert inside.
If for whatever reason you know you will not be able to bring cash with you in advance, I recommend eliminating the need for it all together. This means buying your ticket online, before the show, and going into the night knowing you will not be buying merchandise.
2. Understand what you are getting into.
It is always good to do a quick Google search of the venue when you are going to a concert, especially when you have never been there before. In this case, the layout of The Holland Project consists of one large room where the concert takes place, a short hallway leading to the single bathroom, and a blocked off area of the space that is not used for concerts.
There is little to no chance of getting lost once inside, however knowing the space can ensure you make arrangements for other things such as the practicality of your shoes in a space where you will be standing all night and whether or not you want to bring a mask with you in case the space becomes too crowded for your comfort level. Going in with this knowledge can ensure you are fully comfortable and ready to enjoy yourself once the show starts.
3. Go to the bathroom and stay hydrated prior to showing up.
As mentioned before, the space the concerts take place in is not a large space, so it only holds one single-person bathroom. With this in mind, I think it would be smart to make sure you go to the bathroom before you arrive at The Holland Project. When crowds are thin the line for the bathroom is not too bad, but on nights where it is a packed house the line for the bathroom can take time to get through.
In the short hallway leading to the bathroom there is usually a mid-sized water tank that is meant to provide free refreshments to the audience. There is also a booth outside that sells refreshments during intermissions. Either way there are options if you feel particularly parched. However, if you do not want to spend money and the idea of an ominous water bucket, which is kept in the hallway by the bathroom, unnerves you, I would suggest bringing your own water bottle or simply making sure you are hydrated before coming to the show.
4. Plan accordingly in terms of timing.
Like any other concert with an open seating or standing arrangement, your position is entirely indicative of what time you arrive at the venue and the size of the crowd. I stand by the idea that if you want to be directly in front of the stage then you have to actually put thought into what time you want to show up. With a more popular or well known band the small space can get incredibly cramped very quickly, so I would recommend showing up anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour before the show is scheduled to start if you think it’ll be one of those nights. However, on a slower night you would be fine to show up exactly on time, at most 10 minutes prior.
One way of figuring out whether or not the crowd will be big or small would be by looking up the artists performing prior to the show, especially if they are a band you haven’t seen or heard of before. By giving them a quick Google search or checking social media platforms you might be able to gain knowledge of how big their overall fanbase is, thus deducting what that fanbase might look like in Reno, and by extension how many people might show up to the concert. Even if you are indifferent about where you stand in the crowd, I recommend this extended tip of looking up the artist prior to the show so you don’t go into the show completely blind to what kind of music the artists make. The tickets are by no means expensive, however if you know in advance that you don’t like an artist’s sound you can avoid wasting money on a show you won’t like.
Back to the point of position in the audience–this all depends on how much choice you would like to have when choosing your spot in the venue, so if you don’t care where you stand then you can show up whenever and you will still be able to heartily enjoy the show.
5. Go with friends or by yourself–either way you’ll probably have fun.
For your first trip to The Holland Project I recommend going with friends, or finding someone who is also a first timer to go with. Going alone is also an option, though I always find going with someone allows for a bit more comfort when visiting a new setting. The value of going with someone who has already been to The Holland Project is that a lot of these tips are already understood by them. However, going with someone who has also never been or going by yourself makes for a bit more excitement.
The big thing I love about Holland is that I feel it is designed to be a space that allows you to meet new people and feel relaxed while still enjoying the other aspects of a larger scale concert. It doesn’t matter too much if you go alone or with friends, and I think in large part that is due to the fact that they have created such a safe space for music lovers to come together and have fun.
