remphish1 Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 I'm 5'1" on a good day and I've spent 20+ years going to concerts and looking at people's backs and having skinny guys stick their elbows in my face while they drink beer. There are many, many bands that I'm not even sure what they look like. I don't ask to stand in front of tall people, but twice nice tall people have offered to let me stand in front of them. Once at Wilco and once it was another band. If you were the guy in Dublin who moved to let me around you, thank you. I wish you let my husband and myself buy you a beer. I get the whole standing your ground to keep your spot thing. I just think that if I were tall and someone short were behind me, I might feel a little weird that they can't see a thing, but if I let them stand in front of me, we would both see just fine. The problem with this is the short girl and the tall boyfriend that follows after you let the short person infront of you. Most people are in a group so you are not just letting 1 person in front of you. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gogo Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 I get the whole standing your ground to keep your spot thing. I just think that if I were tall and someone short were behind me, I might feel a little weird that they can't see a thing, but if I let them stand in front of me, we would both see just fine.Where I think this falls apart is when you're talking about the front row. If I'm standing a few rows back (I'm 5'3"), I think it's sweet, although certainly not necessary, when taller people let me around them, or make an effort to not bob around directly in front of me, etc. But for people who've made an effort to get there early to get to the very front row of a show, for me, that front row is as much about real estate as it is about being short. I like having a spot that's identifiable (how often do you start off standing at one place in a concert crowd, and get shifted to a worse spot, just by the flow of the crowd, without even realizing it?), so if I go to the bathroom or whatever, I can usually come back to it. Also, in a really pushy crowd, I can give myself a little breathing room by standing a few inches back from the rail or stage. But if I'm in the center of a crowd and the people around me start smooshing in, I'm kind of stuck. That's all even aside from just the fun of being as close as possible to the band. So I can see why tall people would want to be in the front row, for those same reasons. Letting a shorter person in ahead of you might be a nice gesture, but it's also a sacrifice, and it's not just about being able to see over the other person. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
fatheadfred Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 Jeff crowd surfed at the first Wilco show I went to 2/15/97 Irving Plaza. what an asshole Quote Link to post Share on other sites
remphish1 Posted August 15, 2009 Share Posted August 15, 2009 what an asshole Ok then Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Al.Ducts Posted August 15, 2009 Share Posted August 15, 2009 I'm a 5'10" skinny 19 year old. I will most likely get pushed and moved all over the place on the floor in chicago and st. paul. And I'm going to love every second of it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
H.Stone Posted August 15, 2009 Share Posted August 15, 2009 Ok then I think you should read it like this: [sarcasm] what an asshole [/sarcasm] Quote Link to post Share on other sites
remphish1 Posted August 15, 2009 Share Posted August 15, 2009 I am very bad at detecting sarcasim on the internet Quote Link to post Share on other sites
So Long Posted August 15, 2009 Share Posted August 15, 2009 what an original comment, no one's ever had trouble with that before Einstein. You're a real genius... I joke. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
remphish1 Posted August 15, 2009 Share Posted August 15, 2009 what an original comment, no one's ever had trouble with that before Einstein. You're a real genius... I joke. That one I got.. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
barbkm Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 I'm 5'11, but there's almost always somebody shorter standing behind me. Am I an ass for staking out my spot and refusing to step aside? Or would I first need to be 6'3" to be an ass? Perhaps venues should systematically seat audience members according to height, shortest in front, tallest in back. That way no one would have to suffer the irritation of human variation. I was at at Robyn Hitchcock show at Maxwells in Hoboken when he made that observation. Short people, tall people -- as long as they don't push up to the front. E.g, Calvin Theatre, this past March. Towards the end, a pretty big guy ran down to the corner of the stage and just stood there -- blocking the view of the 8 people who were sitting in the front two rows on the left (one was me). Most of the time, I'm pretty nice, but that was just so rude. So, before the secrutity guard arrived, I let him know that he was blocking our view. Then he apologized and left. Or, at Wappingers Falls when -- again during the encore, a very drunk young lady (you could have started a car with her breath -- I'm no prude, I enjoy my Coronas and white woine, but not tolerant of drunkenss that leads to rudness at shows). Anywho, she barged up to the front and started dancing, almost globbering any around her. Crap like that make me nuts. Also -- why spend the $$ on a ticket, but then get to drunk to remember the show? Seems like a waste. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
barbkm Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 I'm 6'4", and have been in the front row 6 times... No one's ever complained to me. If they did I'd move. In fact, I usually ask the people behind me if they can see alright. My girlfriend is 5'0", so generally she gets dibs as well. Was I staning next to you and your girlfrind at Pines Theater in 2007-- were you the one who kept guessing the next song by JT's guitar? I ask cos I remember this couple with a pretty serious height disparity. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pmancini100 Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 i have gone to 4 wilco shows, and everyone i met there was cool as hell. noone was rude at all. i cant say the same about ryan adams shows. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
uncool2pillow Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 A bit OT, about a month ago we heard Freebird on the radio, so I taught my 4-year-olds that you're supposed to yell for that at concerts between songs. My kids are pumped to put this into practice the next time they go to a concert. I know it's rude, stupid, and juvenile, but I find it amusing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
c.lo Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 in the last few years most of my annoyances are with General Admission shows:-people who rush the stage, when you've waited in your spot for an hour-drunken wanderers who spill their beer on you/your sandals as they pass you-aggressive dancers As for Wilco shows, I'm 5'2 & in Lewiston a very tall man stood in front of me.He did ask if I could see (I couldn't) & then shifted over a bit so that I could.nice. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IRememberDBoon Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 "I was on mushroom chocolates at Tipitinas and some dink behind me started singing EVERY single word to EVERY single song. After about three songs I couldn’t take it and took off out of the crowd and ran to the back of the room. The mushies had me embarrassed for the guy or something. I flipped." Can I add that this was at the absolute top of his lungs Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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