nav[aria-label="Primary Navigation"] { padding: 0; & ul { list-style: none; width: 100%; display: flex; flex-direction: row; justify-content: start; align-items: start; gap: 30px; padding: 0; & li { margin: 0; } & ul li { list-style: none; } } }

Child Item

Distractions at Gigs

poteen

Just wanted to put this out there for discussion to see if anybody else has noticed or feels the same.

We all know about the constant chatter at gigs these days, especially the outdoor summer gigs.

I have also noticed over the past few years that there are a lot of distractions on the stage itself. The crew are standing almost beside the musicians for some gigs and are 'too present' in my opinion. I get them coming on to change guitar etc. as required but in my opinion they should be off stage or behind a screen during the songs.

I also noticed at The National last night that they had a photographer on stage for the whole set. This guy was ants in his pants. hoping around and rolling on the stage over and back all night looking for dramatic angles. What happened the few pics for the first 3 songs policy and then photographers away. I don't even know how the band stuck him. they actually had a great system of static cameras in place for the big screen which worked really well but this guy was in my eyeline all night.

Find more posts tagged with

Quick Links

Comments

PTH2009

some festival goers piss me off and go around like dirty animals for the weekend. Some of these of professional people with good paying jobs. Truly the 'ole ole ole', 'whoop whoop' 'insert the famous joke tag line/famous team chant/ crowd

Why wear stupid indian hats ???

eviltimeban

Really really ridiculously good looking girls in short shorts. I find them very distracting at outdoor gigs. ;-)

the purple tin

One thing I've noticed at gigs is gangs of lads usually 3 or 4. One of them will be into the band and obviously a fan, the other 3 just came because he was going and might only know a couple of greatest hits. The non-fans become bored very quickly and start chatting to each other, and treating the event as a drinking session. It's always worse when the gig is on a Friday or Saturday night.

o1s1n

Went to see Nine Inch Nails in Holland recently. Protip - don't go to Holland for standing gigs. Now I know what it's like to be a short person at an Irish show

bodhrandude

Idiots who come in halfway through a set and barge and elbow their way to the front, feck off, you should have got there earlier to get a good spot, you just end up creating an uncomfortable crush, unless of course you are a hot chick.

Also the people who insist on getting on their boyfriends shoulders, actually men are worse for this and the people at the back, their vision becomes a bunch of silhouettes in front of the show and visuals.

The worst I seen for this was Outkast at EP, groups of people on shoulders, talking to each other and blocking a bloody great chunk of view for the people farther back. I think its the only time I chucked an empty can to the front and roared get tae phuck down.

Herb Powell

poteen wrote: »

I have also noticed over the past few years that there are a lot of distractions on the stage itself. The crew are standing almost beside the musicians for some gigs and are 'too present' in my opinion. I get them coming on to change guitar etc. as required but in my opinion they should be off stage or behind a screen during the songs.

It'd be fairly fecking difficult to mix monitors if you couldn't actually see the musicians!!

Aglomerado

stateofflux wrote: »

dont mind talking singing etc but if some ****wit is holding up a tablet in front of my face to film the whole thing i will let them know.

There was an old wan filming James Taylor with her selfie stick this evening in the RDS. I hadn't the heart to tell her most of her footage was of two stewards...

hynesie08

Setlist ****........ There were people beside me at Paul Simon who spent the show on setlist fm and then loudly told each other what song was next, I've also seen people bring it up during the support to see if they have time to get to the bar......

the purple tin

Aglomerado wrote: »

There was an old wan filming James Taylor with her selfie stick this evening in the RDS. I hadn't the heart to tell her most of her footage was of two stewards...

Maybe she fancied them

SilverPenney

People who are just completely off their heads and will not remember the gigs an hour after it. At the general standing at Morrissey this year one man in front of us was completely high flailing is arms, kicking and head banging the whole thing, a massive circle developed around him. No matter the tempo of the song, or the lack of music at all, constantly the same moves. After the encore he was still going as we left.

The absolute gurriers who show up just to cause trouble. Arcade Fire last year, two teenage shams were walking around the general standing throwing little digs and roaring at women before they were evicted.

Reading a book. What is the thinking behind this at all? Seating at BonJovi at the RDS, a woman two rows directly down spent the whole gig reading a novel, only looking up when the show got very rowdy.

Jgordo

Not so much a problem in the last year or so since they got strict with the bags but people who bring massive backpacks into standing areas and either have them on their backs and forget they are there and every time they move/ turn anyone standing beside them is knocked sideways. OR they leave them on the ground but a good couple of feet in front/ behind so they aren’t in their way but they are in everyone else’s.

LoughNeagh2017

I go to concerts alone so I usually hear someone making a loner comment, I don't care but when I tell people this they find it so hard to believe, it does happen though, people view loners as something to poke fun at.

I actually find concerts irritating full stop, what is that whole devil horn hand symbol about? It's weird, I don't know why I go to them.

