concert etiquette

[derrickdj1]

Find a House Of Blues around you.  They host shows other than Blues.  Get some dinner, I'd recommend the shrimp with grits and then get a table about 50 ft from the stage and enjoy.  Eat some muchies and have your favorite adult beverage.  Women like this type of night out!!!

[ChuckAb3]

Signs of the times it seems. Went to my last - and I mean last Willie Nelson concert at Red Rocks 10 or so years ago. Many sloppy drunk kids standing on seats blocking everyone's view, screaming, falling down, refusing requests to stop blocking others, etc. Trying to be 'outlaws' like Willie I guess. Never again.

[twk123]

Its funny I have been to a bunch of concerts in Colorado and have always had a good time but when I moved to UT I dont even go anymore for how disrespectful the kids are. I guess since there are some many Mormons the kids have to go crazy to prove something.    You get the usual one person trying to push in front of you then they bring all their friends. Almost got in a few fights from that. Between people being dicks and crappy acoustics at the venue I would usually rather just listen to my stereo.

[Paducah Home Theater]

Its funny I have been to a bunch of concerts in Colorado and have always had a good time but when I moved to UT I dont even go anymore for how disrespectful the kids are.

I think kids, and especially girls, are being brought up being handed everything like the world owes them something. After the Buffett concert I sent a text saying "ungrateful inconsiderate muffin-top selfie generation." Just about sums up how I feel about them. College girls are cute to look at but they're self-absorbed dingbats nowadays.

Edited June 29, 2015 by MetropolisLakeOutfitters

[twk123]

Same university, this guy decides he wants to body surf at a StainD and Godsmack concert, except once he got up there, he starts kicking people in the head, hard.  Split the back of my friend's scalp open.  

 

I was at a Pepper concert in Spokane, WA and this trashed guy tried to stage dive into a bunch of 15 yr old girls. They all just swooped out of the way and he hit the deck face first. It was pretty tough to watch cause he 100% committed to the dive thinking somehow they would catch him...

[JJkizak]

Now I know why home theatres are so popular.

JJK

[minermark]

The wife and i on one of our "Cheaper" concerts,  Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull) Santa Rosa Ca, hundred mile drive one way.

Wells Fargo community theater, we arrive 4 Hrs early as our normal mo, find the place and then head out to find a local Pub.

Wine Bars? WTF? they are everywhere!

Pull into a gas station, hey youngin, where in the HELL is a Pub?

Did not find it! wine bar, $14 bucks a glass! excuse me barkeep, we have three hours to kill before the concert, $14 really?

Is there a place in Santa Rosa where one can get a simple beer? he went outside and pointed to an unmarked building.

We went, turns out MAJOR ADDITUDE! this was a biker bar, and they thought we were Cops.

An hour into drinkin, we are outside and some chick told us that.

We told her we were waiting for Jethro Tull, only after an hour later did a local come in and rave that Tull was in town, by then we just looked at the dirt bags and left.

The Concert: Jethro Tull Sucked, and will never go again, he is DEAD. listen to an alblum if you want Tull.    

[Paducah Home Theater]

The Concert: Jethro Tull Sucked, and will never go again, he is DEAD. listen to an alblum if you want Tull.

Nowadays, unless you are Jimmy Buffett and have been to the same venue for 28 years in a row and have toured for 40 years straight, if you are a classic artist and start touring every year, its pretty obvious that you just need some money. Ian Anderson keeps coming back to Nashville seemingly because of this.

Edited June 29, 2015 by MetropolisLakeOutfitters

[Maccagirl83]

I think it depends on two things:

 

1. Performer on the bill

2. The local cliente

 

I have had nothing but nice, courteous people at the Paul McCartney concerts, and Ringo concerts I have been too. Last year when Boxx and I saw Chicago/REO Speedwagon it was also nice. No rude folks, just courteous people who were there for the music.

 

But, pair REO with Styx (who I also love), and Ted Nugent, and those same fans became incredibly rude pushing you out of the front of your seat, while standing, and asking for more "dancing room." REALLY?! So, I still my hands on my hips so they stay away from me. The seat that I pay for is arm rest to arm rest. But, who asks you to move so they can have more dancing room? I think that request is a bit crazy.

