If there is one thing that pop culture has blessed us with, it’s concerts. What can be better than having an artist you love going on tour and also being in a city near you? From there, you purchase tickets, string together a snazzy outfit (that your mom hopefully doesn’t hate), and obsessively count down to the big day!
This was my experience when I started going to concerts during my teenage years, particularly my emo phase. Seeing Fall Out Boy at the ripe age of 14 awakened something electrifying in me that I hope never dies. The pre-concert adrenaline, the opening song rush, the post-concert depression … I loved and savored every moment. No matter what section I was in – nosebleeds, the general admission pit, or middle seating – I was just happy to know I was in the same room as musical majesties.
Yet, it feels like concert culture has ebbed in weird territories. Needless to say, the changes have become abundantly clear since 2020. I hate to constantly echo the “pandemic” and “COVID” because of course, it messed everything up but I don’t necessarily think that the way concert venues have taken more medical and health precautions is a bad thing at all.
What has become apparent is how concert etiquette has become a free-for-all. In the last few years, it seems like tactfulness is not in the vocabulary of many concertgoers. Whether it’s the vitriol Mitski received when asking people not to be on their phones too much at her concerts or Steve Lacy storming off the stage after people were throwing phones at him, the way performers are being treated is definitely something worth talking about. Whatever happened to being respectful? You don’t need to worship a celebrity or performer to simply respect their space.
On another note, concertgoers also seem to lack respect for others around them. I went to see The Strokes in concert on my 20th birthday, and while I was mesmerized by the performance, the people around me were less than stellar. If people weren’t excessively smoking and vaping, they were drunkenly dropping cups and flinging themselves onto others. I had to navigate an uncomfortable situation where a drunk girl was being a little close and comfy with me; I’m just thankful it wasn’t anything severe.
Still, there’s something about concerts that keeps me wanting to go to more. Maybe it’s because of nostalgic whimsy. Maybe it’s just another reason to keep going. I think that’s a shared sentiment by many people. Concerts are this weirdly wonderful microcosm of strangers collectively gathered for a beloved artist. All these people live their own lives that I will never know about yet I do know that they like an artist I like as much as I do. For two or so hours, I can just be lost in the music and the crowd and yet feel so connected to it all.
Back in September, my best friend Alex and I went to see Twenty One Pilots and let me tell you, this was the best concert I have ever been to. Emo nostalgia aside, this concert set a great standard for concerts in general. Everything was so organized, and fans were mostly respectful of the band and the opening act, Balu Brigada, and security was extremely helpful when directing us to our seats.
The fans weren’t relentlessly booing the opening acts nor invading the personal spaces of the duo. When the band directed crowds, they actually listened. Also, it would be a crime not to mention how aesthetically artful the set designs were. The band pulled out all the stops when it came to the red-black color schemes and the cryptic imagery.
I just hope that people can start growing a conscience when it comes to how to conduct themselves at public venues. Trust me, it is not hard to be a considerate concertgoer.
