Show / Concert Etiquette

[withengineheart]

One more thing: if you're at a show where there's kind of a shitty turnout don't stand against the back wall for fuck sake.  Trust me, it's more awkward for the band than it is for you possibly being subjected to been seen by others.  Or, that could just be a Scandinavian thing.. very modest people.

[whoshotthefrog]

When in the pit if someone falls you help them back up.

 

I learned this rule over 25 years ago and it is one of the most important rules at a show. However, more and more I don't see people following it and respecting others.

[Metal Mike]

When in the pit if someone falls you help them back up.

 

I learned this rule over 25 years ago and it is one of the most important rules at a show. However, more and more I don't see people following it and respecting others.

 

That is pitiquette rule number one.

Number two is if you find a hat on the ground, pick it up and hold it in the air so its owner can find it.

Number three is if someone needs to tie their shoe, two or more people need to form a protective circle.

Number four is NO WIMPS.

[eight1echo]

Universal rule at shows: Put your phone down and experience the show

[bigbruise]

RULES AT A SHOW

 

 

OK

[turbobrando]

I'll chime in:

 

I never wear the band's shirt for starters. I usally wear what is comfortable, jeans, tee, and hoodie

 

I mostly never take photos or videos. I actually like to enjoy the concert.

 

Always bring earplugs

 

Never listen to the band the day of

 

I usually stand off to the side or towards the back. About 90% of people annoy me at concerts and it's becoming harder and harder to go to shows because most people ruin it for me. They do this by:

 

1) Invading my personal space (jumping around, dancing, etc)
2) Talking
3) Some tall dickwad always happens to stand right in front of me

4) Being an asshole

[museummouth]

I usually stand off to the side or towards the back. About 90% of people annoy me at concerts and it's becoming harder and harder to go to shows because most people ruin it for me. They do this by:

 

1) Invading my personal space (jumping around, dancing, etc)

2) Talking

3) Some tall dickwad always happens to stand right in front of me

4) Being an asshole

I find this to be the main reason I've stopped going to shows.

[lonesomexloveus]

allison's rules for shows:

 

always wear earplugs.

don't get kicked in the head and die. glare at people who almost kill you.

that is all.

 

also, i wish people would have the common courtesy to not stage dive on a. people holding expensive camera equipment, or b. smallish people/girls. once my sister and i were at a show standing up by the corner of the stage (because she's only a hair over 5 feet tall and can't see anything if we don't get close) and some huge, at least 250lb guy decided to stage dive/more like belly flop off of a monitor on that corner of the stage. i saw him coming, grabbed her and sidestepped out of the way just as he jumped and landed smack on the floor. DATS WHATCHU GET.

 

double also, people with beer: please stop standing in or close to the pit. i don't want you to get jostled and spill beer all over me. if getting drunk/having a drink means so much to you, go do it somewhere else.

[mcguirk]

No venue around here allows alcohol on the floor. You have to stay in a balcony or side bar.

Photos and videos crack me up. There's no point in taking photos on your crappy phone or handheld camera. Your flash will look like shit and the camera is going to choose a very slow shutter speed so your images will be a blurry mess. Nobody wants to watch your shaky video with crackly audio on YouTube. There's a reason why band photographers carry heavy glass with image stabilization and wide apertures.

[Guest]

when I was young friends & I would drive to Detroit for the shows. bands I was really into I’d sometimes get there at 2 or 3am and stay the night on the street so we’d be first in line to get front row. This was when I was like 15-17. No idea why my parents let me do that.

now I just get drunk in the back. I don’t want anything to do with getting pushed or sweaty. I also just got some really nice earplugs for Christmas so now it’s even better. I don’t know how I went to all those shows without them.

I recently went to a bluegrass show with my friend’s parents and the dude next to me yelled ‘deliverance’ twice. it was awesome.

[yocaseycasey]

I recently went to a bluegrass show with my friend’s parents and the dude next to me yelled ‘deliverance’ twice. it was awesome.

 

This made me laugh.

