Don’t be a jerk at live shows
author: etahn butterfield | staff writer
I hate it. I hate it, I hate it, I hate it.
I hate it. I hate it, I hate it, I hate it. I can’t remember the last time that I looked forward to going to a live performance of a show. There are certainly exceptions, sure, but these are once in a blue moon sort of deals, whereas everything else has been a clusterfuck to a rather staggering degree. Let me explain what I mean so, hopefully, you will understand where I’m coming from. And if you don’t, I mean, fair enough, you do you.
So, yes, if the title already didn’t give it away, then allow me. I hate people who attend live music concerts. Now, I realize this is like saying, “I hate bread because it’s what I hold my sandwich together with,” but bear with me. Have you ever been to a performance where you enjoyed yourself? You look around, and the crowd is into it, and you’re feeling positive energy as the artist finishes their song. Then, as they begin to play another one, a minute or so in you heard this loud, high-pitched, annoying sound behind you.
It turns out that it is the sound of a drunken concertgoer who decided to share their love of said song with the whole crowd. They scream and scream at the top of their lungs with shouts of “WHOOOO!” and “YEAAAAAAH!” as they must let the people up on stage know that, yes, they are indeed in the room with them. This scream feast also typically takes place during what is probably your favorite song of the night, because hey, why should you be allowed to have nice things? Why should a concert you paid your hard earned money on be enjoyable to any degree? Honestly, it’s baffling.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not some stick in the mud that demands peace and quiet throughout the whole show. Of course, people are allowed to have fun. You know what should also take place though? A wee bit of respect for those around you who didn’t intend on drinking Pilsner or Coors or whatever the hell these people drink. To recall from memory, I remember during a show featuring Bush that there was somebody directly behind me who just couldn’t seem to understand that “Oh, maybe other people would like to hear the song.” It wouldn’t have been a big deal if, you know, they hadn’t done it through “Glycerine” or “Everything Zen,” their two biggest songs!
If people should take anything away from this article, it’s that you should be respectful when going to a concert or a live show of any kind. I understand that you want to have fun, but there’s having fun, and then there’s being a complete dipshit because you wanted to have a couple with “the boys.” If you’re going to pull that loud, annoying bullshit anywhere, safe it for a pop-country show. Nobody with taste would be caught dead there anyway.