The thrill is euphoric. Shoving through the tightly packed hordes of sweaty young bodies, responding to dirty looks with a sharp jab of the elbow, only to finally achieve my hard-earned prize: a spot at the front of the stage, within arm’s reach of my chosen rock star/temporary deity. I crane my neck up to gaze upon this mystical being endowed with musical skill I will never have. The people around me know all of the words, the energy is high and I know we’re here, re-defining the concept of personal space, not because of the music but because of a shared experience: a concert.
As exciting as the above may appear, it’s not nearly as exhilarating for the person whose head you bruised with your elbow. Head trauma, however, is only one of the ways you can thoroughly piss off your fellow concert-goers. Good concert etiquette is all about respect. Whether you’re dying to see Common on Dillo Day or love Battle of the Bands and DJs this Spring Quarter, we offer up this guide to concert etiquette. (If you can’t wait to put your new concert politeness to work, stop by Delta Upsilon this Friday to see The Hustle Group, Fresh Music 3D and The Classics. The concert benefits Relay for Life.)
Do pre-concert research. If you’re not already a fan, know what you’re going to be listening to. MySpace and YouTube are excellent resources for hearing the band’s most popular songs and gauging what what sort of concert it will be.
Match the mood. Each concert is characterized by factors, not limited to the band, the type of fans and the concert location. If you come to a concert without the least bit of knowledge of the band or venue, look around and find out: How old are the concert-goers? What kind of clothes are they wearing? What is the male-to-female ratio? How many are visibly intoxicated, and to what degree? Simple observations like this will prepare you either for an inevitable violent mosh pit or a calm, mature gathering of head-nodding fans. Don’t be that one guy who wants to mosh when no one else does. Plan your alcohol consumption accordingly; on a day like Dillo Day, it might be distinct for each act. For example, as A&O director of concerts Forrest Wickman said, “Some acts are just more mellow. You don’t need to be wasted to see Ben Folds.” Visible intoxication might be more appropriate for a night-time, high-energy show, such as Common.
Remain upright and conscious. It’s pretty much accepted (though by no means mandated) that attending a concert entails some social drinking beforehand. However, as the A&O team members and police who were forced to kick a girl out of Girl Talk for sloppy drunkenness will tell you, there is a fine line when it comes to concert pre-gaming. In general, keeping your intoxication on the down-low is the best way to be polite, have a good time and not get kicked out on the street. Also, don’t be that person who puked over the balcony at the Riviera during the Counting Crows concert. If you feel sick, go to the bathroom.
Don’t talk too loudly. It all comes down to showing respect for whoever may be at the concert. As Communication senior Jenn Babin’s recent letter to the Daily reminded us, talking too much during the concert is disrespectful to the band and particularly annoying for those who might have come to enjoy the music. If you want some cool background music to your conversation, you’re in the wrong place.
Don’t overstep your level of fandom. If you’re only a casual fan who researched the band three days before on YouTube, don’t push your way to a spot at the front, next to the stage. The people up there probably know all the words to every song on every album of this artist and have been waiting in line for three hours longer than you have. If it’s absolutely necessary that you be in the very front, get to the concert early. Simple as that. Stick to the middle of the crowd if you own just one of their CDs, and stay near the back if you’ve only illegally downloaded a few of their songs — you really don’t deserve that front-line spot.
Cheer for the opening bands. So, okay, you’ve never heard of them. You didn’t purchase your ticket to see them. You actually really could care less about listening to them. Cheer for them anyway out of respect for the effort they put into their show. They’re here to get you pumped for the real act, so take the opportunity to get your energy up. Who knows? You might even discover something new to be obsessed with.
No one actually wants to hear “Free Bird.” One of Wickman’s pet peeves is when dumb, but pop-culturally aware audience members call out a song request for the band, whichever band it may be, to play Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird.” A riff on this pop-culture joke was parodied in a scene in Cars, when Lightning McQueen is about to make a speech. Basically, what it comes down to is: once Disney has caught on to the joke, it’s not funny anymore. On a similar note, don’t spend the whole concert screaming for the band to play their biggest hit, since they will probably play it last. Unless they’re Counting Crows.
DO sing along. Although it’s never a good idea to drown out the main act, performers and audience members agree that there’s nothing wrong with singing along excitedly. However, don’t make the mistake that the audience did when Wilco came to Northwestern last year and sing along without knowing the lyrics — lead singer Jeff Tweedy jokingly used it to explain why none of us got into Harvard. Ouch.
Although you might not enjoy every concert you go to, do your best not to ruin it for the people around you. Northwestern has had some artists who have commented on how surprised and impressed they were with us: BJ Novak and Stars even hung around after the show to mingle with the students, indicative of how pleased they were, and Flight of the Conchords had said that Northwestern was their favorite audience of the tour so far, says Wickman. So, it’s time to sing along to your favorite songs, jump up and down like a maniac during the chorus and scream when your favorite artist announces his new album. As Miss Penny Lane, one of the infamous Band-Aids from Almost Famous reminded us, it’s all about the music.