I had my mind blown just now

I was thinking the same thing. I've been to hundreds (not counting local bands), so someone who made it to adulthood without seeing even one seems odd.

I don't like concerts. I've been to several, but the experience has never been too good, especially compared to what they cost.

In one of my first college classes, I got into a discussion in the last 10 minutes of class with a few people about the difference between smooth jazz and real jazz, and where in the Tri-State Area to hear the good stuff live (sidenote: God, I miss WBGO), and this girl tried to explain that both suck because "who wants to stand around listening to a bunch of people playing instruments n' shit?

The conversation was over. The professor immediately dismissed class. I immediately left the building.

Just curious- What is it you didn't like?

It may also have to do with the fact that tickets for concerts -- the big ones, anyway -- while not really expensive, can still be pretty cost-prohibitive if you have limited means. I know that I haven't been able to go to the shows for the bands I like until recently. And because some of the artists I'd actually like to see in concert never go on tour.

The crowds, being far away, the sound quality being kind of low compared to the record, expensive. I begin to think about how many times the band has played that exact song and realise how bored they must be, and it kind of kills the experience.

ETA: Concerts are different from "shows", in my book, so maybe that's a little confusing. I love to go see my friend's band play, I like going to see folk acts, stuff in smaller venues. I guess because I've only had big "concert" (White Stripes, Primus) and tiny "show" (friend's basement) experiences, I tend to seperate them.

Patrick, try it again when you're 21 and don't have to deal with the horror that is the all-ages show.

An overwhelming majority of the shows I attended were in my late teens /early twenties (1990-1998) at various small-to-mid size NY clubs (Roseland, Irving Plaza,Wetlands, The Academy, Tramps and the like) probably averaging less than $20 a show. Even the festivals were in the $40 range.

Some of the most amazing things have happened to me before during and after shows. Though Message Board Posters who err towards the side of agoraphobia would surprise no one.

I didn't say big bands, I said the bands/artists that I like. I've seen Springsteen and Dylan, who were really the only big guys on my list. I'd see Springsteen again, though.

Also, I currently live in the fucking mountains, where the only "concerts" that have happened in the last month were a local bluegrass band formed by people who used to work at the place I do now, and David Lanz, who I guess is new age. Not interested. And when I go to NYC, I usually have things that need to take priority, like catching up on movies. (Which will change when I move back to the city in a year, obviously.)

(Note, I'm not defending myself or taking this as a personal attack, just commenting on this from my own experience.)

Now I'm just kinda wondering who you've seen live. I've seen generally shitty concerts by bands I like before, but I've yet to see one where the band's biggest, most worn out song didn't have some sort of energy behind it still.

Also, as someone who spent an hour and a half 3 rows in front of a speaker during a Metallica concert, I assure you, sometimes distance is good.

I've never been to a concert. I get claustrophobic around large groups of people when I feel packed in like cattle. Some people love the energy of a crowd and given the opportunity, there are some bands that would be worth overcoming that discomfort, but I'm not going to spend $50 so I can go out and not enjoy myself.

How do you go to a movie theater then?

Also, there's a big difference between what Matt describes and going to a jazz club.

It's not even energy, it's probably just me projecting. I just think they'd be tired and bored, so I assume that they're faking it. Also, I don't know what to do in concerts. Clap? Can I woo? I always feel dumb wooing. And I can't dance, but I don't want to stand still, so what, do I just do that jump up and down in place thing? That's annoying. And then I accidentally bump into this girls boob and I feel like an asshole and I try to slip through the crowd before her boyfriend, who's got daggers in his eyes, can reach me. And I start to sing along, cuz I'm one of those assholes who sings along to music he's listening to, except I realise I only know about half of the first verse and the chorus so I just stop, and I look around hoping no one notices how stupid I look to stop in the middle of a fucking word. And there's that one song on the album I really like that they never play and I keep waiting for it and it doesn't come, they just play all these other songs that I don't like as much, and even if they are songs I do like, I'm comparing them to the songs they aren't playing that I like better, so I can't enjoy them. So I stand in the back somewhere with my arms crossed when I realise "Shit, I bet they've played that song I like this entire tour. And now that they've reached the end of the tour, they're fucking sick and tired of that song, want nothing to do with it." Then I start to think about how much better my life would have been if I only lived in Indianapolis or Boston or one of those other early tour stops.

And I pay 20 dollars for this?

Oh.

