Is it weird to go to a concert if you don't have the records first?

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

Matthew suggests here that it is, for him at least.

I kind of know what he means about getting more out of a performance if you are familiar with the songs (the old muted audience reaction to the dreaded 'new songs' phenomenon is relevant here). But I guess I see it as the safe option. I think perhaps the best experiences of all are when a band you have no expectations of thrills you (seeing the Rapture and the LCD Soundsystem about a year ago did this for me, recently).

Then I started thinking of a time before records. On the one hand the folk tradition supports Matthew's attitude, but on the other hand it would have been a bit ridiculous to have said "No, I don't think I'll go and hear the symphony by this new Ludwig Van wotsit fellow everyone's hyping up - I've never heard it before so I'd rather just go down the road and hear some nice Mozart."

― N. (nickdastoor), Sunday, 22 February 2004 22:15 (twenty-two years ago)

As I said on that thread, concert going for me is often, esp. now I'm not so obsessive about keeping in touch with new things, a social experience. (ie. I live in the centre of a major city so going to see a gig down the road by someone that's been recommended competes with going to a club, pub or going to play pool on a Saturday night).

― N. (nickdastoor), Sunday, 22 February 2004 22:18 (twenty-two years ago)

Well, why are you going to a concert -- to hear music. Whether you've heard it or not isn't really all that important, is it? You may enjoy it more based on its familiarity to you, but not hearingit ahead of time shouldn't preclude you from going.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Sunday, 22 February 2004 22:18 (twenty-two years ago)

I like the model of a jazz or swing club where the music are the hired act to perform for people who are socialising, rather than something to stand and stare at like a theatre performance.

― N. (nickdastoor), Sunday, 22 February 2004 22:19 (twenty-two years ago)

I don't know. It's usually a weird experience. Although, I quite enjoyed Deerhoof and Shonen Knife when I saw them. I had fun and didn't feel all too weird. But I didn't feel all that comfortable to dance like my mom did. Oh my!

― Aja (aja), Sunday, 22 February 2004 22:22 (twenty-two years ago)

I don't find it particularly weird. I don't really like my concerts to be a close rehash of what has already been recorded anyway. That doesn't mean I don't enjoy hearing a familiar song, but still, I like to feel that something is happening at a concert.

I don't go to many concerts anyway.

Also, I've found that when I've bought CDs by performers (especially international types) I've seen live, I've often been disappointed. In fact, if I had judged whether or not to go based on having heard these CDs, I might not have gone at all. Dimi Mint Aba, Hassan Hakmoun, Houria Aichi, the Baluchi Ensemble (? I think that's what I saw), and Sleater-Kinney (token rock concert I went to in the last several years) all put on great shows, but their recordings have been a disappointing to me.

― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Sunday, 22 February 2004 22:26 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah, I think people are embarrassed to say such and such band only works live or is much better on record, because it's such a cliché, but it's still true that it's a very important variable.

― N. (nickdastoor), Sunday, 22 February 2004 22:28 (twenty-two years ago)

I must admit that I like concerts best in a blanc state. Most bands ruin favorite songs on stage and do not resemble the mental image their songs/lyrics have created within me. So it's better to not know them - the songs and band that is - anyway.
I must also admit: I'm a very picky guy at this.

― Roger in Mokum (Roger T), Sunday, 22 February 2004 22:30 (twenty-two years ago)

It is a cliche, but it is true--and why not? There's a huge potential for difference in the sound alone. When you factor in the mood and ambience, there's even more potential for difference in the experience.

― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Sunday, 22 February 2004 22:31 (twenty-two years ago)

>a jazz or swing club where the music are the hired act to perform for people who are socialising

I'm laughing now, imagining you saying this to a jazz musician and getting punched right in the Adam's apple.

― Phil Freeman (Phil Freeman), Sunday, 22 February 2004 22:34 (twenty-two years ago)

I guess it's much more of a gamble - especially in these days of being able to download pretty much at will - of going to see a band you've never heard. Nevertheless I think a lot of my favourite pop moments have happened this way. Plus I think if a band intrigue me, even slightly, in a live context, I'm much more willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, to suspend my disbelief, than I am with a bunch of mp3s I've downloaded where I have absolutely no investment. Often seeing a band live, just one quality - humour, good looks, charm - can be enough to make you listen more attentively, and more productively to a song you might otherwise have dismissed entirely too easily.

― Jerry the Nipper (Jerrynipper), Sunday, 22 February 2004 22:34 (twenty-two years ago)

Phil, sure, nowadays jazz clubs often generally little different from rock concerts in this regard, apart from the odd table, and I wasn't trying to say jazz=background music. Just that there was a time (in my imagination anyway, probably fuelled by films) in which that was a common model.

