The Day I Went Into a Full-On Panic Attack at a Joan Jett Concert

I was in Vegas on the old strip, but I wasn't there for the concert. It just so happened that Joan Jett was playing a free concert down at one end that afternoon, and because it was free, there were more people than the area could handle. It looked very much like the crowd in the picture (courtesy of the Four Queens Hotel). Wall to wall people. 

I was in the Four Queens Casino with my friend Dawn and I wanted to go back to our hotel, but she didn't. She said, "go around the long way because you don't want to get stuck in that crowd." Well stupid me, I didn't want to go the long way, I wanted to go as the crow flies, LOL, so I took the short route. 

I had gone about 50 or 60 feet into the tunnel when I noticed the mob scene in front of me. I turned around to try to go back out but the back had gotten as bad as the front. I had nowhere to go but forward. 

I don't like crowds. I don't like tight spaces. I can't handle being trapped. So I completely freaked. A policy officer came by and I yelled, "Please get me out of here, I'm claustrophobic, I can't do this! Please help me!" There was nothing he could do and he kept going. 

We were moving forward, but in small baby-ish steps, and I couldn't see the end. I had no idea how long I was going to be trapped for. It could have been hours for all I knew. 

At one point, I remember grabbing the back of the shirt of the guy in front of me and yelling that I was freaking out and claustrophobic and I needed help. He said it's OK, just hold on. I held on like I had fallen off a cliff and he was the only thing that was going to save me.

Behind me was a woman. She started making rude comments to me. I was so frozen I never even turned around to look at her. I couldn't. All I could do was face forward. I guess it was his girlfriend or wife or something and I had come in between them and separated them and didn't realize it. At one point she yelled, "You shouldn't have come here if you couldn't handle it!" And I said, "I didn't mean to be here! I'm not here for the concert. I was just trying to get back to my hotel!" I think she shut up after that. I don't remember. 

I kept trying to breathe but it was hard. I was terrified. Then after about 20 minutes we had gotten through the crowd and all of a sudden I was free. I let go of the guy's shirt and I said thank you so much I really appreciate it. He said no problem or you're welcome or something. He was really nice. 

To this day I can't tell you what he looked like or what she looked like. I can't tell you what color his shirt was or what kind of shirt it was. All I remember is being trapped on all sides by a mob of people. It was my worst crowd experience ever. I hope and pray that I never have to deal with anything like that again! Whew!

My "Woodstock-esque" Concert Experience

When I was 18, I went with a few friends to Englishtown Raceway in Englishtown, New Jersey to see an all-day concert with Marshall Tucker, New Riders of the Purple Sage and Grateful Dead. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect it to be Woodstock-esque. There were 150,000 people! The entire Grateful Dead concert is posted on YouTube. Here's the video! 

Anyway, we had to park over a mile away on a side street. But we never had to ask anyone how to get to the concert because the line was like the proverbial line of ants at a picnic! It followed a straight line, but then deviated to the right and went into a liquor store (LOL), came out of the liquor store, and then proceeded forward!

It's been 50 years, so I don't remember very much of the concert, except there was this one moment where they announced a woman down near the stage had gone into labor and they were creating a clearing so they could bring in the Grateful Dead's helicopter to take her to the hospital. They were supposed to come back later that day and tell us what she had but they never did. 

I remember one time standing up to go find the port-a-potties. When I saw how many thousands of people there were, I got dizzy and sat back down. When I finally did leave, I had to step over blankets and people! There was no clear path!

Heading home at the end of the day, I gave my carkeys to my friends Lisa and John. They were supposed to arrive at the car before the rest of us did but we got there first and they ended up going in the wrong direction and getting lost. So here it was 3 a.m. in the morning and the streets were loud with people everywhere. Thankfully, the house in front of where we parked had its living room lights on and the front door was open. I went and knocked and asked whether the man had a crow bar. I explained that my friend who had my keys was lost and said my purse was in the trunk and that I had a spare set of keys in it and could he help me get them out? He was very helpful. He pryed my trunk open. I pulled out my purse and then he tied the open lock hole down to the bottom of the trunk with some rope.

We drove around for about 15 minutes and finally found Lisa and John walking about a half mile away. But I'll never forget this experience! Today, I avoid crowds. I can't even imagine being in such a crowded situation now. You couldn't pay me enough to be in that kind of a situation, LOL. 

How to Sell Ticketmaster Tickets

A few years ago two girlfriends and I bought tickets almost a year in advance for the final concert of Kenny Chesney's stadium tour at Fenway Park in Boston. The concert sold out in 15 minutes, so it wasn't like we could have waited to buy those tickets! You had to be first in line or your didn't get any. Not unusual for a headliner of any genre.

But a year later, all three of us found ourselves in completely different places in our lives. I had started a new relationship with my boyfriend and moved in with him. Lillian and her husband had sold their house, retired and bought a house in Maine. Carol Lea and her husband bought Frank's parents' winter home in Florida and started spending a lot of time there. 

We found ourselves in a predicament we never thought we'd be in: making time for a concert for one of our favorite singers/performers was going to be tough. So we made the difficult decision to try to sell the tickets. 

I started out posting on Facebook, with no response. But then I received an email from Ticketmaster: "Can't make the concert? Sell your tickets on Ticketmaster.com." So I hit the button. I found the process to be really easy. All I had to do is say how many tickets I wanted to sell -- 3 -- and set a price for the tickets. I think I may have entered the full price of the tickets, I don't remember. 

Then, a few weeks before the concert, I got a message that our tickets were sold. Ticketmaster handled everything from selling to payments and reimbursing me! In the end I think we only sacrificed about 10% of the cost, which was well worth it. 

I highly recommend using Ticketmaster's easy selling option rather than trying to sell tickets on your own.

If you like fiction, please read my novel. It's a story of strength and success, but it has plenty of crime, deceit, backstabbing, and of course, love. Find In Fashion's Web on Amazon. It's available in print, on Kindle and on Audible.