By Jennifer Belcher
Sports Editor

Annika Keating, a business major, prides herself on the number of concerts she has attended over the past few years.

“I go to concerts and I own a really cool record player,” Keating joked when asked how she would describe herself.

Keating decided to test her luck and buy a pair of tickets to one of her favorite bands, the English alternative rock band, The 1975. The band was set to perform at the Santa Barbara Bowl just two days after she purchased the tickets.

She explained it would have been disheartening that they played so close and she missed them; although she was quick to say that she has seen them live four times already.

“My Instagram bio is ‘I love concerts, cats, and coffee’ because it’s true,” Keating said.

Keating fondly reflected about the time frontman Matty Healy grabbed her hand and how dull a concert can feel once someone has experienced the pit; an area of standing room only right in front of the stage; the only thing separating the crowd from the headlining act is an iron gate that can easily tip over.

“Once you’re at the front of a concert you always want to be in the front; it’s like an addiction.”

Keating doesn’t just love indie rock; there’s a soft spot in her heart for British boyband One Direction, who she started listening to as a high school freshman.

“Their last album is more mature. They grew up. It’s still pop but with an indie twist. That’s what I love about artist; you get to hear them grow.”

Keating explained that when she goes to purchase physical seats, with the money earned from her full-time job as a barista, she likes to arrival early enough to hear the opening acts and avoid the large number of concert goers that rush in right before the headliners take the stage.

“I always feel bad for the openers – it’s still daylight and they can see the empty seats and the people not paying attention to them.”

“You got to have good eyes at concerts,” Keating said, “especially when – look there’s Ross.” She paused to point at a moving fabric background where she spotted the bass player. Good eyes; especially in dim lit arenas make for great photos to share with friends, family and all your Instagram followers.

Whether it’s playing a new album on her fully automatic belt drive audio technica turntable or singing along to the tunes of homesick lovers from far off towns in her car, Keating believes:

“When people see live music, they just feel it. You feel everything that went into making it.”