Going to gigs. What do you love or hate about it?

[LeftyP]

Most of my pet peeves have been covered but people who talk all through the gig and are obsessed with their 'phones is very distracting.  I have been to some country music gigs where people sit around tables, with their backs to the stage, chatting and laughing out loud during the performance.  One chap even walked in front of the singer, stopped in front of her and shouted to his friend, "Was it a pint of bitter or lager?"!  Some people should not be allowed out.

As for seated concerts; My younger and prettier half has dragged me to several Barry Manilow concerts - for which I had the pleasure of paying.  They have been seated concerts but as soon as Bazza walked on stage all the "old enough to know better" women leaped to their feet forcing those behind to stand too.  In Newcastle Arena we had front row seats and women just came and stood in front of us and were none too pleased when I shoved them out of the way.

Why is it that the people who sit in the middle of the row arrive last!

[stewblack]

I really dislike big venues. Went to Cardiff to see a band once and had no sense of interaction with them. 

A cattle shed near Exeter was similarly unpleasant. I am happiest if, when I employ my sparkling wit, and yell at the stage, the audience and the band can all hear what I have to say. 

[Cuzzie]

If people want a nudge I’ll kindly invite them to the mosh pit and thrash it out there - it’s just like playing rugby again - same goes for if they nudge anyone I am with 

[SumOne]

I don't mind rowdyness at a gig and people getting over excited about getting to the front, it's all part of the hype of live music and being 6'3" means I can almost always see the stage.

What annoys me is people getting towards the front then not getting into the music - checking phones/chatting etc. 

[DawnPatroller]

Want to know what I love about gigs? Not having to stand RIGHT NEXT to the sound desk to get the best possible sound experience every single gig we went to together because ex can't enjoy himself if sound isn't perfectly perfect. What I also love about gigs is not having to look at his frowny face for 90 minutes when he thinks the sound engineer isn't doing his job properly. Which we'd know about obviously, what with being RIGHT NEXT to the guy.

And breathe ....

[scalpy]

The volume.

[ubit]

2 hours ago, redbandit599 said:

Not being able to see because hundreds of twonks are holding their phones above their heads taking videos that they'll never watch, and will just be a view of a hundred twonks phones anyway...

We went to see Seether a while back and the gig was ruined by hundreds of phones being held aloft. One girl even had an effin iPad! How we laughed when we saw that she was video'ing herself. All the resulting videos invariably end up on Youtube and are shite!

[Newfoundfreedom]

3 hours ago, Nail Soup said:

Hate: People!

Fixed it for you. 

[Ed_S]

I don't like to have anyone else to worry about when I'm going to gigs - I'd much rather go on my own. If I go with friends I'll reiterate my position, make a point of telling them to do their own thing and agree to meet back at the car/hotel/train, because there's nothing worse than group decisions about where to stand and which least-favourite song should get sacrificed to go to the bar, or whether somebody's tired and wants to leave early, or where to go for food afterwards, or whether I'll hold their pint/bag/phone/coat/burrito/whatever while they go for a pee. If I'm not just left alone and allowed to be completely 'in the moment' and absorbed in what I'm watching, then I'm unlikely to be enjoying myself and there's really no point me paying to be there.

That aside, it's just people being irritatingly thoughtless and unaware of their surroundings or needlessly aggressive that can spoil it for me. Some of those types have provided amusement or at least decent stories, mind...

I recall going to see Motorhead and being stood towards the back when a fairly short lass started back-pedalling towards me, clearly only concerned with getting a better view over the crowd. She literally back-heeled my toes and then stepped up onto my steels, believing them to be some kind of fortuitously placed riser. The height difference was such that - even stood on my shoes - she wasn't actually obscuring my view, so I just stood there amused, looking like a metal penguin for a bit and waited until she noticed. When she did, she must have jumped far enough to get at least a fleeting glance.. of her house.

I was on the very edge of a pit at one gig.. can't remember who was playing.. when a bloke flew out towards me and I had all on just getting my arm up to protect my face from his. He obliterated his nose into my upper arm, apologised and headed straight back in, pouring blood everywhere. The next day I was left with a dead arm and a massive bruise, but figured he'd probably woken up looking worse, so I got on with my day.. which included attending a funeral. As I was sat in the service needing to look suitably sombre and contemplative, the nerve in my shoulder decided to un-pinch and I got level-500 pins and needles down my arm and half my face. Cheers for that experience, lad.. hope your nose set at a right-angle!

Another edge of the pit experience was at a Megadeth gig where a bloke tottered back from the bar between the bulk of the pit and me, carrying one of those 2-pint plastics in each hand. The crowd surged and knocked both of them upwards, but he kept tight hold of them so they just went straight over his shoulders. Straight over me. 4 pints of Strongbow. I decided that I didn't like Judas Priest enough to stay and watch them headline the gig whilst I was p-wet-through and smelling like a urinal. Ruined my leather jacket, and Megadeth had just played absolutely terribly, so that was an expensive night with few redeeming features. I still spare a thought for the guy who lost 4 pints purchased at arena prices - my jacket only cost a couple of hundred quid!

