Concert etiquette

I've come to realize that I am just too old to go to "teeny bopper" concerts (ie) BSB, *N Sync, Britney etc. Either that, or I've just lost all patience & have forgotten what it's like to be young.

On the 8th, I went to... *drumroll pls* the Independent Tour, starring Kelly Clarkson & *gasp* Clay Aiken. Yes, that's right, I went to see Clay Aiken. Come on now, how could I not? He's dorky, kinda gay looking & has a voice that you either love or loathe. I personally love his voice & his dorkiness & his kinda gay look... what's wrong w/ me?

Anywho, the trip down to Seattle was sort of a last min. plan. My friend didn't start looking for tickets until Sunday & the show was on the Thursday. & being that I'm quite used to having decent seats (such as row 10 for John Mayer in Feb), I wasn't willing to get tickets off Ticketmaster (which I may add, is a complete rip off). He managed to get decent tickets, not great, not on the floor, but decent.

Long story short, it was a great show. Clay has a fantabulous connection w/ the audience. He was talking to us, talking to ppl on their cells, being a goof etc. Kelly on the other hand... well, she has a great set of pipes. It was a great performance on her behalf also, it's just that it didn't seem that she related to the audience as well as Clay. I could be biased, but I've read it in other articles etc.

During the concert, Ryan & I decided that a book on concert etiquette must be created. There are a number of things that just get on my frigging nerves. Although I haven't completely fleshed the idea out yet, here are a few key elements of concert etiquette that all concert goers should adhere to:

1. NO SCREECHING. Seriously, not only does it hurt my ears, but I'm pretty damn sure it's hurting others. It's one thing to cheer & to whoop or sing along during the performance, it's another thing to screech @ the top of your FRIGGING lungs. 1st off, if you're screeching *that* loud, how are *you* going to enjoy the vocals of the artists? 2nd, you're going to lose your voice by the end of the show (but you rightfully deserve it, if you ask me). 3rd, if you're 25 rows back, the artists are not going to be able to fucking hear you!

2. Don't complain if the person in front of you is standing. You are at a concert. Guess what... ppl stand, dance & sing @ concerts. There is no such thing as a standing section for a show. That's utter bullshit. For example, I was @ a Savage Garden show a couple of yrs back... It was @ GM Place & it was just the Pontiac Theatre type thing where only 1/2 of the arena was being used. There were about 7 rows on teh floor & then the lower bowl seating. We had row 1 in the lower bowl. We stood up during the show & we were asked to sit down by an usherette. Yes.. according to her, we were not in the standing section of the show. WTF!?! Essentially, we were being mouthy & nearly got booted out of the show... keep that in mind. It's not a good idea to mouth off an usher @ a show @ GM Place.
W/ this said, it's probably not a good idea if you're standing @ an opera show... use this rule @ your own discretion

3. Do not stand on your chair. I understand what a bummer it is to be short & on the floor for a show. I know, I'm only 5'3. I feel your pain. But if you stand on your chair, guess what? It makes it even harder for me to see too. Be considerate... pls!

4. Do not put your children on your shoulders. Much like rule #3, above... I'm sorry your child can't see, but did you ever consider that it may be a better idea to get seats in the lower bowl, where the seats are slanted, therefore allowing them to be able to see everything? I don't know... that could be a *crazy* idea of mine </sarcasm>

5. Do not hold signs up for more than 5 seconds @ a time. & w/ that said, it also means that you are not allowed to hold them up every 10 seconds... I'm thinking more like a 5 min interval. Guess what, 1/2 the time yoiu're holding a sign, they can't see it because you're too far out. You are also blocking the view of @ least 10 ppl behind you if you hold your sign up for too long too.

ed. note: Do you notice a trend here? A lot of this has to do w/ a person's view of teh show...

I'm sure there will be more to add when more things come to me the next time I go to a show.