 

But...thats just me. 

[angusruler]

The wife and i on one of our "Cheaper" concerts,  Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull) Santa Rosa Ca, hundred mile drive one way.

Wells Fargo community theater, we arrive 4 Hrs early as our normal mo, find the place and then head out to find a local Pub.

Wine Bars? WTF? they are everywhere!

Pull into a gas station, hey youngin, where in the HELL is a Pub?

Did not find it! wine bar, $14 bucks a glass! excuse me barkeep, we have three hours to kill before the concert, $14 really?

Is there a place in Santa Rosa where one can get a simple beer? he went outside and pointed to an unmarked building.

We went, turns out MAJOR ADDITUDE! this was a biker bar, and they thought we were Cops.

An hour into drinkin, we are outside and some chick told us that.

We told her we were waiting for Jethro Tull, only after an hour later did a local come in and rave that Tull was in town, by then we just looked at the dirt bags and left.

The Concert: Jethro Tull Sucked, and will never go again, he is DEAD. listen to an alblum if you want Tull.    

saw him, with my son, at wolftrap in va. I guess you caught him on an off night. he put on a great show for us. the "thick as a brick" show.

[Paducah Home Theater]

I just bought two tickets to a show that are split, there are two seats in between me and my wife. Hopefully whoever that is will be cool and will let us switch. Actually hopefully it will be a married couple and I can ask the guy if he wants to swap wives just to see the reaction.

[dtel]

I was at a Pepper concert in Spokane

 

Love some of there music, also some cool cover art

[jimjimbo]

I don't go to large venues anymore due to the many negative issues being raised here.  Only small performing arts centers, historic theaters, etc.  There are a lot of great artists that perform (and many prefer) in these smaller venues.  Bonamassa, Tedeschi/Trucks, Buddy Guy to name a few.

[Johnthang]

I had to leave my last concert several years ago. Too much pot smoke, I work on aircraft and get randomly tested, not going to risk my licenses for that.

Edited July 1, 2015 by Johnthang

[jacksonbart]

It happens, all apart of the live music experience, like paying for tickets.  Just need to use your brain to focus and if you can see that they are drunk.. never say anything to them... never.  Perhaps to the usher if you can find one.  Just focus on the music and hope she takes her top off. 

 

Sent from my keyboard using telekinesis.

[Paducah Home Theater]

The last year or two I've been adapting a policy of only going to concerts if I can get in the front row. It's better but stuff still happens. The worst of it is right in the middle of the crowd, seems that most of those guys are there to party and fight rather than to enjoy the music and watch the show. Go to a Buffett concert and get in the middle and people are doing the nasty right there on the lawn.

Edited July 1, 2015 by MetropolisLakeOutfitters

[ZEUS121996]

I saw Buffett in the early 80's to the Floridays tour. After that he just put out an album of mostly crap every year. We thought we'd see him at Wrigley and it was a waste of time and money. People playing with beach balls until Margaritaville, Cheeseburger, Lets get Drunk and sometimes Fins comes on and then they dont know the words.

I've got 11th row center seats for Mark Knoppfler at the Chicago Theatre  October 2nd, that should be a good show, it's a small old school place, and Knoppfler can really still pick

 

Mark

[MORE KLIPSCH PLEASE]

You know I've had a few bad experiences with some a$$ holes at some live shows. It's just crazy how some people can act. But it seems to be everywhere. If there's one thing that will get me worked up is.....if you bring some rudness and disrespect my way...I have a real problem with it.

One of my core values is to repect people and treat others the way I want to be treated. As some of you guys know my wife and I own a small auto shop. So we deal with a lot of peaple, most are great. We do have a great customer base. But in our 17+ years there are a few that just don't know how to act.....and I tell ya my wife will jump-in ya a$$.......and I guess these people have never been called out on there bullshitt. Cuz I've been in the office when some shitt has gone down. I let my wife handle her stuff. Some of the stuff that has come out of my wifes mouth is great......one guy looked at me.....like I'm going to stop my wife from speaking to him like that.....

I say she's speaking to you like that cuz your a a$$ hole......