[4000]

I love live music. I generally hate audiences. 😉 I hate people who talk loudly through the set. The worst was watching the Musical Box at the Manchester Apollo a few years back. There were a bunch of absolutely plastered older guys talking at ridiculous volume all the way though. At one point a woman stood up and asked them really politely to please be quiet as they were spoiling it for everyone and they told her to Eff off. Then at the end one of them went up to her and I saw her go running up to a security guard. As I passed I heard her saying he’d threatened to beat her up outside. Unbelievable. 

The phones thing is also a nightmare, the worst culprit being the Richard who stood in front of me with his phone in my face taking photos literally all night at the Babymetal gig at Brixton, the first time I’d seen them. I don’t think he was listening at all. Utterly ruined the gig for me; I spent most of the evening trying to resist the overwhelming urge to punch him in the head and smash his phone. The one positive is it made the next time I saw them so much better, I had a whale of a time. 

Actually, thinking about it it’s not just audiences I hate. It’s people generally. 😂
 

 

[Newfoundfreedom]

Best gigs I ever went to was with a good friend of mine who is paralysed from the waist down and in a wheelchair. Although he's totally independent, he gets to take someone along as a career and they go free. So we'd go halves in the price of his ticket. Priority entry. The views were always phenomenal, no danger of anyone bumping into you or standing in front of you, and usually no more than a few yards from a toilet. 

[4000]

3 minutes ago, Ed_S said:

I don't like to have anyone else to worry about when I'm going to gigs - I'd much rather go on my own. If I go with friends I'll reiterate my position, make a point of telling them to do their own thing and agree to meet back at the car/hotel/train, because there's nothing worse than group decisions about where to stand and which least-favourite song should get sacrificed to go to the bar, or whether somebody's tired and wants to leave early, or where to go for food afterwards, or whether I'll hold their pint/bag/phone/coat/burrito/whatever while they go for a pee. If I'm not just left alone and allowed to be completely 'in the moment' and absorbed in what I'm watching, then I'm unlikely to be enjoying myself and there's really no point me paying to be there.

This. Absolutely. If I’m with someone I just worry all night that they’re ok, enjoying themselves etc. 

[pineweasel]

I like enjoying a pint or two while watching bands, so for me the most irritating thing is venues with a poor choice of overpriced beer. Smaller independent values are often pretty good these days, but the likes of the O2 are dreadful. 

[Dad3353]

The over-night (dusk till dawn...) double bill of The Doors/Jefferson Airplane was one of the high spots in my concert-going daze. The Roundhouse, Chalk Farm was the venue; I spent most of the night cross-legged in the middle of the throng with an unknown-to-me French girl on my lap. So absorbed by the music, I totally forgot even to ask her name, and never saw her again. I walked home to Bedfont from there in the early morning light, and didn't notice how far it was. Happy daze..! 

[Lozz196]

I suppose seeing as the post is what do you love or hate about going to gigs and I’ve already said what I hate then I should answer the other part, what do I love?

Well seeing the band obviously, but  that first chord/song just brings a smile to my face. Hearing how a band represents their recordings live is a good one, can they do it or do they fall short. Checking out their back lines and instruments. Seeing how they adapt recordings for live arrangements, and finding out who the natural performers are in the band (not always as obvious as would be thought). Buying a t-shirt or the new CD. 

I suppose I like a lot more about gigs than I dislike. I do prefer to stand at the back/near the sound desk rather than down the front but that’s not age related, I’ve always preferred that, I can hear better there and it just makes sense to me if going to see a band to be where the best sound is.

[peteb]

5 hours ago, MHMSWC#03 said:

Want to know what I love about gigs? Not having to stand RIGHT NEXT to the sound desk to get the best possible sound experience every single gig we went to together because ex can't enjoy himself if sound isn't perfectly perfect. What I also love about gigs is not having to look at his frowny face for 90 minutes when he thinks the sound engineer isn't doing his job properly. Which we'd know about obviously, what with being RIGHT NEXT to the guy.

And breathe ....

To be honest, I know plenty of people who can be that guy at times and my missus sometimes complains that I (along with most of my mates) will critique a band to the nth degree, while she just wants to sing along and enjoy the band! That's just one of the issues of being married to a muso! 

Beyond that, I just like being in a crowd watching live music. I'm not too keen on stadium gigs, but concert halls, decent clubs or even pubs are fine for me. 

[12stringbassist]

People are talking about their bad experiences with other people at gigs. I went to The Ritz in Manchester to watch Chas And Dave. I don't own their records, but I thought they are one of those bands you should see before you die.