― N. (nickdastoor), Sunday, 22 February 2004 22:37 (twenty-two years ago)

In my experience, I always enjoy a show most when I know all or most of the songs being played. It's just so much more fun for me that way.

I really don't go to that many shows for a few reasons - it's expensive enough to buy tickets, but I also have to commute to see shows so I have to worry about leaving in time to get on a train back home and all the costs of commuting on top of ticket charges. So I can't relate to just seeing shows just cos it's a thing to do - even when I haven't had to commute, I very seldom didn't pay to see anything I wasn't very invested in. I don't think I really enjoy concert environments very much (especially back when smoking was allowed in NYC venues), so if I'm going to see something, it has to be good enough to justify the cost, stress, etc.

In contrast to N, seeing live music hasn't ever been a very social experience for me. I don't find them to be very good environments for socializing, and I'm there to see the artist, so I'm very focused when I'm at a show. It's more ritualistic than social for me, I suppose. I don't mind social aspects of seeing shows, but it's not important to me.

On the other hand, I've heard some good stuff for the first time by seeing opening acts play, so I understand the appeal of seeing something new. I just don't find that to be the best way to hear new music.

― Matthew Perpetua (Matthew Perpetua), Sunday, 22 February 2004 22:45 (twenty-two years ago)

even when I haven't had to commute, I very seldom didn't pay to see anything I wasn't very invested in.

Aw, damn. Pretend that "didn't" isn't part of that sentence, and switch "pay" to "paid," and you'll get my meaning.

― Matthew Perpetua (Matthew Perpetua), Sunday, 22 February 2004 22:47 (twenty-two years ago)

I generally get really annoyed when people talk over music. However, there is a local salsa band that I go to hear occasionally who even puts on their flier something like "Dance. Socialize." Etc. Maybe dance music tends to make conversation more acceptable, since there is already social interaction happening (in the form of dancing), and it tends to lead to some conversation. Of course, this is also not the greatest band in the world. (There are some good musicians involved, but the band doesn't play together enough to be as tight as a more professional outfit.) But anyway, their concerts usually are social events for me: I know some of the band members enough to stop and talk a little bit, and I usually know some of the people who show up for their performances (if I haven't arranged to meet people there to begin with). But this is kind of a special case.

― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Sunday, 22 February 2004 22:48 (twenty-two years ago)

Is it weird to go to a concert if you don't have the records?

No.

Is it weird NOT to go to a concert if you don't have the records but think you maybe might be interested in the performer and are free that night and have enough money and it's not so far away from where you live and everything else?

Um...a little.

― billislord, Sunday, 22 February 2004 22:48 (twenty-two years ago)

I like the model of a jazz or swing club where the music are the hired act to perform for people who are socialising, rather than something to stand and stare at like a theatre performance.

I think this may be the thing for me - I want performances to be more like theatre. I don't enjoy socializing in places with loud music, becuase it just drives me nuts to talk over music or strain to hear people through the noise.

― Matthew Perpetua (Matthew Perpetua), Sunday, 22 February 2004 22:51 (twenty-two years ago)

I like that too, sometimes. I didn't mean to say it's the only model I like. But I realised that I'd spent too many evenings in my life craning at a stage, getting sore feet and not really getting much out of the experience. Pretending to have fun. The joy of the Rapture and LCD Soundsystem gigs was that it was a euphoric dancefloor.

― N. (nickdastoor), Sunday, 22 February 2004 22:54 (twenty-two years ago)

N, where did you see LCD Soundsystem + The Rapture?

I saw them on a bill together last summer in NYC, and it was without question one of the best shows I've ever seen.

― Matthew Perpetua (Matthew Perpetua), Sunday, 22 February 2004 22:55 (twenty-two years ago)

Separately, at Optimo in Glasgow.

― N. (nickdastoor), Sunday, 22 February 2004 22:56 (twenty-two years ago)

I tend to take advantage of any chance to see Sufi or other trance music from the Islamic world, though I feel a little funny saying that. I just find that it tends to be a good night out. (I'm not that keen on qawali, but I would probably go to see it live again, under the right circumstances.) The (largely secular) Arabic music that interests me is even less available to me than this other sort of thing.

― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Sunday, 22 February 2004 22:57 (twenty-two years ago)

It's funny, though I agree that dancing is an obviously social activity; I don't think of it as being "socializing," which I think of as being a verbal activity. I think of dancing (and other similar physical activities) to music as being a natural response to the music, and not something that exists separate to what the people on stage are doing (which is how I'd classify talking/eating/etc). When you say "socializing," it makes me think that the music is just something that's in the room, as opposed to being the guiding force of the room, as it would be with dancing.

― Matthew Perpetua (Matthew Perpetua), Sunday, 22 February 2004 23:00 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah, OK, I was originally talking about chatting and have moved onto dancing, but they are both in opposition to the 'staring at the stage like a piece of Western theatre' model, though shuffling about in front of the stage, facing forward blurs the distinction a bit.

― N. (nickdastoor), Sunday, 22 February 2004 23:05 (twenty-two years ago)

i think concerts should have CHAIRS. i know this is very old woman-sounding of me, but imagine a glorious world where you'd be sitting at a small rock type venue pleasantly watching the band from your cushioned seat with your pabst or whatever... nice, soft chairs at different levels so that i too can enjoy gigs even though i am 5'4. this is the future. this would not work obviously for dancing music, but would any of you really miss appreciatively nodding your heads THAT MUCH??

this also has nothing to do with listening to the records before going to concerts. i'm sorry. i think usually it is more enjoyable if you've heard the records, but not always.

― j c (j c), Sunday, 22 February 2004 23:14 (twenty-two years ago)

But lots of concerts do have seated upper circles. Sofas would be nice, though.

― N. (nickdastoor), Sunday, 22 February 2004 23:16 (twenty-two years ago)

But I like the experience of going to a concert and trying to pay attention to the performance as completely as possible, so that model of just sitting and watching isn't bad for me, as long as it's something I want to hear. Standing can be more draining, I admit.

I don't listen to recorded music up front all that often (maybe not as often as I should). It's usually at least partly in the background. But when I got to a live performance, I switch into wanting to give it my full attention (again, with some exceptions, almost always where dancing is involved).

― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Sunday, 22 February 2004 23:19 (twenty-two years ago)

but small club type venues don't, which seems to always be where i end up going. sofas, beanbag chairs, love seats... it could be a beautiful experience (as opposed to standing for four hours in the middle of a crowd of sweaty smelly abnormally tall people while you wait for the opening bands to hurry up). why does this not happen?

― j c (j c), Sunday, 22 February 2004 23:20 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah, I avoid seated gigs too, it's weird. I guess I just feel like I'm missing out somehow, even if I know my legs would probably be aching and I'd be worried that the girl behind me couldn't see, or that she'd think I was deliberately pressing my back against her chest if I were standing. A grass is always greener thing, I guess.

― N. (nickdastoor), Sunday, 22 February 2004 23:23 (twenty-two years ago)

also, people don't bump into you when you're sitting down. have you noticed this? they might brush your arm or something, but they're not all, "oh i'm sorry did i just shove my elbow through your eye in an attempt to show my appreciation for GODSMACK while drinking beer out of a plastic cup that i've just emptied upon your friend??"

they should stop serving alcohol & just give everyone free joints, too.

seated gigs do have a stigma though. i think it's because people subconsciously hate short people.

― j c (j c), Sunday, 22 February 2004 23:24 (twenty-two years ago)

I like the way things work out at smaller US gigs, where you have the option of sitting at a booth/table or standing. Theatre all-seater gigs tend to feel a bit stuffy, while all standing pub gigs are just tiring.

― Jerry the Nipper (Jerrynipper), Sunday, 22 February 2004 23:25 (twenty-two years ago)

I like what JC is saying about seated venues, but only for certain kinds of music. I think that in a better world, artists would just be better matched to their venues. There's a lot of music which is ideal for seated venues, but get stuck in standard rock clubs because of economic concerns.

― Matthew Perpetua (Matthew Perpetua), Sunday, 22 February 2004 23:27 (twenty-two years ago)

that's true: there are some concerts that it's fun to jump around at.

i'm just bitter at the moment because i went to see cat power at one of those standing club type venues last week & spent the whole show being elbowed & pushed by people and unable to see the lady herself after standing for two and a half hours waiting for her to go on. & that's not even the sort of music that you appreciatively nod to!

― j c (j c), Sunday, 22 February 2004 23:32 (twenty-two years ago)

Cat Power is exactly the kind of thing which should never be at a standard rock club. Yo La Tengo is another example that comes to mind - I remember they did a tour a few years ago which was all seated venues (and rock clubs with folding chairs), and that was a great idea for them.

― Matthew Perpetua (Matthew Perpetua), Sunday, 22 February 2004 23:35 (twenty-two years ago)

Really, most indie rock stuff should be seated, right? Even some of the more upbeat indie rock music gets little to no physical response from its fans, so why not just give them all chairs to sit in?