Yea it's getting nuts

MKP :-)

[Audible Nectar]

Concert crowds are a mixed bag. What seems to be a problem is a concept of "like minds" - what is considered agreed upon proper behavior for a given show. When the opinions vary too much, it ends up being a bit of a s#itshow, and when any behavior is considered appropriate by some, it's even worse. "Love the band, hate the fans" is a sentiment I have mused on many occasions after certain shows. And it expresses itself in a myriad of ways.

 

For most concerts (rock shows) I like to see shows with enthusiastic crowds who like a party, but know enough not to make life miserable for everyone else. There is a certain expectation that people are there to enjoy the show beyond what they would do in thier own living room, but yet not to the level they might aspire to in a jail riot.

 

Rolling Stones and Jimmy Buffett shows are an interesting study because there's a large quantity of corporate types who get thier one night out per year - akin to their "New Year's Eve" - and make the most of it Practice makes perfect - and when one only does one show a year and gets so belligerantly drunk, yet still sees themselves as the in-office boss, that's a sight to behold. I find them the most intriguing, because the corporate ethos is buttoned down conservative, but they end up at these events making Rodney Dangerfield look "cultured".

 

Shows that are highly popular amongst the youth are almost always a miserable experience. Pop shows - and nowadays EDM shows and festivals, are a study in self-absorbed, obnoxious behavior beyond anything I've seen over the last 30 years of seeing shows. Imagine entire groups of 12-20 people moving  amoeba-like through a general admission crowd, pushing themselves into a space while moving other people out. Not so much pushing people with arms extended, but moving as a collective into an area, with the unspoken "we're standing here, and you're not", in the space you used to occupy. All with an ecstacy induced smile that has them believing it's OK, while pizzing off all kinds of people around them. Two years in a row I saw String Cheese Incident at a festival in Michigan, which was followed by Bassnectar an hour after the SCI show was over - and the Bassnectar crowds would show up half way through the SCI second set and start shoving people out of the way. Had they waited for SCI to be over, the field would have mostly cleared out and they could basically have most any space they wanted. After the second year, SXCI's keyboard player tweeted on his feed to the effect of "thanks Bass-Neck-Turds for last night", being so obviously obnoxious from the stage view that even they felt it appropriate to comment. I like Lorin (Bassnectar) personally, and like his act - but his fans are intolerable. These days, if he's at a fest, I go find another stage.

 

Grateful Dead shows were the most interesting social experiment ever conducted. These people were on more powerful substances than most any crowd, yet almost always got along, danced harder than any crowd, and respected each other's space better than any rock crowd ever created. They wanted you to join the party and have a great time. Seeing Grateful Dead shows helped me understand that alcohol was the worst drug ever invented. Jimmy Buffett and Rolling Stones concerts confirmed this.

 

On the other hand, there's an issue in the other direction: Those who go to see rock bands, and expect everyone to sit down like it's their living room in front of the 55", while the band's playing full tilt. If you insist on sitting on your arse while the band is in overdrive, you need to wait until the tour comes out on disc and watch it at home. The party poopers can and do spoil the show just as much as those who overdo it - I pretty much quit seeing shows at my local arena because so many people go to this place thinking that a rock show is viewed like an opera. Listen, folks - that seat is NOT for sitting in - it's just a place to mark your space and guarantee that you have a space of your own. It is understood that you don't dance at the symphony, opera, or even adult contemporary pop - but when Neil Young is shredding through a guitar every five minutes, that's not the time to be on your posterior. And it doesn't justify you demanding that everyone else in front of you sit down, either.

 

I prefer festivals with multiple stages, because it's easy to move around to different shows - and to move at any given show. If I don't like the crowd or the vibe in a given area at a certain stage, I can move a little bit and find a more like minded crowd. I've pretty much given up on most arenas and cookie cutter shed shows - especially with commercially popular acts.....I haven't bought three sets of tickets via Ticketmaster in 15 years, yet seen too many shows to count. It's the smaller shows and festivals where I tend to enjoy live music the most.

Edited July 2, 2015 by Audible Nectar

[Paducah Home Theater]

I think he just said Neil Young and "shred" in the same sentence.