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


ubit

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I love going to see live music being played by real musicians. These days we prefer slightly smaller, more intimate gigs. The trouble I find is that people push and shove you to get a better view. Manners go out the window. We were at a gig and we met a guy that we knew. He had a friend that got talking. During the gig everyone was reasonably spaced out and enjoying the band. This friend of the friend came and said hi. He then proceeded to push past and stand right in front of us. I thought what a Richard!

On another occasion we were at the Alice n Chains gig in Glasgow. Again, everyone was reasonably spaced although tightly but it was amicable and friendly. All of a sudden these young folk came barging through spilling my pint and fighting their way to the front. I was raging and pushed one of them back. This girl started screaming in my face and I started screaming back at her. Neither of us could hear the other so it was quite comical. What annoyed me was the fact that I was young when this band started and these upstarts hadn't even been born probably. What gives people the right to barge past others at gigs? Occasionally you hear bands slagging people for fighting in the crowd. It's probably because someone barged past someone else and they were not happy.

There, that's my middle aged moan.

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The last (as in 'most recent'...) gig I attended was to see (feel..?) Magma, in Rennes. Everyone had comfortable seats and a fine view, and no question of 'pints', as far as I could tell. No issues; everyone enjoyed the event. :|

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3 minutes ago, Dad3353 said:

The last (as in 'most recent'...) gig I attended was to see (feel..?) Magma, in Rennes. Everyone had comfortable seats and a fine view, and no question of 'pints', as far as I could tell. No issues; everyone enjoyed the event. :|

Ah, now all seated events are vastly different. People have manners and don't push or shove.

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9 minutes ago, ubit said:

Ah, now all seated events are vastly different. People have manners and don't push or shove.

No they just stand up. Then the people behind them have to stand up to see, and so and and so on. 

I would never go to a gig unless it's seated, due to a back problem which means I can't stand for long periods of time. 

Then you get some bell end standing and the whole arena has to stand. Which makes having a seat pointless. 

Pretty much the reason I haven't been to a large gig for over a decade. 

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I was at a festival in Milwaukee years ago. Summerfest it was called. Wolfmother were playing and I rushed around to see them. Unfortunately they had put benches out, which during the day had provided a nice seat for everyone to watch the bands. Once night fell and the bigger name  bands came on everyone just stood on the benches. If you didn't have a bench space you had no chance of seeing the band. Even a tall person wouldn't be able to see. I heard the band but couldn't find anywhere to see them.

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At a Chic gig a few years ago, towards the end of their set somebody grabbed my shoulder and tried to pull me backwards to get past me. When I turned to see what was going on, a young lady in her early 20's (at most) was trying to force her way past me. I'm sure the expression on my face fully conveyed just what I thought of her stupidity and she pointed towards the stage and shrieked "BUT I LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE HIMMMMMM!!!"

I love going to gigs in Europe, the attendees tend to be far more respectful of space and I've never seen the kind of attitude where latecomers think they're entitled to barge their way towards the front. I don't go to big gigs anymore as the size of venue tends to be proportional to the amount of chocolate starfish you'll encounter. I also dislike watching gigs on a faraway screen with the sound bouncing off walls or, worse, stadium stands before it gets to my ears so I imposed a budget cap on how much I'll pay for a ticket. Small venues, close to the band, no event-junkies, just lovely.

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7 minutes ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

No they just stand up. Then the people behind them have to stand up to see, and so and and so on. 

I have found this. The difference is even although they are standing, they can't push you out of the way. I went to see Jethro Tull a couple of years back and everyone stayed sitting. Very refined audience.

 

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I prefer standing at gigs, but I'm quite tall, 6 feet, but my partner is only a bout 5 5  someone tall always stands in front of her, although she prefers standing it puts her off,  tbh I don't enjoy big gigs these days, Rock City is about as big as I want it to be (we've found a spot where there's a step to stand on), big festivals like Glastonbury and Stadium gigs hold no interest to me whatsoever

I enjoy seeing a covers band in the local pub as much as anything

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We were at a gig in the Cathouse in Glasgow a while back and anyone who knows it will know that it's not that big and will mostly allow people a decent view of the band. This guy who was clearly about 6'5" pushed down to the front and stood there. Everyone was shaking their heads and I  thought what a selfish twatt!