And recently I've only been going to softer shows. The one thing I saw throughout this thread is talking during sets. I think that it was something I did often when I was younger, but now that I'm older it bugs the hell out of me. I went to see The Low Anthem (I can't harp enough about how wonderful that band is) twice in the last two years... once opening for Mumford and Sons (who I didn't stay more than three songs for) and once opening for City and Colour. Both shows, it was almost impossible to hear and enjoy them because everybody was talking over their performance (and they are a band that is easy to talk over). It was a huge bummer. Bros love Mumford now. They're like the new Dave Matthews Band.

 

[jhook]

Here are my rules,

1) eat a hearty breakfast

2) jumping jacks and push ups before the show. (got to stay loose for the pit)

3) show up early and hang out front and act like you don't care.

4) have a clean shirt in the car/bag/whatever. ( don't want to match anyone else, lame!)

5) talk as loud as possible while smoking or standing around between bands. ( everyone wants to know your opinion on several different topics!)

6) make fun of someone younger or new to the scene. ( it makes you look cool and well, you have been around longer)

7) leave early to go to a shitty party

8) post on the internet about how the show was lame and you don't know why people like that band anymore.

[caninesapien]

the exceptions to the "no shirt of the band youre going to see" rule:

1) Slayer

2) KISS

3) Iron Maiden

A couple of years ago I saw a guy in a Slayer shirt buy a Slayer shirt from a guy wearing a Slayer shirt at a Slayer concert.

 

 

No real rules for gigs. I wear whatever I would usually wear. I don't really think about what to wear at all. This obviously used to be much more important when I was younger and first going to gigs but now, well, who gives a fuck? If I'm playing the gig, I'll wear something decent but if I'm watching anything I don't really care. Sometimes I can only get to gigs straight after work so I end up going in my work clothes. Doesn't matter... beer washes out of clothes last I checked. Speaking of which:

 

Booze in bottles is a better option if you're planning on slamming/headbanging/whatever. I never was much into the whole mosh/pit/slam thing anyway (other than Negative Approach - the last gig I spent in the middle of the pit which nearly killed me). If you're gonna move about then beer is harder to spill out of a bottle than out of a glass.

 

No rules on whether to listen to the band or not. Certainly never experienced any kind of band "burn out" before a concert. You like the band right? Listen to 'em! Me and a friend would go to the British ATP festivals twice a year, and both make a mixtape or CD full of the artists that were playing that weekend.

 

No fucking smoking at gigs! I am a smoker but I hate people ignoring the rules in a dark room full of people. If you smoke and the security guy sees you, it's going to be hassle for you and everyone around you when they grab you to throw you out.

 

I never take earplugs. I only recently started to wear them for band practice, but I've never worn earplugs to a concert.

 

The fucking biggest, most incredibly fucking annoying thing that people are doing more and more at gigs is waiting for the first five minutes the main act spends on stage before hurtling towards people who spend the support act holding their space on the barrier. People who want to be as close as possible to a band deserve to stay where they were, and bastards who just want to cause hassle and get on everyone's nerves should just fucking stay at the back!

 

Rules for playing gigs is a whole other matter.

[tipyourbartender]

Where did the "don't wear a shirt of the band you're going to see" rule come from? My mom made sure to tell me this before my first concert when I was like 12. Really weird

 

At rock concerts there pretty much are no rules. I see things I don't like, but I really don't let them bother me. It's a rock concert. Not tea with the Queen. I realize some people feel they pay good money to watch and listen to a band peacefully. But there are also people who pay good money to go balls out at concerts. Everyone is well within their right.

That's just my feeling for rock concerts. Etiquette definitely depends on they type of concert you are attending. Cell phone cameras do bother the shit out of me though. People act like they're fucking Martin Scorsese or some shit. 

 

There is one thing I've gotten into many arguments with people over. That is saving space at GA shows. It's general admission. There is no reserved seating. I don't care if you got there 3 hours before the doors opened so you can get a good spot. That's your fault. 

[Guest]

I'm totally going to start wearing band I'm seeing's shirts at shows now just to make people like y'all upset. What a goofy idea. Is the band trying to make its fans wearing their shit look like idiots? I can kinda get behind that, but it's still mostly silly.

[bigbruise]

Rule #1 - Don't go to shows, way to hip for that shit. 

[radiatorhums]

Here's my normal show procedures.  They're not set in stone, but I try and stick with them.

 

I don't wear the shirt of the band I'm going to see, it's not a sporting event.

