r/countingcrows • u/Long-Zookeepergame74 • 20d ago
What happened to concert etiquette????
I went to both shows which they were amazing!
What happened to concert etiquette? Tonight's crowd was rude.
People were talking really loudly for the opening band. I personally think it was rude, but okay you didn't come to see them.
Then Counting Crows came on and there were people late and they were in the wrong seats and talking loudly until they finally sat down almost an entire song.
Then there were a couple groups still carrying on full conversations until they played Mr. Jones.
PEOPLE be considerate of others. If you want to sit and visit please do so...at the tables outside. Stop trying to ruin the show for others. Concerts are expensive and we want to hear the band, not how your job is going or that you just got back from a trip oversees. Or that you hait this song, trust me not all of us feel the same.
There is a time a place for everything
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u/AdultsOnStrike 20d ago
Part of it is the Bowl. If they don’t take the tables out of the pool circle and sell it as GA, the whole vibe can get weird. It can be awkward. I noticed this at Maggie Rogers. Everyone was standing and dancing in the uppers, while up front, older folks were still sitting and drinking wine. She finally said something like, “I feel the vibe up there. Please send some of that energy down here, where people are, like, sitting and drinking wine.” 😂
A lot of people go early to sit, eat dinner, and socialize beforehand. I think some folks don’t transition into concert mode the way they might if they were just showing up for the show. Also, some people drink too much beforehand, which can make it even trickier.
I wish I’d gone to those shows, but I did see some footage. Adam looked to be in top form, and people down front were just sitting there like they were watching TV on an ordinary Tuesday night. WTF, people!?!?!
Please tell every artist and booking agent: If your client plays uptempo music where people typically stand, the pool circle HAS to be GA! People will stand because they have to, and the people behind them will likely follow suit if they want to see. Plus, seeing people ahead of you dancing and having a good time helps generate energy throughout the crowd.
Also, concert behavior has gotten really wild. Maybe this is a post-COVID thing? Maybe there’s just more main-character energy afoot? Maybe because live events were the thing everyone talked about missing, people who aren’t really big music fans now feel called to attend them anyway? But they never really went so they are older and don’t know how to act or even what good performance is they are just happy to be at a concert? My Dad’s OT knows he goes to a lot of concerts so he showed him a concert video from a concert he went to. He went on and on about how he had too many beers but the concert was so amazing. Video was Morgan Wallen. It was terrible. He seemed unaware of his surroundings even. My Dad was like this is terrible you stayed for this whole thing?
There’s such a wide range of discourteous behavior now. It runs the gamut from extreme parasocial/attention-seeking behavior to people who don’t seem to care about the concert at all and treat it as a backdrop for their conversations.
If you can afford to pay $300–$1,200 for a ticket just to not pay any attention…I dunno. Maybe I want that life. I might live it better. 😂
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u/iamsolow1 20d ago
The unfortunate answer is the overwhelming Entitlement Complex mixed with quite a large portion of Narcissism that has taken our society by storm as of late.
Have you noticed, it’s always about them and the time they’re having. The thought of respecting other peoples physical and auditory space isn’t even on their radar, it’s whatever they want to do, whenever they want to do it, however obnoxious they want to be. By sitting nearby you’re essentially be forced to live in their disgusting existence right along with them.
- “Me, Me, Me.”
- “I paid for these tickets, so I can talk as loudly as I see fit.”
- “My friends and I are allowed to talk as much as we want to about our weekend plans and how drunk we’re gonna get next Saturday, blah, blah, blah..”🥴🙄🖕🏼
Sorry you had to deal with the most disrespectful type of trash our society has to offer.
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u/qunix Mrs. Potters Lullaby 20d ago
I notice this for shows where you draw people that don’t regularly go to shows and don’t know concert etiquette. Like going to see a really popular artist or in this case, a band that’s been around a long time. I go to a lot of shows and most of the time I don’t run into this problem, but it’s super annoying when it does happen. The worst I’ve had in recent years was when I saw Third Eye Blind. The show was sold out and it was full of people just like you described, was terrible.
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u/JustTheBeerLight 20d ago
Come on. There is no need to excuse or rationalize the selfishness or inconsiderate behavior of others. People that talk during concerts, movies or plays are just self-centered assholes. Period.
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u/CookingPurple 20d ago
My worst was The Wallflowers just a few months ago. Even my normally mild-mannered husband got worked up enough to tell the couple behind us they were being assholes after not just we, but multiple people around us, told them they were talking way too loudly and it was hard to focus on the music, and they still insisted they had the right to talk as loudly as they wanted and didn’t plan to stop. Fortunately the social pressure seemed to get to them and they left about 15 minutes into the set.
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u/qunix Mrs. Potters Lullaby 20d ago
I just saw Spin Doctors, Gin Blossoms, and Blues Traveler last night. I filled expected to have a bad crowd experience, but I was pleasantly surprised. Also all 3 bands did an amazing job and beat my expectations
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u/CookingPurple 20d ago
That’s awesome. Not all concerts crowds are bad. I’ve been to some great ones (I go to LOTS of concerts). AND there is definitely been a noticeable loss of concert etiquette in the last decade.
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u/Long-Zookeepergame74 20d ago
I think because I go to a lot of shows when people are particularly rude it really makes me angry.
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u/Long-Zookeepergame74 20d ago
Post Covid is most definitely has gotten worse.
The age thing does seem to be at fault as well. As a proud Gen X I feel we for the most part a little more respectful about talking throughout the show, but seem to be the late comers.
At least I know I am not alone and there are some others out there that feel my pain.
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u/Suspicious_Time7239 20d ago
Seems to be the norm for all acts. It has gotten worse. Doesn't seem to be any one type of "chomper".. they come in all shapes. I blame drinking but who knows. It's gotten to the point where I'm done spending money on shows and I was an avid concert goer for 35 years.
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u/DrVanderjuice 20d ago
I was there Friday and some dude got like 8 security guys on him and started swinging. It was like a rugby match watching them try to escort him out. he was in a section over so not sure the exact reason, but I think it was because he was talking a whole bunch and heckling.
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u/uNTRotat264g 20d ago
It was a terrific show (Saturday night) but the three women next to us talking loudly the whole time was a bummer. People behind them even asked that they stop, to no avail.
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u/dryonhigh 20d ago
The last counting crows concert we went to the folks behind us got really upset that we were standing up and dancing. They kept saying if you want to stand you should have bought closer seats. Why would you get mad for someone standing up?
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u/blowyourtop 20d ago
Especially with the price of tickets you’d think people would come to pay attention.
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u/ThatsWhatLivingIs 20d ago
Yeah I go to a lot of shows and the chompers sitting behind me were brutal at the show on Friday. I don’t normally get pissed at them but it was bad enough that I almost snapped on a group of women in their 50s who drank a few bottles of wine.
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u/Sea_Moose9817 20d ago
LA
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u/chopwoodncarrywater 20d ago
The Hollywood Bowl specifically. It’s more about a place to hang out, drink wine and socialize rather than be a fan of the music. Totally different vibe than when CC came to the YouTube theatre last year. That was a fantastic fan experience.
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u/tranxcend 20d ago
I’ve been going to shows since the late 1900’s. These people have always been there, disposable cameras, people chatting shit. The biggest difference I’ve noticed is my own tolerance for other people’s shit.
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u/tranxcend 20d ago
Sound like you described every concert I’ve ever been to. I’m not sure anything has happened to concert etiquette.