― Matthew Perpetua (Matthew Perpetua), Sunday, 22 February 2004 23:36 (twenty-two years ago)

I guess you can pack more punters in.

― N. (nickdastoor), Sunday, 22 February 2004 23:37 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah, but with seats you can just charge more. You can compensate.

― Matthew Perpetua (Matthew Perpetua), Sunday, 22 February 2004 23:41 (twenty-two years ago)

and there's the other big problem with seated concerts...

― j c (j c), Sunday, 22 February 2004 23:43 (twenty-two years ago)

I don't think I'm in favour of concert prices going up to keep my feet happy. Maybe for the odd special event it would be nice though.

― N. (nickdastoor), Sunday, 22 February 2004 23:45 (twenty-two years ago)

they move chairs in/out of tonic in nyc depending on what kind of gig it is. it's a good idea in general but unfortunately, it does limit space and the number of people who can be up close to the stage.
charging more seems a bit unrealistic for most venues, as i doubt people would take to the idea of paying extra to have some folding chairs brought in. aside from the monetary issues, i suspect that people would psychologically balk at the idea that they go to gigs to sit down. seated gigs are usually advertised as some sort of big deal event, and i'm assuming that's part of it.

― lauren (laurenp), Sunday, 22 February 2004 23:48 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm okay with prices going up if the environment is better, but I only see live music as a special occasion thing. I'd be happy to pay a bit more if the quality of the experience was better. I'd like to see more physical shows at wider, more expansive dance clubs too. I've seen Fugazi play at the Ritz and the old Palladium in NYC, and those were both great places to see a show where most of the crowd is moving. Traditional rock clubs tend to be too narrow and ugly.

― Matthew Perpetua (Matthew Perpetua), Sunday, 22 February 2004 23:50 (twenty-two years ago)

There's the Union Chapel in London. It's a church that's started having gigs in the last five years or so...Smog, Yo La Tengo, Low, Nina Nastasia, Godspeed, Cat Power etc.

Ticket prices are around £15...which is expensive, but then again, most ticket prices are in London.

Problem is, in winter it's freezing cold if you're not sat within range of the space heaters.

And, yeah, gigs there do tend to feel a little polite.

― billislord, Sunday, 22 February 2004 23:53 (twenty-two years ago)

Sorry, I meant to say The Roxy, not the Ritz.

― Matthew Perpetua (Matthew Perpetua), Sunday, 22 February 2004 23:55 (twenty-two years ago)

what perhaps is truly needed is a concert revolution whereby people are arranged according to height regardless of when they arrive or whom they're with. it would be a modern venue utopia wherein everyone could make new friends with the strangers next to him or her, while maintaining a clear view of the band.

also i am not adverse to just putting everyone above 6'1 in a cage toward the back...

― j c (j c), Sunday, 22 February 2004 23:55 (twenty-two years ago)

JC, I'm 5'10, but I know what you mean. I personally make an effort to not block out the view of shorter people around me, but there are some guys who are either oblivious to their own size or just don't care about other people around them. It's good form to let the smaller people get up in the front, but most people never think of it.

― Matthew Perpetua (Matthew Perpetua), Sunday, 22 February 2004 23:59 (twenty-two years ago)

JC, I'm 6'0" but I was having exactly the same thought at a gig the other day!

― N. (nickdastoor), Monday, 23 February 2004 00:01 (twenty-two years ago)

Somehow this whole thing just reminds me of the time when I went to see Fugazi not knowing any of the band's music, really thinking the second of two opening bands was absolutely fantastic, and then learning when they came out for an encore that they were in fact Fugazi. (Also bemusing was the identity of the first and only opening band -- this was 1991 -- in that they were 'some typical OC hardcore guys called the Offspring.')

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 23 February 2004 00:03 (twenty-two years ago)

...ur

I actually see bands live first then decide if I'm going to buy their albums or not.. and half the time, I'm usually disappointed in the album but still enamored with the live show..

This is usually the case with bands opening for another band I already planned to see, but also for cheaper all-ages shows where I just want to take a chance and see if I get blown away by the good word I've heard of certain local or touring acts.

So, in other words, my answer to the question is FUCK NO!

― donut bitch (donut), Monday, 23 February 2004 00:03 (twenty-two years ago)

Not weird at all. Most of the shows I go to involve bands I've never seen and know only by reputation. Sometimes I'll go based on reviews in the Voice or TONY. Sometimes I'm just bored.

