Concert
etiquette necessary for fans
By
Jonathan Sullivan
SAN DIEGO (U-Wire) — I recently attended a set of four concerts in one
week. I went to both days of Street Scene, saw 311 play in Anaheim the following
Monday and finished up with System of a Down that Saturday. It was a great
stretch of music, but I noticed something as the last few notes of “Sugar” were
exploding from Daron Malakian’s guitar: Many people have no idea how
to act at a concert.
It’s certainly true music touches each person in a unique manner, and
a wide spectrum of behavior can be expected. However, there are a few things
people should not do under any circumstances while at a concert.
Cell phones: Unless you are meeting someone at the show, leave the cell phone
in the car. It will be utterly useless once you get inside. Any pictures you
take with it will not turn out due to the horrid resolution that all cell phone
cameras have. It will also be too loud to call your friend during his or her
favorite song. Your friend will not hear anything but white noise. And even
if there was an emergency, it is extremely unlikely your phone will save you.
Dress Code: If you are attending a rock concert, don’t get dressed up
for it. It is likely a general admission show, which means you will be standing
next to a large group of people you do not know for three hours. If you want
to get close to the stage, you will have to deal with mosh pits, crowd surfers
and a throng that naturally surges from side to side.
Best case scenario: You will end up with a buffet of sweat from 50 strangers
on your favorite shirt. Worst case scenario: You get beer spilled on you, or
possibly blood from a crowd surfer passing overhead.
Cameras: In general, cameras are not good things to bring with you.
Many artists do not allow photography at their shows and disobeying this rule
can get you kicked out without a warning or a refund. Second, unless you fight
your way through the crowd to get relatively close, the zoom on your camera
isn’t strong enough to make the pictures worthwhile.
It is also quite easy to lose your $300 digital camera in the middle of a crowd — it
may have only been a gift, but is that one picture of Brandon Flowers worth
it?
Alcohol: As with any other activity involving alcohol, know your limits. You
may think that you have a better time when you get trashed before the show,
but nobody around you appreciates it when you throw up in the aisle or on a
person, then stumble around all night belting out your favorite songs completely
off-key.
Concerts can be a lot of fun, and I have more fun going to shows than anything
else I can think of, but what people do when they go out to see their favorite
band never ceases to amaze me.
Do yourself a favor when Green Day rolls into town in a few weeks: Leave the
cell phone at home, wear old clothes you don’t care about and have two
beers rather than six shots. You will still have a great time and it will not
look like it’s the first time in you life you have ever seen live music. |