PTH2009

LoughNeagh2017 wrote: »

I go to concerts alone so I usually hear someone making a loner comment, I don't care but when I tell people this they find it so hard to believe, it does happen though, people view loners as something to poke fun at.

Same boat go to 90% of concerts alone

I'd prefer to go with someone sure but they could drop out and then I be left with a useless ticket etc. Going alone has it's advantages like you can go in/out when ever it suites u, go to what food places/pubs/museums etc you want

I've travelled all over Ireland the UK for stuff alone and I knw big grown tough men who Siad they won't do that .

At the end of the day it's it money/time so **** em none of there business

LoughNeagh2017

PTH2009 wrote: »

Same boat go to 90% of concerts alone

I'd prefer to go with someone sure but they could drop out and then I be left with a useless ticket etc. Going alone has it's advantages like you can go in/out when ever it suites u, go to what food places/pubs/museums etc you want

I've travelled all over Ireland the UK for stuff alone and I knw big grown tough men who Siad they won't do that .

At the end of the day it's it money/time so **** em none of there business

It would depend what you are used to, I have been to 15 concerts, every one of them alone so going with someone would actually be uncomfortable for me as I would feel I have to entertain them, I am too used to the loner lifestyle.

Mrs Shuttleworth

PTH2009 wrote: »

Same boat go to 90% of concerts alone

I'd prefer to go with someone sure but they could drop out and then I be left with a useless ticket etc. Going alone has it's advantages like you can go in/out when ever it suites u, go to what food places/pubs/museums etc you want

I've travelled all over Ireland the UK for stuff alone and I knw big grown tough men who Siad they won't do that .

At the end of the day it's it money/time so **** em none of there business

Ditto. It baffles me that people have an issue with this, particularly as adults and life circumstances change.

I went to Ibiza on my own last year. Ended up meeting Pete Tong and Mark Ronson, the latter taking from me a CD of my demos.

That or sit at home at the mercy of fate watching Pointless.

eviltimeban

Was at Paul Simon at the weekend and it was the worst I've ever been to for people talking. So much so that we couldn't hear what Paul Simon was saying between songs (telling the story of how he wrote them - I'm guessing, I couldn't hear a thing).

There were groups with people standing *with their backs to the stage* while Paul Simon was on. Tickets were €100, why pay that just to ignore the main act? We had to move around five times to find a spot where people were listening.

Interestingly, once it got dark, people were more engaged. I wonder if that has something to do with it?

the purple tin

SilverPenney wrote: »

People who are just completely off their heads and will not remember the gigs an hour after it. At the general standing at Morrissey this year one man in front of us was completely high flailing is arms, kicking and head banging the whole thing, a massive circle developed around him. No matter the tempo of the song, or the lack of music at all, constantly the same moves. After the encore he was still going as we left.

The absolute gurriers who show up just to cause trouble. Arcade Fire last year, two teenage shams were walking around the general standing throwing little digs and roaring at women before they were evicted.

Reading a book. What is the thinking behind this at all? Seating at BonJovi at the RDS, a woman two rows directly down spent the whole gig reading a novel, only looking up when the show got very rowdy.

Big outdoor gigs in summer are terrible for this. I went to Slane years ago and on the walk down to the venue saw several people lying passed out drunk, and that was before midday!

Choochtown

eviltimeban wrote: »

Was at Paul Simon at the weekend and it was the worst I've ever been to for people talking. So much so that we couldn't hear what Paul Simon was saying between songs (telling the story of how he wrote them - I'm guessing, I couldn't hear a thing).

There were groups with people standing *with their backs to the stage* while Paul Simon was on. Tickets were €100, why pay that just to ignore the main act? We had to move around five times to find a spot where people were listening.

Interestingly, once it got dark, people were more engaged. I wonder if that has something to do with it?

I'd happily pay an extra 10% to go pay for "removal security" who would forcibly remove talkers from the venue once the gig has started.
I'm sick of selfish people like the ones you describe. They are usually the ones who get busy with their phones once a song they recognise comes on ready to upload with a "look where I am , yes they are fantastic" post.

Actually, thinking of it, I'd happily pay an extra 20% to the ticket cost for them to get roughed up a bit outside after being removed!!

The Nal

I just tell talkers to shut up. They mostly do.

Not a whole lot you can do in big summer gigs though. 1 gig a year stains. Always been that way.

Former Former

SilverPenney wrote: »

Reading a book. What is the thinking behind this at all? Seating at BonJovi at the RDS, a woman two rows directly down spent the whole gig reading a novel, only looking up when the show got very rowdy.

So what? Was she bothering you? Maybe she had kids down on the pitch.

I dunno. Think a lot of people might be happier just investing in a good home cinema and waiting for the Blu-ray.

bodhrandude

Former Former wrote: »

So what? Was she bothering you? Maybe she had kids down on the pitch.