I got there when the doors opened and went centre front. I staked my place and got it and didn't move for anything. Great view. The support band were interminable. I forget their name.

Chas & Dave and their drummer came on and played a set of bazzing rock and roll stuff, some corny hits that I'd forgotten about before the gig and soon after.

A few songs in, this woman came up behind me, started elbowing me in the back, and loudly demanding to go in front of me. She shouted in my ear that she'd come all the way from Cockneyland and was their #1 fan and HAD to be front centre. She was entitled to be where i was standing, so I should move. I said she should have got on the train earlier to get to the front before me, then. She wasn't impressed by my Northern logic and started sticking her elbows in me again. After about a minute of this, I shouted at her to eff right off, or I would hit her back. She got the picture and moved to the right and started on another couple. They basically said the same thing and didn't wait so long to loudly tell her to eff off. Dave Peacock on bass was watching what was going on and looked very disturbed (either by the sight of this daft woman bashing their audience, or by all of the front row of the said audience telling her to eff off - and we were not quiet about it).

After failing miserably to get people to move, she came back and started on me yet again. Other people around me started joining in telling her to eff off too.

After about half an hour or so, I was pretty much bored stiff with Chas and Dave and felt like getting on the train and going home. but was I going to give that loudmouthed woman my place? No. I stuck it out to the bitter end. Never have I ever wanted a group to not do a third encore before.

[ubit]

I think my trouble is I still love seeing bands live but I have grown old enough to hate the pushing and shoving that goes with it. Also I love new music so this brings me into contact with young 'uns. Not a good mix. Young energetic drunk people and older, more sedate less drunk people.

Another occasion I remember was again, in the Cathouse. We were watching The Dead Daisies and the bass player Mark Mendoza was prolific in his throwing of pics into the audience. This girl in front of me had collected about six by desperately diving in every direction. one hit me on the shoulder, I bent to pick it up and was about ten inches from doing so when this foot stamped on it claiming it. I looked up in disbelief and this same woman was looking at me with a watery smile as if to say you were too slow. Another pic came flying and she tried again to get it but a guy next to me picked it up. She put on her sad eyes and I couldn't believe it. He gave it to her! I thought what a desperate, selfish beach. I wasn't that bothered but a little momento of the gig would have been nice. I got one the next time we saw them play.

I forgot to say, said girl was no girl. She was a full blooded middle aged "rock chick"

Edited June 26, 2021 by ubit

[DawnPatroller]

I was at an Anthrax gig some years ago. They hadn’t toured for a while and everybody was really amped up to see them again. There was a big pit for the duration of the set, it didn’t stop the entire time. I was right behind the row of those standing on the edge of the pit, which of course is like the wall you bounce off when you come flying out and go back in again. Some big guy was standing in front of me with a girl, looked like they were on a date. Every time someone came hurtling out of the pit and made contact with them, he got really agitated and began getting aggressive with people allegedly “bumping into his girlfriend”.

What an idiot, what do you expect if that’s where you going to stand? If you don't want to get bumped then you move back and blend into the crowd a little.

One unlucky guy ended up flying into him twice and the second time it happened, the guy grabbed him and threatened to punch his lights out if he crashed into him again. Like, how do you have any control over where the pit takes you. There was no point trying to intervene, there was no way to communicate with the sound so loud. The gig finally ended when some mosher came sliding across the floor at speed and his boot made contact with the girls ankle. I watched it happen - she hesitated and then dropped to the ground in a heap sobbing like she had suffered a footballing injury.

Fair to say that pair had an awful night out, whilst the other 1000 people at the show had a cracking time. Including me and my mate standing behind them, rolling our eyes.

Edited June 26, 2021 by MHMSWC#03

[Geek99]

They sound like a lovely couple - was one ginger and the other darker, perhaps a bit American-sounding? 

[Barking Spiders]

I hate indoor gigs, all for the reasons others have stated and some! Don't really like the big festivals either unless there's a must-see band. The nicest is Folk by The Oak at Hatfield House. Relaxed, spacious and good natured.

[Doctor J]

31 minutes ago, Geek99 said:

They sound like a lovely couple - was one ginger and the other darker, perhaps a bit American-sounding? 

[Downunderwonder]

18 hours ago, ubit said:

my middle aged moan.

Sounds like you skipped middle age and signed up for the geezerhood. Welcome Brother.

[Downunderwonder]

5 minutes ago, Doctor J said:

Jeez he has tidied up since that pic. I wonder if that's the wife?

[pst62]

17 hours ago, redbandit599 said:

anyone with a flag obscuring the stage deserves an 'old-school Monsters of Rock plastic bottle attack.' 🤘

Especially the ones filled with bodily waste fluids! Which reminds me, the last time I was at Donington was 1986, and I witnessed some unfortunates get plastered with the contents of a plastic bag which, by the looks of them contained not only urine. They quickly lost interest in watching The Scorpions.