Goldmine, March 8, 1991
Goldmine Dear Jeff Tamarkin, I read with great interest your excellent Goldmine article: "Are Rock Concert Audiences Becoming Intolerable". I can assure you that you are not alone in your assessment of rude and obnoxious people who attend live concerts. As a musician I have seen all of the problems you addressed (and several more) from both sides of the stage. As a performer, the rude behavior of an audience is very uninspiring and as a member of a rude audience, it is both embarrassing and disappointing to witness a less than great performance by a legendary artist. By the way, this month marks the 20th anniversary of the first rock concert I attended. I have attended live concerts in Lubbock, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Los Angeles and many other smaller towns in the Southwest and have witnessed disappointing actions by certain audience members in most every town. Also, as a veteran of many concerts over the years I have: been crushed by mobs of people rushing the stage, been thrown up on, been burned by cigarettes (I do not smoke), offered most every type of illicit drug, been pushed and shoved, had beer spilled on me, and have actually had people fall on me, all in the name of witnessing a live concert. I have watched in horror while Chick Corea and Keith Emerson played delicate acoustic piano solos which were inaudible over the roar of laughter and talking. I have also seen members of The Doobie Brothers hit in the head with wadded up beer cups. I have seen a whiskey bottle thrown at the stage while Boston performed, and have seen the organist for Three Dog Night and also Frank Zappa hit in the head with Frisbees. Why then, do I still attend concerts? Probably for the same reason you do: as a person who loves music, the excitement and spontaneity of a live concert cannot be equaled. One point that you didn't make in your article which is a valid one is this: The arenas and stadiums that house most big live shows were not originally constructed to hold musical performances. They were built to hold sporting events. Many types of behaviors that bother you and me (loud talking, yelling, drinking, smoke, etc.) are perfectly acceptable in these same venues under different circumstances. The television and print media which cover sporting events in these facilities actually glorify this type of behavior. (Crazed sports fans regularly appear on the front page here in the Dallas newspaper.) These ignorant people are psychologically conditioned to behave in the same manner when attending a musical performance as they do at sporting events. It is ironic that in Japanese and European cultures musicians are held in esteem as some of the highest members of society and are treated with respect and honor both on the stage and off. I hung your editorial on the bulletin board at the high school where I teach music. I talk to my students regularly about being good audience members and respecting performers whose livelihood it is to pour out their emotions through music in a live concert. We practice being good audience members for each other weekly while selected students perform. I feel this is an important part of their musical education. I'm also trying to do my small part to make things better for performing musicians and listeners of music in the future. At rock concerts I usually do like you do and keep my mouth shut around disruptive people in fear of bodily harm. However, I can offer some suggestions on how to enjoy live concerts more. I like to sit as close as possible to the front row. It's more exciting to be close, it makes you feel like you are on the stage and part of the action. Also, the closer you are to the stage, the more the music drowns out the morons behind you. However, in large venues it is next to impossible to get very near the stage. In these big arenas I usually sit on the first level above the floor and position myself even with the center of the stage. I have a good pair of binoculars that I received a year ago last Christmas which have never been used for anything except concerts. You can hear better being in the center of the stereo spectrum and with the glasses you get a close up view of the performers and can tune out all of the scum who are there to distract. The older I get, the more selective I am of what concerts I attend, mainly based on the facility where they are held. I tend to enjoy concerts more in places such as small theaters and auditoriums instead of arenas and large clubs mainly based on the make-up of the audience. Whether or not alcohol is served also makes a big difference. I rarely go see concerts in stadiums and giant arenas anymore. That's probably why in recent times I made the tough decision not to attend The Who and Paul McCartney shows when they came through Dallas. Instead, I purchased the CD sets from both tours and am very impressed and satisfied with their performances in the smoke-free environment of my living room. I am able to enjoy every nuance of the performance in a way that I know I would not have experienced had I attended the live show, all in crystal clean digital audio. I am probably not the only person who took this same option. Your article suggested special sections be set up at concerts basically for people who listen and people who don't. I would like to expand your non-listening section to include: people who come to live shows and usually sit directly in front of me who stand up and dance for most of the show; tall guys who wear hats that block 75% of my view; nose blowers; people who feel my enjoyment of the show will be enhanced if they sing along to all the tunes; and pinheads who hold lighters above their head for most of the show. Realistically, there never will be separate sections (the morons are too dumb to know who they are anyway!). However, I think that if a survey were taken of people who come to concerts, more come to listen to the music than the other clods. It only takes a select few to make a show unpleasant for many. Unfortunately, I am one of the people you described who is choosing to attend fewer and fewer live shows these days based on the information presented here and in your article. As more and more people do the same thing, performing musicians and listeners of music will all suffer. On a brighter note,... see you at the Paul Simon concert in a couple of weeks... I'm going there to listen to the music! Sincerely, Mike Myers
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