Everyone is sitting down and organized. It's not this massive wave of people all standing, scrunched together. Some people love that kind of energy. I feel like I'm having a panic attack.

This just in: other people are different from you!

More at 11.

There's only a few bands I go to see live. I've only been to a handful of concerts in my life (or shows, if you will- and only one big stadium concert and a couple of festivals as well). I usually have fun at them.

I agree with Patrick though, the smaller is usually the better. Big concerts and outdoor festivals can be a drag and brutal in the heat. The energy of the band can usually temporarily block out any shittiness, though one thing that bugs me at shows is when kids refuse to move. It's become a cliche now, but people actually do this. They give you dirty looks if you're into the band.

I have a friend that goes to about 100 shows a year for bands I've never even heard of. They go to shows like I go to the movies. I never understood this as it probably gets monotonous, but what do I know.

I'd go to more concerts if:

A. It didn't cost so much to go. Any band not local will only play in the central part of the state or West. So to get to any show is at LEAST a 2 hour drive. Then I have to factor it into my schedule because I have night classes or work on some nights. Then the cost of the tickets. Then the cost of any drinks I get.

B. If I had more friends who wanted to go, thus lessening costs, and generally making me feel better about the whole effort.

C. If bands I liked would quit skipping my state.


But seriously, if someone has reached adulthood without at least seeing a local show...that's a bit weird.

I could play the agoraphobia card, but more importantly I live on an island nobody cares about, which means nobody worthwhile comes here for concerts, and it's prohibitive to travel outside for shows. Pearl Jam came here and played a great show (although our seats were behind the stage in a hockey arena, so we had what Eddie Vedder called "the best view of Matt Cameron's ass").

I missed out on the White Stripes last summer because I was horribly pussy-whipped.

Are you Larry David?

Little bit. Little bit. A little bit.

I was actually thinking it sounded more like a college-aged Charlie Brown.

Wait, so you went to a Primus show, presumably out of your own will, and didn't have a good time? Impossible.

They did a disappointingly short set, and I managed to make it to the front, so I was getting crushed/assfucked the entire time. Not the good kind of assfucked, the bad kind. It's hard to enjoy Les's foot stomping antics when your stomach's getting bruised.

I went to a Weezer concert once. I dropped a guy that was crowd surfing. It was very awkward.

On a side note, devincf is about to hit 30,000 posts.

Devin I think your shock can be explained if you distinguish between urban and rural introverts.

I've been to half a dozen or so. I've seen every single show Rob Zombie's played in Atlanta for the last 6 years and loved every goddamn second. I saw some shittier "big" bands play and enjoyed them at the time, wouldn't go see them now. Problem is, these are kind of "events" because they cost $50+ and require going deep into Atlanta - an hour away with all that entails. Any local band around is garbage, I'd rather be at a movie.

I am seeing Hansard and Irglova in Atlanta in May and I am fucking excited.

The Beach Boys - and by Beach Boys, I mean Mike Love, unloved hanger-on Bruce Johnston, and various session musicians - played a nearby city. It would have cost me about $500 to go. That's about the closest I've come in my adult life to going to a concert.

While I'm happy with the $500 I saved, I do regret missing it. The opening act was Christopher Cross. CHRISTOPHER CROSS!

I managed to see The Beach Boys before they started dying off, and it was pretty fuckin' sweet. I love going to concerts, I just haven't been to many because the musical selection that's in my price range where I live sucks a whole huggy bunch. This'll change when I move to Austin, hopefully.

Not counting bar/local bands I've been to about 20-30 shows. It is kind of weird thinking some adults have never been to one. At the same time, I've never been a big fan of live albums. Maybe other people have that issue as well, and it steers them clear of live shows?

My first show was Boingo(the Oingo-less Oingo Boingo). I shook Danny Elfman's hand, and the show kicked ass. It was good.

I know quite a few people who have never been to a concert, and I live in a big city known for its music. It's strange, to say the least.

Concerts are like oxygen to me. I don't think I can go more than five months without going to at least one or two shows.

Ticket prices might have a lot to do with it, but I have one friend in particual who thinks I'm crazy that I spend so much time and money on concerts. Hell, I offered the guy a half-priced ticket to last year's Crossroads Festival and he turned me down, saying it wasn't his sort of thing. I can't fathom turning down a chance to see many of the greatest guitar players of all time jam in one day with Bill Murray emceeing the whole thing, but he turned me down immediately.

Seeing a 1st-rate live band in an intimate venue (or at any general admission show) is one of the great pleasures in life.