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I have seen gigs where you find a tiny little girl trying to see and I will gladly let her go in front of me.

On another occasion a couple of very drunk girls pushed through. one was pointing and gesturing that she was deaf. It was a scam to let people allow them through. I saw them being chucked out later.

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I usually like to find a good spot and stand there watching. I don't need to be at the front, back or whatever. While waiting for the delayed start of a stadium gig some years back a short rotund chap with a backpack on was weaving his way through the crowd bumping off people as he went and dragging his apologetic wife by the hand and decided to perch almost on my toes. He must have been able to feel that his backpack was smushed up against someone. Loads of people around us were looking at him in disbelief. Well, during the music that was playing I had a little dance and did that move that involves one hand behind the head and the other spanking the person in front (without making contact, was all jest, your honour). He soon moved. 

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You have to be over 7 feet tall to see pretty much any big band now, due to the raised hands holding mobile phones pointed at them, usually whilst the owners of said raised hands try to talk to each other. Because we all know the sound quality & picture on an iPhone tomorrow morning at work will be superior to actually watching & listening to the band at the actual gig.

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I went to see Bryan Adams a few years back. Most polite audience ever. A relative was working on the Ambulances and was behind the barriers at the front of the stage. We walked through to the front by saying "excuse me, thank you, sorry, excuse me..." and got there in seconds without upsetting anyone. 

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The generalised answer to this is most people are bastards and, in a cramped gig situation, these bastards push past you, bump into you and glare at you because it's your fault they spilled one of the six pints they were trying to convey tho the front of the room where their bastard mates are busy spoiling everyone's night. I was going to list a few methods I have used for dealing with these type of bastards but I fear the information might be 'too much information'.

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I no longer enjoy the hustle and bustle of busy gigs to be honest. Though I can remember that it was part of the fun in my late teens / early 20's.

If I go to a busy gig now I will generally stand near the back and let the young ones get on with it. 

The roughness of rock concerts is part and parcel of it, and if you no longer like it, I suggest you do what I do and stand closer to the back than the front. 

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Young women sitting on their boyfriends' shoulders. 🤬 Crowdsurfers. I was at a gig once (may have been the Manics) and some silly billy thought it would be cools to crowdsurf when nobody else thought the same. A few people punched him in the balls as he passed over. He got to the front and kicked a young woman on the back of the head as he went over the barrier and fell on to the ground. When he stood up the girl's boyfriend floored him with one punch.

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34 minutes ago, Nail Soup said:

Hate: People who talk during the set.

Absolutely. It really boils my waste fluid when people insist on talking through a set, just sod off to a pub somewhere, I'm not interested in the weekend Steve and Jess came down and you all had a lovely time!!!

People who turn up late and barge to the front. 

People who spend the whole gig videoing it on their phone.

...and why does the tallest person in Britain always decide to stand in front of my height restricted wife which means I get it in the ear all night about not being able to see anything.

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The whole travelling there part; Where will I park? Is my car being vandalised while I'm at the gig?

The people; I work with Joe Public for 40-50 hours a week. I'm all peopled-out. I can't bring myself to spend any more time with them.

The expense; some gigs are bloody expensive. 

I no longer go to gigs. These are the same reasons that I chose to give up playing in bands.

 

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trying to decide whether or not to wear a coat, especially in winter. You might have to wait outside for some time before the doors open, then you get in and it's hot and sweaty, but there's no cloakroom and you don't want to carry a big coat or have it tied around your waist all evening.

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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....

I've never been to Glastonbury, but all those flags in front of the stage is annoying enough on the telly - anyone with a flag obscuring the stage deserves an 'old-school Monsters of Rock plastic bottle attack.' 🤘

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