Livin' in New Orleans Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 I was standing to the right of this woman...she was obnoxious. Good for Jeff, I remember being relieved when he did that. I caught both shows in Milwaukee in April. A guy in front of me was literally yelling over the music. I tapped him on the shoulder lightly and motioned with my hand for him to lower his voice. He had the nerve to ask "am I talking too loudly for you?" to which I replied "considering there's a band on stage and they're performing? yes, you are talking too loudly for me." Jerk. Sadly, basic, common courtesy seems to have gone the way of the wagon wheel...at concerts and everywhere else. It never ceases to amaze me how selfish people can be, and how oblivious this makes them... they come to a concert to enjoy music (I think) with a group of people. Not only should they want to shut the fuck up or stay still for once in their lives for their sake, but for the sake of others who are trying to enjoy.. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nobody Girl Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 call me a party pooper but i hate drunk people at shows. just got back from seeing Bob Dylan and 2/3 of the audience was plastered. all i want to do is listen to the music and watch my fav. band/ artist perform. i don't care if people sing and dance along, just try and be sober about it. but no, i get sweaty drunk guys falling all over me. if they were cute drunk girls, that'd be ok but they're always guys. and then the drunk guys inevitably try and hit on the pretty sober girls standing around enjoying the music and they're really loud and obnoxious about it like, "hey you're so hot, wanna drink?" and i'm like, "dude, Bob Dylan is 100 feet away from us playing It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) and you're trying to pick up a girl?" what a freakin' world we live in. ok, that's my rant for the month.At Drive-By Truckers last month, I ended up having to elbow this drunk dude in the gut so he would stop pushing me into the stage. After I did it, he raised his hands in the air and said "saw-REE," like pushing me was a perfectly acceptable thing for him to be doing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 Louie,Was that on the final night of the Residency? I recall Mary and I standing next to you and Maggie and there was some really odd girl that none of us knew that was very stalker-ish. She came out of nowhere.No, she was weird though, sitting on the floor and stareing at Tweedy when she did stand up. That one had a Univ of Chicago sweat shirt on. This was a night or so before that. She was literally a kid with her BF and had probably never been to a show before. I had to get a security guy involved. It was totally stupid. The show hadn't even gotten close to beginning and people were just standing around for the long wait and she pushed right up against me and wouldn't move, long long before anyone hit the stage. Weird weird shit goes on at rock concerts which is why most older folks stay away. When you take out the chairs, everyone feels like they get free reign. LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IRememberDBoon Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 you guys should have been at Dead shows in 88 - 89 on the floor of Hampton. It was like a flipping acid test in there. Talk about seeing some weird shit. that combined with the drunks made for some real fun. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stooka Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 auditorium venue - circa 1983 - general admission out of nowhere a cop grabs your arm after he notices you're smokin' a doob. your buddy (holding) runs from the stands toward an empty exit area, so the cop loosens his grip. do you... a. wait to see if he goes for your friend, then get lost in the crowd.b. assist the cop in loosening his grip, then get lost in crowd.c. surrender peacefully, then curse Billy Squire 'til the day you die. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kidsmoke Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 I wish I had a dime for every time this was discussed here over the years. When venues went to GA and more specifically, no chairs, they opened the door for all kinds of bad behavior that will never change. As long as folks think they can do whatever they want and not give a shit about anyone else in the audience, we will get these kinds of complaints. (My two favorite stories both involve young women, one who burned me with a cigarette twice at Summerfest and the other who pushed right up against me prior to one of the Residency shows because she couldn't see; this was long before the show even started. I had to turn around, step on her foot and threaten her to get her to back off.) LouieB Lou, I had a similar situation once, and found a very effective solution...I turned to the pushy (but oh-so-happy!) young lady crowding me and said with a pleasant, if weak, smile: "I'm sorry, but please don't crowd me...it's so warm in here I feel like I might throw up." She got the message and backed away. Guess she didn't want vomit on her shoes. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