 

If at all possible, I don't bring a jacket or hooded sweatshirt.

 

Earplugs, no matter what.

 

I don't touch my phone while a band is playing, it's rude and I'm on it enough anyway.

 

I try not to buy merch until the end of the show unless there is a good reason (packed show, limited item).  Holding on to LPs for two hours of a show sucks.

 

I don't listen to the band I'm going to see that day, I think it's bad luck.

 

I usually drink beer at a show, if I'm by myself I drink more beer because I feel awkward standing there by myself.

[mcguirk]

Rule #1 - Don't go to shows, way to hip for that shit.

All in all watching a good "Live At..." recording in HD is usually more pleasurable anyway, assuming you go to a show to listen to music, not to go "balls to the wall."

Probably one exception is a World Cafe live show. Basically you can choose to hang out in the back at a hgh top table and eat dinner, or you can stand on the floor. The sound is usually excellent as well (but it's not a venue for high energy rock bands).

[caninesapien]

Didn't realise it was so widespread, this "don't wear the shirt or listen to the band" thing. 

[3arl]

If you're gone mosh, push, shove, or whatever, go to the front. Nothing pisses me off more than people who act like hardcore moshers in the back of a venue. I hang back there to avoid that shit.

 

Also, I've started leaving my place at the time the show starts. Waiting in line seems really weird now and I'm surprised i used to do it all of the time. No line, no listening to house music while waiting for the bands to start, and still get there in time to see the second opener.

[kilahda]

Shirts are important. Awesome things have happened thanks to what one might be wearing.

Occasionally I might wear a shirt by a band who plays the same night BUT the shirt hast to be a special DIY kind. One time the band I went to see liked my shirt so much they asked me to make one for them so they could use it as a model to create a shirt to sell to other fans too. Gotta admit the shirt was (still is) damn great.
Then there's of course those times when you and your friend are scribbling something on to a white shirt maybe couple hours before the show because you had such a great idea earlier:

so professional

Also I don't see it as terrible etiquette mistake when wearing a band's shirt to their gig if that band is the clear underdog of the night - eg first time in new country supporting some more well known act or so. This way is also easier to strike up a conversation with strangers after recognizing someone wearing a shirt that was only available via preorder or so = definitely fans you want to say hi to.  I've met cool people thanks to them breaking the unwritten rule.

Wearing shirts that are somehow affiliated is also fun but to make it difficult to myself, there's a fine line how to do it. I would not wear a Converge shirt to Doomriders gig but the other way around it would be ok (except I would not risk a Doomriders shirt by wearing one to a Converge gig).

[Route36west1]

One thing I hate is when people get up on stage and go to stage dive, but they stop and point to the crowd below. As if to get permission from them (mid-song) to stage dive there.

I've seen people do "the point" and then proceed to try another side of the stage as if the crowd said "no." Then they usually just flop down slowly.

Also I agree with rule #1 aka the shirt rule.

[Bladewillisisdead]

One thing I hate is when people get up on stage and go to stage dive, but they stop and point to the crowd below. As if to get permission from them (mid-song) to stage dive there.

I've seen people do "the point" and then proceed to try another side of the stage as if the crowd said "no." Then they usually just flop down slowly.

Also I agree with rule #1 aka the shirt rule.

 

Always jump first ask questions never. I tend to thank people (to the best of my ability in the situation) for catching me, or I'll apologize if I knock someone over. But when you actually get on stage, just run and jump or you look like an idiot. I think it was J. Bannon I saw kick someone into the crowd because they went to jump and then just stood there.

 

You guys have a lot of shirt related rules. The only one that actually matters is "Don't put on the shirt you just bought over the shirt you're wearing" that just looks goofy, otherwise who gives a shit.

[hipsterasfolk]

Since people in this thread follow rules in cliche, my recent analysis is that everyone (for the most part) who has posted here is a complete poseur.

 

I prefer the simple guidelines of Pogoing and Anarchy, then again I am tr00 PVNX and not a poseur.

[caninesapien]

There is one thing I've gotten into many arguments with people over. That is saving space at GA shows. It's general admission. There is no reserved seating. I don't care if you got there 3 hours before the doors opened so you can get a good spot. That's your fault. 

 

So you'd push in front of someone who's made sure to get there early to get a good spot?