I'm getting too old for rock concerts

[jerry]

I remember an epiphany I had in the mid-70's when I realized the difference in sound from the nosebleed seats at Madison Square to going downtown to a club and being 15 feet from players like Steve Gadd, Richard Tee, Will Lee etc, game over.

 

[perfektspace6]

Always going to be a few drunken idiots. Watching the train wreck is part of the fun of going.

Concerts haven't changed much in the last few decades and I think you are being too uptight. Smoking a cigarette at an outdoor stadium show and standing up at a rock concert are pretty much par for the course. You can waste your time complaining and getting worked up or just accept it and enjoy the show. Only thing that saved you in all of these vignettes was that people were not in their ticketed seats so you were able to get them kicked out.

In general, for those who can't seem to stand for a couple hours (outside of the disabled) I suggest a more rigorous workout routine and better shoes. Only show I have been to where everyone sat down for 95% of the show was Brian Wilson and the demographic probably skewed 65-75.

 

[bassliner50]

Never too old for jazz.

 

[Thornton Davis]

I saw TP & THB's in mid July. I'm done with large venues especially ones that I know are going to be sold out.

TD

 

[2GBTG]

I just bought tickets to my first rock show since my senior year of high school, you guys are reminding me why it's been so long...

Luckily it outdoors and general admission, so tickets weren't to terribly priced, $35.00ish. With so many of the greats passing on I finally decided I should start experiencing some of the bands I like now before I or they get to old.

Queens of the Stoneage and Royalblood does't seem like a bad start.

 

[gkella]

I gave up on arena shows a few years ago.
I can't even remember what the last one was.
I hate lining up and getting frisked going into the venue,
I hate the ticket prices, the lousy sound.
I love attending smaller venues, for example Massey Hall in Toronto.
I have recently seen King Crimson, Bob Dylan and jazz player Hiromi in smaller venues and
had a very enjoyable time.
Glen

 

[Son of Wobble]

Obviously judging by the tenor of this thread, live rock music has a thriving and exciting future!

Watching the train wreck is part of the fun of going.

Or being the train wreck!
One of my first gigs was the most memorable, PUBLIC IMAGE LIMITED at the OLYMPIC BOXING AUDITORIUM in L.A. in 1980.
Got the tar beat outta me for being a long hair. Good times! It has all been down hill since.

 

[jaco944]

We have a 2,100 seat venue that's perfect for me and my daughter (I'm 49, she's 6). It's always a great mix, not too loud and decent acts. Frampton, Boston etc. We are looking forward to Kansas and the Doobies the next 2 months. Big arena shows....I'm over those unless there's a full Beatles reunion with the original Who, Zeppelin and Hendrix opening.

 

[obimark]

Ain't hardly anybody left to go see anyways

This!
The last good live show I went to was MArcus Miller. And like the original poster, when I saw U2 the sound sucked! (no bass, all I could hear was a little guitar and drums)

 

[perfektspace6]

My perspective is that I am going to see as many of the greats while I can because they aren't going to be around much longer and the new crop of music is pretty abyssal (at least for rock). Don't mind paying top dollar for a great show and have not had to deal with anything more than a few humorous drunks in 20+ years of going to shows.

If you want to avoid the worst people don't get general admission tickets on the lawn. It's like a trailer park back there. I always get great seats and never pay above face value. Typically people paying to sit in the first 20 rows or so are diehards and are there for the music. Seems to be better company. You get what you pay for.

 

[tycobb73]

While you were blowing hundreds on u2 I paid 25 for Alice Cooper and deep purple at pine knob. Smell of weed hung heavy in the air. Edgar winter sucked. Alice cooper was awesome. I respect deep purple but don't get it. Next time ac comes to the area we are going to pay more to get better seats.

 

[ray fan]

Last arena concert I went to was Pearl Jam in 2013 or 14.. My son went with me it was his first rock concert. We were in the first row in the upper level minding our own business when WHAM, something hits me in the back of the head and I am bent over in my seat unable to move. Turns out to be a guy from a few rows up, wasted out of his gourd, old enough to know better fell and landed on me. I wonder if he realized how close he was to going over and dropping about 30 feet down. I saw him fall down the stairs in our section on the way out. Dick!

 

[eyeballkid]

Hell is other people.

 

[Son of Wobble]

a guy from a few rows up, wasted out of his gourd, old enough to know better fell and landed on me.

That's rock and roll!

 

[bikeplate]

U2, not I.

 

[Munjibunga]

I feel the same way. However, my wife and I went to a Dave Koz concert at a popular outdoor venue (rock concerts are not the only ones with issues). Sure enough, a really tall guy, like 6-foot-four, comes in and sits down right in front of my wife. We switched seats. When the concert started, the guy slouched down in his seat so our view wasn't blocked (without being asked.) At intermission, he stood up - turns out it was Bill Medley. We chatted and I got a picture with him, just a really nice guy.

