World

Our favourite overseas gig

Seeing your favourite band, singer or DJ (or even one you'd never heard before) hits a little different when you're in a foreign location.

Research from the flight-finding legends at Skyscanner has revealed that 40% of Australians would happily fly overseas, just to see their favourite artist live.

CLICK HERE TO READ OUR TOP 8 GIG CITIES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

It got us thinking about our favourite gigs that we’ve been to see from around the world. Do you have a favourite? Or would you travel overseas for an artist? Tell us about it - info@getlostmagazine.com

Publisher Justin Jamieson: 

A mate and I were making our way through the Southern US States back in 1996 when we saw Ben Harper was playing in Nashville. We scored some cheap tickets and upon arriving at the small warehouse discovered Ben Harper didn’t have much of a following down South.

Our “cheap seats” became front row as Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals played what was virtually a private gig for two travelling Aussies. We had a few bourbons with the band apres gig and then partied hard in the bars of Broadway street well into the early hours of the morning.

That gig and Neil Young in the Terme Di Caracalla in Rome (wth a guest appearance by Willie Nelson) are pretty hard to top.

Editor Tim McGlone: 

I was travelling on a bus from Athens to Budapest, but I cooked the booking in a big way, and a one-hour stopover in Belgrade, Serbia turned into a 24-hour stopover instead. This turned about to be a great mistake. 

The day included a surprisingly epic walking tour, a hectic Red Star Belgrade football match, bookstores and cafe beers. The night was spent sneaking into the Kalemegdan, a 1,700 year old castle overlooking the city, to watch American band Interpol play a dreamy two-hour set with two Germans and a girl from Melbourne. How many places can you see world class bands play in ancient fortresses? We hit up a few very lively floating discos (known as Splavs) on the Danube River afterward, and I very nearly missed my next bus. 

Gigs are partly about the music, but also about the scene, situation and your vibe at the time; this one ticked all the boxes. 

CLICK HERE TO READ OUR ALTERNATE EURO GUIDE