u2roolz Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 I caught both shows in Milwaukee in April. A guy in front of me was literally yelling over the music. I tapped him on the shoulder lightly and motioned with my hand for him to lower his voice. He had the nerve to ask "am I talking too loudly for you?" to which I replied "considering there's a band on stage and they're performing? yes, you are talking too loudly for me." Jerk. Sadly, basic, common courtesy seems to have gone the way of the wagon wheel...at concerts and everywhere else. Wow, some people are all about themselves and haven't got a clue about what a certain event should be like. Or maybe they do and they want to get into a fight to defend their freedom to do as they want at a show? Did Jeff call this guy out? If not maybe the fans should team up and rough this guy up or threaten to cut his tongue out and throw it out on stage. "am I talking too loudly for you?" - man, I can just picture this guy and exactly the way he would look while saying it too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
double A-ron Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 auditorium venue - circa 1983 - general admission out of nowhere a cop grabs your arm after he notices you're smokin' a doob. your buddy (holding) runs from the stands toward an empty exit area, so the cop loosens his grip. do you... a. wait to see if he goes for your friend, then get lost in the crowd.b. assist the cop in loosening his grip, then get lost in crowd.c. surrender peacefully, then curse Billy Squire 'til the day you die. In 1983, definately "B". Now that I am old, I'd pull a "C" like in Maine. Don't fight and they won't bother you. I just had to pull another one out and light it up, always bring a back-up! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
u2roolz Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 To LouieB and Kidsmoke and others who have posted about "clingy" people I am reposting this from earlier this year. My worst concert experience: The 2 worst experiences I had were at the same venue: Agganis Arena at BU. 1. Pixies in 05- This couple gets in front of me and my friend. We're in the front row of the 2nd second floor section. So these people obviously aren't in their seats. I try tapping the girl's shoulder first since she was in front of me. Nothing. Than I look for the staff to help out or at least do a nod to this not-in-their-seat-couple. More tapping. I try speaking but it's too loud. So I start blowing at the back of her head. Well, this she felt since she spun around like the devil and threw her $5.00 water at me. So of course at this point the security comes over and she starts yelling at him about me and he starts to say, "come with me." To which I try to tell him, "check my tickets and than check theirs...we're in the 1st row of this section..." So finally he notices that they're in the wrong and than he takes them away. It was a total deliberate invasion of space. She was in a position much like one's girlfriend would be. Her ass was in my crotch when she danced. Normally I guess I wouldn't mind given the situation but there wasn't even a foot between us and she was there with her boyfriend. I couldn't move and the PIxies already played Subbacultcha, so that ruled out any fantasy that would have manifested. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Jules Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 My first rule of concert etiquette is to spell etiquette correctly. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bigshoulders Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 call me a party pooper but i hate drunk people at shows. just got back from seeing Bob Dylan and 2/3 of the audience was plastered. all i want to do is listen to the music and watch my fav. band/ artist perform. i don't care if people sing and dance along, just try and be sober about it. but no, i get sweaty drunk guys falling all over me. if they were cute drunk girls, that'd be ok but they're always guys. and then the drunk guys inevitably try and hit on the pretty sober girls standing around enjoying the music and they're really loud and obnoxious about it like, "hey you're so hot, wanna drink?" and i'm like, "dude, Bob Dylan is 100 feet away from us playing It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) and you're trying to pick up a girl?" what a freakin' world we live in. ok, that's my rant for the month.You must've been at the show at the Durham Bulls ball park.They really should have cut some folks off! I took a lower-key approach and sat in the stands with my girl to avoid this very kind of unpleasantness. There were a lot of drunk lobsters out there... talk about skin cancer waitin' to happen. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tangara Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Oddly enough I'm listening to the Bon Iver bootleg from Bonnaroo whilst reading this thread. Yes, a Bon Iver set can be pretty quiet, and yes, festival crowds are a whole 'nother animal, but whyyyyy are these stupid dudes standing next to the taper and discussing Scarlett Johanssen at the top of their lungs? My general rule of thumb is that if I have my earplugs in and I can still hear 'em yappin', I'm gonna say something. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