On the other hand, I have a lot of stories to the contrary, but I'm typing on my phone so ...

 

[ThePresident777]

<<Rant warning>>

LOL...and I'm only 47. Last night, I took my family to see U2 in Detroit. Besides the usual ridiculously inflated ticket prices (having to buy on StubHub because nothing good is ever available on Ticketmaster), concert traffic, jacked up parking prices, long security lines, lousy concert sound, etc. -- I was actually having a great time. Until the drunk broad next to me punched me in the face, that is.

About 2/3 of the way through the show, the girls next to me got up from their seats. Immediately, a drunk middle-aged couple poured into the seats. Rude, obnoxious, annoying. This broad's style of dancing was to flail her arms like she was drowning. Lovely, I'm glad I paid hundreds for these seats. A couple songs later, she pulls out her cigarettes and starts to light up. I'm not having it. I tap her on the shoulder and said "that's not happening here...take it outside." She told me to f*off and lit up anyway. 49,999 other people in the stadium got the memo that Ford Field is a no-smoking venue, just like every other stadium in the USA. Not her, she's special. I turned around and got the attention of the usher, who immediately realized what was going on. Security arrived a couple minutes later and removed them from the seats. Zero tolerance, apparently. On the way out, the drunk chick told me to f*off again and back-handed me across the face. I guess I deserved it. Problem solved.

Maybe I'm a little too uptight? Probably because I seem to run into these idiots at every show I go to. Last year, we went to see the sold-out Steely Dan at the Hollywood Bowl. We got to our seats to find this meathead and his drunk friends in our seats. He wasn't about to move, and caused a huge scene before the ushers sorted everything out...disrupting the show for a good 15 minutes. Before he left, he got in my face like a drill sergeant and called me every name in the book in front of my 15 yr old daughter. Am I wrong for just wanting to sit in the seats I paid for? There were no other open seats...it was sold out.

Primus show a few months ago. We are sitting in the balcony with the 500 or so other people...all sitting...every last one...except for the guy right in front of me. I get it, it's a rock concert. People get excited and want to stand. I sat patiently staring at this guys back for a couple songs until I got tired of the people behind me asking to get the guy to sit down. When I tapped him on the shoulder, he told me to f*off and continued to stand. All by himself. Despite the fact that there was an acre of space to stand on the floor and mezzanine. An usher arrived eventually and moved the guy back to the cheap seat he actually paid for.

It's just getting to the point that it's just not worth the hassle and aggravation. Oh, and get off my lawn!

Your problem is that you tried to do the ushers job. Next time, just call the usher and let him handle it. Then you won't have to deal with poopie. These are grown ups. They know that they're shaging up. No need to tell them. Tell the usher.

 

[DirtDog]

I was never a big arena show guy to start with although I've seen some big acts over the years. Club shows or smaller venues are my speed. Even the local summer rock fest here in town has gotten too big and rowdy for me.

Best outdoor concert I've seen in recent years was Blackberry Smoke opening for Gov't Mule at the Brewery venue in Utica NY. Just the right size and the crowd was in the perfect vibe. Less than 2000 ppl for sure. Maybe 1500. Take a few dozen step from the from of the stage and you're at the bar. Take a few dozen steps to the other side of the stage and you're at the portapotties. Minimal security, very few morons. Even got to talking with a couple of guys in BBS for a bit!

Saw Steve Earle's GT30 tour in a 1500 seat theatre. That was pretty cool.

I was relieved when my daughter decided she didn't want to see RHCP when they came through here last. They're in my top 5 for rock bands - but I couldn't stomach going to the arena to see them - esp. since I saw them in a 500 seat club in the late '80s!!

 

[Chuck Chill-Out]

I too my wife to see Billy Joel in Philly last year and loved it. We were in the upper deck Third Base side and had the typical drunks next to me. They didn't take too much out of it. We are going to see him again this Saturday.

I will agree with others that I prefer smaller venues. Loved seeing Spyro Gyra and Bela Fleck and the Flecktones in a restored silent movie theater outside Philly. Amazing shows, intimate, and got to meet Victor Wooten after the show.

 

[Bob_Ross]

It's just getting to the point that it's just not worth the hassle and aggravation.

I recall coming to that exact same conclusion...in 1985! (Tears For Fears at the Wooster Centrum...24-year-old me was probably the oldest person in the audience. And the most respectful, for whatever that's worth.)

I've been to maybe a dozen Big Venue Concerts® since then, but every time I go I wind up thinking "this is the absolute crappiest way to experience live music!" Give me a club with <500 capacity any day.

I have tix to see King Crimson at the Beacon Theater in November, and tbh I'm dreading that...although I suspect getting backhanded by a drunk smoker will be the least of my worries there. More likely will get into an intellectual argument with a nerd who lives in his parents' basement