Anyone else find modern concerts a bit depressing?

My 1st gig was the last Trip to Tipp. This year is 30yrs of Banie01 going to gigs. The vibe and the behaviour certainly has changed. Some acts are far better at handling the "new" reality of gigging, adapting to the audience and shaping their show to crowd expectations.

Then, there are a few acts that really are throwbacks to what great gigs are and how they pull the crowd along with them. As a recent example, the 3 Thomond park gigs in July.

Snow Patrol engaged, entertained and had a really brilliant show. As did CMAT playing support for Paolo Nutini, yet Paolo and Liam Gallagher were very poor IMO. I expected on prior experience, Snow Patrol to be the filler to the 2 lad's triumph, I was very wrong.

An older example, but one that runs true with many more rock acts, The Darkness, no matter the venue always an entertaining and utterly involved show that pulls people along. Sometimes it's hard to resist the urge to take a photo or video...

But relying on the feelings an act can evoke, to shape the way we remember a gig?

Gives a far, far better memory than a screen.

Shhhhhh Stillill!!!

It's been difficult enough to get tickets the last few years without you bloody advertising it here. 😉

Ha! Point taken. Bracing myself for the 28th.

On the subject of phones I went to see the Saw Doctors in Belfast last weekend. There weren't that many phones but at one point there were two people in front of me who decided to record one of the songs. Both turned round to capture the crowd aound them and as they turned there was a point where they were pointing their phones at each other. Would have looked ridiculous when they watched it back. The talking gets me more than the phones. A couple of the outdoor shows I was at during the summer I seemed to spend most of the evening moving to get away from people chatting and ending up next to other **** doing the same. If you want to chat to your mates over a drink with a bit of music in the background go to the fuckin' pub or sit in the house.

I asked a couple of lads near me at Bruce Springsteen to please continue their chat elsewhere… we were on the pitch in RDS and there were lots of empty seats. They shouted that I was homophobic and started yelling that I was anti gay. Eh nothing to do with noise… I’m an equal opportunities anti chat at gigs… given their size compared to me I was a tad worried but my quick thinking bestie yelled at them to leave her wife alone and put her arms around me.
they moved away and we enjoyed the rest of the gig.

but it’s hard to take a stand sometimes.

Over priced …. over hyped … over rated …. and yes depressing …. not a fan of most modern music to be honest …. it is mostly the same old sound and instrumentation …. will gladly watch DVDs of long dead singers like Elvis, Ray Charles and Charlie Rich doing their concerts before forking out 100s on depressing modern music acts' overpriced gigs ….

There's the people who have no interest in any form of music, but they just have to go to any big event that's being talked about, so they'll go to Taylor swift, Coldplay, Oasis and whatever other gigs are hyped up. Add that to the friends of fans you mention, and it's adding up to some **** crowds.

It did look like everyone had fun, but I did feel bad for them that their concert experience was conducted through a screen, albeit a giant one at the side of the stage.

Social media happened, it created a very vacuous population who wants to be 'seen' at things and care not for participating. They care not for the music or band but it's very important to them to have several videos at it for their instagram.

I agree, I use to remember moshing and slam dancing at gigs but it's become much more rare, people have become gentrified and soft. Overall I think people have become softer and more emasculated. A case in point I seen at a Muse concert. The gig was completely packed. People were jumping around, there was a few 'woke' type teenagers tried telling people to stand still and that they were encroaching on their reserved 'spots'.

Apparently now you can reserve 'spots' at a thronged packed gig, who knew? That's a problem at gigs now, fools who think they can 'reserve' spots at standing gigs or get upset if someone else stands in front of them. Are they honestly that stupid they don't realize they are standing in front of hundreds or thousands of people themselves?

Apparently so.

I'm not sure what you're basing the 'most modern music' comment on. Do you listen to much? Or are we talking about the bandwagon stuff. Because they're clearly two different things. Loads of brilliant music out there at the moment. Off to Melts in a couple of weeks. Great young band, 17 euro ticket, I mean that stuff is happening every day of the week in the real world. Oasis is not the real world.

I've seen Oasis twice. Crap both times.

Irish gigs were on a par with south America for liveliness and excitement because we were a backward kip, as the economy grew we end up with a social media generation who are more image conscious and bland.

Yeah talking is a curse - and not just talking, shouting.
The Iveagh gardens gigs are notorious for groups of people to meet up and have a social night out catching up- they don’t look at the concert/ just drink beer and yap all evening - it’s incredibly annoying.
Thankfully year on year there are less gigs that interest me so I don’t have to endure such nonsense

And who forces you to participate? The mosh pit is tiny and can very easily be avoided at any gig.

Moshing is safe provided there is room and people aren't scum and help anyone up who falls down which is the norm.

Reason a girl died at the Smashing Pumpkins 30 odd year ago is the old point depot was a death trap with crowd control barriers at front and sides creating a pen, people hemmed in and people coming down from seating overcrowding the standing area. All this led to serious overcrowding and an unfortunate death not people moshing or crowd surfing.

Phones definitely have there part to blame, was at a swans gig last year and it was so refreshing being in an audience that was immersed in the music and not focused on recording it for later.