barbkm Posted July 31, 2009 Author Share Posted July 31, 2009 My first rule of concert etiquette is to spell etiquette correctly. Jeez - Louise. I did not realize we were getting graded on this. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HungryHippo Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 You must've been at the show at the Durham Bulls ball park.They really should have cut some folks off! I took a lower-key approach and sat in the stands with my girl to avoid this very kind of unpleasantness. There were a lot of drunk lobsters out there... talk about skin cancer waitin' to happen.yup, that was the show! i decided to leave early due to everyone being wasted. getting stuck in after show traffic with a bunch of drunks is not my definition of safety. i'm kicking myself for having missed LARS, Jolene and AATW i can live without. i thought about sitting in a seat but wasn't sure if they were reserved or not. man, that sure would have beat being packed like a sardine in crazy hot heat by the front of the stage. there was this really nice wind that would blow down on us like once every 45 mins. it would last a second or 2 but it kept me going, haha. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Edie Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 Barb, thanks for your efforts, but I believe everything we need to know about concert ettiquette was already outlined for those of us at VC here. Ha -- I think this is the thread where BigRay said he wanted to kick one or more of us women in the ovaries -- but then edited his post. Priceless stuff, really Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jcamp Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 Because, for that moment, the jackass become significant. For good or bad, people crave significance. At least that's what Tony Robbins told me. I prefer Tom Robbins to Tony Robbins !!Thank you for such a wonderful and hilarious thread. Was the long long wait for Chicago shows intentional as to be after the mid-October official Olympic 2016 host city announcement ? I'm hopin' to see Wilco at the Auditorium in late Nov Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bldad Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 Barb, thanks for your efforts, but I believe everything we need to know about concert ettiquette was already outlined for those of us at VC here. Wow. I forgot how that may have been the most offensive/funniest discussion ever at VC. Possibly the best thread ever. Now if we could just revive the debate over whether "Hell IsChrome"is one song or two. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kelly Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 I have listened to 100-150 Wilco shows on tape the past few years and am surprised at the # of talkers that are present at shows. I believe it was either 4.18.09 or 4.22.09 when Jeff really got after the talkers. If you wanna talk A. go to the lobby. B. Go to the outside smoking area. C. Go somewhere else period. It is disrespectful to the band, it is disrespectful to the people around you. Since starting collecting and downloading shows about 8 years ago, when I attend in person I try to act as if a taper is close by and you can still have a good time applying this mentality. Being courteous and respectful especially in a crowd can go a long way. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Jules Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 I'm hopin' to see Wilco at the Auditorium in late NovWhat Auditorium? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
fatheadfred Posted August 5, 2009 Share Posted August 5, 2009 No clapping at solo shows. It hurts my ears when I listen to the bootlegs. Or maybe just do a golf clap. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bigshoulders Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 Wow. I forgot how that may have been the most offensive/funniest discussion ever at VC. Possibly the best thread ever. +1Does anyone know if BigRay is still around under a different name? Maybe we can stir that turd some more, for old time's sake? We could use some excitement around here. Just sayin'. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
caliber66 Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 BigRay posted a new thread this week in JAF. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bigshoulders Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 BigRay posted a new thread this week in JAF.Right you are. I even posted in that topic. I really need a proof-reader before posting. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
caliber66 Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tblair Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 4 -- Repect personal space. Feel free to dance and bop at will -- I do -- but no one wants you mashing up against them or stepping on their toes. Try what I do -- I don't move my feet. I bounce in place. A bonus-- this is a great upper thigh and ass work out. If I had 2 or 3 shows a week, my ass would be rockin!dance without moving your feet...?? then it's not dancing. So, no dancing at Wilco shows? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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