Next to, say...sex.

I don't understand how adults who have never been to concerts exist.

I absolutely love music, don't get me wrong, but I don't have any sort of portable music-playing device, and really only listen to music when I'm on the computer or driving (both are often). But when I listen to music it becomes more of a brainstorming or daydreaming enhancer, and is probably more important a tool for me as a creative type than any other. I can't listen to music without wanting to quietly start thinking about different movie ideas, whether playing movie themes in my headphones or a roommate practicing on his guitar. Naturally brainstorming and concerts don't really go hand-in-hand, and it also sorta bleeds into my non-appreciation of virtually all live recordings. When I wanna listen to a song it's to help me reach a creative place in my mind without distractions, and the sounds of audiences cheering or musicians shouting out to the crowds breaks that concentration. Of course there's exceptions but that's for the most part why I don't go to concerts or even listen to concert recordings.

Interestingly, that was one of the last shows I went to. I liked it. I didn't know it was going to be their last tour, or I'd have appreciated it more. The same thing happened to me when I saw The Police Synchronicity tour.

My last show was Garbage. I was right up next to the stage, close enough to make eye contact with Shirley Manson. Then the moshing started. I moved the hell back. I'm 43. I'm not doing the moshing. That's some obnoxious shit.

Except for one They Might Be Giants show, I really don't do concerts anymore. The money is getting insane. Although The Police and Elvis Costello at the Gorge this summer is mighty tempting. I can understand people not being into it. I generally prefer studio music to live.

You know, I hadn't thought about it, but I have much the same experience with music, so that might be a factor as well. Listening to music tends to make my mind go places.

I've heard the Gorge is an amazing venue. If I ever get back up there I'll have to time it to a good show playing there.

Context is important. For example, I saw Jon Mikl Thor perform last night. He's basically become the Fat Elvis of hair metal. I've never been a fan-- some friends were in the warm-up act and I was there to tape them-- but I can't imagine that listening to a recording or watching a video could be anywhere near as fun as seeing that world-class loon do his thing in person.

I had over-protective parents, and so didn't see a concert until my sophomore year in college -- U2 on the Joshua Tree tour. Plus we had the Genitortuters rehearsing on a regular basis in our dorm, so that has to count for something.

Devin is right. It must be sad to be you.

Very interesting thread.

There's nothing quite like experience a band you really like live, when you're aspiring to get paid for your own music it's an even deeper experience.

I can't even begin to go through all the shows I've been to (some of them I remember the venue and everything, others I've can't recall), but some of the best ones were:

Peter Gabriel
Nine Inch Nails (at The Joint in Las Vegas)
Tom Waits (multiple times)
Eric Clapton
Radiohead
Red Hot Chili Peppers (twice)
System of a Down w/ The Mars Volta (at The Long Beach Arena)
The last 3 years of Coachella
Opeth (at the Wiltern, which besides being an AMAZING venue was great because I'm friends with one of their roadies so I got backstage all access for that show.)
Aerosmith (Feb 22nd 2006, Staples Center on my 21st Birthday)

And last but certainly not least, Slayer w/ Mastodon and Killswitch Engage. This was a relatively small venue, the House of Blues in Las Vegas and you could almost literally feel the music in the air. It was amazing.

If you can't enjoy live music I don't know what the hell to say to you. You don't have to be a part of the crowd. Sit back at the bar and be cool if you want.

You haven't lived until you go to a smaller venue concert. Those are the best and those are the most likely where crazy shit will happen. Plus, you put all your love in these big bands and you go to a show where they can't even love you back... but go see one of your favorite artists who hasn't hit it huge yet and you wind up buying them a beer. It's pretty awesome.

Also... 20 bucks isn't a lot of money. It's especially not a lot of money considering it's very possible you can have your life changed at a really good show. You could meet the person of your dreams... you can get in your first fight and win... you can see live titty. Heh.

Interesting I saw this thread tonight. I'm 38. I've also been to hundreds of shows in my lifetime. I went to a show tonight (Clutch) and it's the first show I've been to in about a year. All I've been thinking is "When did I become such an old pussy that I hardly ever go to shows anymore?" To have gone through adulthood and never even wanted to go to a show is pretty fucking odd if you have love for music.

I have to say I'm pretty surprised by Ripoll's opinion on live music. You've always seemed pretty "into" music from what I could tell. I wouldn't have guessed the uptight reaction to concert going.

One thing age has brought - The Pit is a totally retarded thing to me now.