I dunno. Think a lot of people might be happier just investing in a good home cinema and waiting for the Blu-ray.

I would read a book through Bon Jovi too, no bother, I already suffered them once when they supported Kiss in 1984 in Glasgow.

eviltimeban

Unless she was reading a book *about* Bon Jovi.

PTH2009

eviltimeban wrote: »

Unless she was reading a book *about* Bon Jovi.

And thinking to herself 'I bet he be a cool guy to see live' and then looks up 'oh'

setanta74

I wonder will be ever see "quiet" zones at gigs. No cameras, no phones, no talking during music, no singing along, no books, no backpacks, nobody intoxicated, no teenagers daiseychaining. One wrong move and you are turfed out. An area zoned off front and centre at the stage. Betcha promoters could charge a "premium" too and would get it.

rubadub

setanta74 wrote: »

I wonder will be ever see "quiet" zones at gigs.

I was saying similar to a friend, like the old days of being asked "smoking or non smoking?"

"chatting or non-chatting?" you get a stamp saying "chatting prick". The non chatting section should be up front as you say, and people turfed back to chatting if caught. If there is no room you are turfed out of the gig. Then the non chatters get even more room.

An artist with enough pull should be able to do it, many seem to totally object to chatters. I do not know why more venues to not warn/ask at the start to keep quiet, then people would feel more confident about shushing people.

Some cinemas will throw people out who chat. It is a big factor in me going to the cinema, if I think a film will be hard to follow, or could miss crucial bits I will avoid it. I didn't bother to go to Future Islands, I wanted to see Mercury Rev supporting but reckoned it would have been ruined as they were only support and it was likely going to be full of drunken chatters.

This is a post from the Paul Simon thread.

delbertgrady wrote: »

A friend of a friend was demented with people talking at Simon and Garfunkel in 2004 and when he asked them to be quiet so he could hear the music, the response he got was, "If you wanted to hear music, you should have stayed home and listened to your CDs," so I tend to go to these large scale summer shows with a rueful understanding that such a mentality is always a possibility.

I can't even think of a suitable reply to such a moron, I would have asked "so you have no interest in hearing the music, why in the fcuk did you spend over 100euro on a ticket? have you ever heard of a fcuking pub? cheaper drink, nice seats, WTF are you doing here?!?! you could have had a slap up meal in a decent restaurant"

fg1406

I was at a sit down orchestral show in London a number of years ago and 2 gob****es were drinking from a hip flask and talking the whole way through the first half. At the interval, the guy sitting in front stood up and went proper mental, full on psycho at the 2 of them. It was glorious to watch. He got a round of applause from everyone around them. The culprits were afraid to even blink after that.

At Roger Waters a few weeks ago, some burly lad barged his way up to the front but some dude who had been travelling around Europe going to the shows, was at the barrier and wouldn’t let him past , and rightly so, and the burly dude went crazy, saying he was going to punch the head off your man. What the hell is wrong with people?

acquiescefc

setanta74 wrote: »

I wonder will be ever see "quiet" zones at gigs. No cameras, no phones, no talking during music, no singing along, no books, no backpacks, nobody intoxicated, no teenagers daiseychaining. One wrong move and you are turfed out. An area zoned off front and centre at the stage. Betcha promoters could charge a "premium" too and would get it.

I saw Jack white 3 nights in a row a fortnight ago and every single mobile phone in the audience was locked away in yondr pouches. Was glorious. People actually watched the gig.

Strumms

the purple tin wrote: »

One thing I've noticed at gigs is gangs of lads usually 3 or 4. One of them will be into the band and obviously a fan, the other 3 just came because he was going and might only know a couple of greatest hits. The non-fans become bored very quickly and start chatting to each other, and treating the event as a drinking session. It's always worse when the gig is on a Friday or Saturday night.

This to a tee, weekend gigs can be desperate for it. The mates who just tag along for the ‘night out’ .... I’ve been invited to see bands where a mate has a spare ticket and just went along in that context too but as a fan of live music never forget that others are there and both artist and fan deserve to enjoy the show so if I’m not into it I’m off to the bar, still bewildered by the fûçks who just want to talk and be heard oblivious to the other people who might have waited two years or more to see their favourite band or artist.

seachto7

I've been that friend tagging along, and gone to gigs to see bands I wasn't familiar with, but I had the manners to shut up and listen.

JaMarcus

LoughNeagh2017 wrote: »

I go to concerts alone so I usually hear someone making a loner comment, I don't care but when I tell people this they find it so hard to believe, it does happen though, people view loners as something to poke fun at.

I actually find concerts irritating full stop, what is that whole devil horn hand symbol about? It's weird, I don't know why I go to them.

See this would make me a bit apprehensive about going to The Gaslight Anthem next week. My fiancé got told she had to travel abroad with her job at short enough notice and another friend of mine is on holidays, and he would normally go.

I was going to go alone