Also no one has mention the PCU classic. The guy who wears the shirt of the band he is going to see. "Don't be THAT guy."

It is sometimes acceptable if you are wearing an obscure reference lot style shirt at a jam band show.

<---had to ask Busty to stand away from me at a Ben Kweller show. Asshole.

For the most part, I wear earplugs. For quieter acts, I don't. It's not because I can't handle the loudness as far as there being a threshold of pain. It's because loudness affects your hearing whether you are in pain or not. I'll be damned if I am going to lose my hearing over some random band by not wearing earplugs, just because I was worried I would not get the full effect of the show. If I'm deaf, I can't listen to music anymore for fuck's sake. I already have too many regrets.

I am always early to shows, and everyone I go with are usually pretty short in comparison to me. I'm only 5"11", but at indie shows, I tend to tower over everyone near me at the front of the stage. First come First serve is my motto, so I don't feel too bad for the short teen girls at shows.
Secondly, most shows I go to are packed house shows in Omaha or at small bars, so I avoid alot of moving around and dancing out of respect for the people around me. I'd hate to spill someones drink or step on toes.
My pet peeves:
People who try to create another line at single file line shows.
People who smoke at crowded shows and nearly burn you with their cigarettes, while blowing smoke in your face.
Already mentioned once, People who holler song titles the whole time, when it definitely won't get played.

Also people who are really tall (I'm only 5'7") who insist on standing at the front of the stage, when they could probably get a great view from any vantage point in the venue.



This also goes for people who insist on having cell phone conversations during shows.



I pretty much agree with Charli's assessment. The only other thing I'd add is that sometimes, I'm one of those "older folks" who goes to shows. Just because I'm older doesn't mean I'm incapable of having a good time, however, I don't feel like elbowing for space with pre-teens. I hate going to all-ages shows now.

Another thing I hate, is when you DO go to all-ages shows, the over 21 folks are relegated to a specific area in the club (I call it the Alkie Corral), which is usually a shitty place to see the performance-- in the back, higher up, off to the side, etc. Why? Because I'm over 21, I have to get stuck with the shitty seats?

(goddamn, I can't wait for that frigging senior discount when I hit 60)

pretty much everything bothers me about shows, which is why i go to so few of them.

The talkers are the main source of my annoyance. I heard an entire diatribe about how much the UW grad school sucks during the quiet parts of the Slint show.

I'm pretty sure I saw two people actually have sex during a Fall show a couple of years ago.

Someone was so transfixed by Interpol the first time I saw them, the guy actually took a piss in the middle of the crowd hoping nobody would notice- many of us did.

In my old punk rock days, people who would stage dive boots out really used to piss me off.

I don't mind if people dance, sing along, just stand there or whatever because depending on who the band is or my mood/energy level, I could fall into any of the above.

Wish they had been at the Fall show I was at so I could have at least been entertained by something

np:Grandmaster Flash-White Lines

Here's one that hasn't been brought up yet: People taking pictures at shows who stand in front of the stage during the whole show. I don't mind if you come up and snap a few pics and then move away or if they're crouching down at least but don't fucking stand there for the whole goddamn show. I hardly ever take my camera to shows now b/c I feel like it's kind of annoying to everyone else.

People who bump into me w/o saying "sorry".

People who stand way too close to me if I don't know them. Back the fuck off.

Also, I don't get annoyed by people who dance. I mostly think it's hysterical because they look like idiots. There was a guy at the Heartless Bastards show last week who was wearing a shirt like this and was doing the hand twirl and dancing like he was at a soul concert.

At least I'm not alone in that. The best repayment I got for this kind of behavior, or non-behavior, was at a King Crimson show a few years back. I was third row, way to the right of the stage, about 6 feet from Fripp, and had an excellent view of Pat Mastellotto's massive, amazing drums. I pretty much spent the entire show watching, in amazement, what he did - the guy's pretty talented and it's fascinating to see what he's doing, especially on a mostly-electronic set. (Yeah, I wish I was a drummer.) At the end of the show, the band takes their bows and Pat emerges from his kit, looks directly out a a few people, and bows to them while mouthing "thank you" several times. I was one of those people, and it felt really good to have a band member acknowledge back at me the attention I was giving the music they were making. That's all I need - no autographs, no souvenirs - just knowing that the band was very aware that some of us were investing as much attention into listening as the band was in creating the music. Granted, King Crimson is that kind of band that invites concentrated listening, but, still. One of my favorite concert experiences.

Maybe some of them have short girlfriends.

damn you're like a pissed off miss manners!

what do the heartless bastards sound like and are they any good live?
I've been meaning to look into them because they'll be in TN but the name has kept me from doing so.

Maybe some of them got there early and really like the band. See my first post in this thread.

or people who seem take pictures for the entire show. i was at a show with a friend awhile ago and she looked at her camera afterward and noticed that she'd taken over 100 pictures! she's just going to toss them on flickr, so it's not like she needed to go so overboard. it doesn't really annoy me that much, only when it's excessive. the first time any of these buzz bands comes through town is the worst because everybody's got their phones pointed at the stage for the first couple songs. yeah, i like pictures too, but i also go to a show to actually see the band not from behind a lens.

It was more disturbing than entertaining.

another annoying thing: people calling someone during the middle of a show and then holding their phone up for the person to hear.

yeah that deserves a crotchbat if anything does.

haha

they're kinda garage rock but the girl has a really good voice like early pj harvey. they were okay live, the girl couldn't sing one of their songs because she was so hoarse. i have them on slsk if you wanna check them out.

oh, and homosexuals.

Was the guy involved Mark E. Smith because YES that would be disturbing for a multitude of reasons.

Steve

I tend to think he must be pretty good, really. I mean, he's no oil painting, as they say, and he's a miserable bastard, and he's always broke, and his discography is bewildering, but he's always got his gf/wife in the band and they seem to stick around for years at a go.

Also, I am annoyed by:

Smokers dripping ash on me.
Prolonging snogging.
I got here early so I could see, you know? Don't push up to the front just because you're bigger than me.
Dance all you like, but don't just charge people.
Don't holler bullshit at the band about how lame they are. Who is this guy, and why has he come to the show? WTF?

it's true. great/twisted minds do in fact think alike........

Sheep who ask why I'm not dancing.

Maybe some of the early entrants with their short girlfriends could kindly stand at the front on one SIDE of the stage, not directly in the middle.