I tend to hate venues with seats, unless the seats are upstairs or off to the sides. It's music, it isn't church -- there should be room to dance and jump around, or at least room to maneuver toward the stage.

― subgenius (subgenius), Monday, 23 February 2004 00:59 (twenty-two years ago)

i think it depends on if the band actually knows how to play live and put its own songs over. of course it's fun to know the songs and to be able to sing along and stuff (but PLEASE don't sing along too loudly if you're anywhere near me or i'm gonna have to throw my drink on you!), but a great live band is going to make you love their material whether or not you already know it.

it's the crappy live bands that it's helpful to have heard the albums in advance. that way, you can use your imagination to fill in all the missing parts that they're utterly incapable of playing.

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Monday, 23 February 2004 02:35 (twenty-two years ago)

how about at a club? do you prefer to know most of the tunes played?

― mullygrubber (gaz), Monday, 23 February 2004 02:38 (twenty-two years ago)

N. is obviously right about the social aspect because I was at the optimos, w/ him, and I'm a nice guy who makes everything fun.

― RJG (RJG), Monday, 23 February 2004 02:47 (twenty-two years ago)

Of course.

how about at a club? do you prefer to know most of the tunes played?

Good question. Indie discos vs. proper clubs FITE.

I generally don't like knowing everything at all - it becomes a tedious 'spot the intro' game. I like it best when it all sounds great and I want to steal the DJs records. Dropping in something unexpected and familiar every so often is a nice touch too. I seem to be describing Optimo again.

― N. (nickdastoor), Monday, 23 February 2004 02:55 (twenty-two years ago)

'baby's on fire', haha.

'brown eyed girl'.

how do you define 'proper clubs'?

when I start dancing, I will enjoy optimo better than any other discos, I think. it isn't a disco?

― RJG (RJG), Monday, 23 February 2004 03:01 (twenty-two years ago)

It is a genre unto itself. AND IT'S ON NOW (well OK, it's just finished). I'm definitely going next week.

― N. (nickdastoor), Monday, 23 February 2004 03:04 (twenty-two years ago)

superpitcher, 'baby's on fire'.

― cozen (Cozen), Monday, 23 February 2004 03:13 (twenty-two years ago)

'stuck in the middle with you'.

whichever version.

― RJG (RJG), Monday, 23 February 2004 03:23 (twenty-two years ago)

I'd not heard one Polyphonic Spree song when I saw them, and honestly, who actually listens to their records

― samuel bloch, Monday, 23 February 2004 04:32 (twenty-two years ago)

I think my friend does, but yes.

― N. (nickdastoor), Monday, 23 February 2004 13:13 (twenty-two years ago)

With bands i don't mind seeing it live first, and then even if I like it I might not get the record.

Most of the gigs i go to are improvised music type stuff: scattered venues, ill advertised gigs, seated, where you mostly watch (and there is a lot to see, seeing how players react to physical movements) and they are usually attended by 5-20 people (you keep seeing the same faces over and over, and the usual 2-5 you'll never see again, the latter usually leave before the end) mostly bcz I could get experiences out of it that can change the way I listen to (live or recorded) music.

Improv is primarily a form of live music.

There isn't really any 'socialising', more in the sharing of that experience. A solitary affair.

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Monday, 23 February 2004 17:10 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm going to see the Fall next week and I've got maybe six of their records but they probably still won't play anything I recognise (any ideas what I should get for maximum Fall-recognition?).

Still, you don't go and watch the Fall to recognise the records and have fun, do you.

― ferg (Ferg), Monday, 23 February 2004 17:22 (twenty-two years ago)

weird? not at all. i do it all the time.
i am going to see the yeah yeah yeahs tonight( i havent heard a song) because i saw a picture of the lead singers face and it was round. i am only going to round faced lead singer gigs in 2004.

― kephm, Monday, 23 February 2004 17:26 (twenty-two years ago)

If you don't like seeing a band wihtout knowing their music beforehand, that's a clue that they have a boring stage show.

― dave225 (Dave225), Monday, 23 February 2004 17:29 (twenty-two years ago)

Still, you don't go and watch the Fall to recognise the records and have fun, do you.

That's true, but I wish that I could. I've seen The Fall twice now, and the best thing about either show was getting to see them do "I Am Damo Suzuki."

― Matthew Perpetua (Matthew Perpetua), Monday, 23 February 2004 17:31 (twenty-two years ago)

People who socialize loudly at shows for my favorite artists, should be beaten. Who pays money to sit around, drink, jabber with hipsters and not even listen to the music? Annoying people, that's who.

I like to have heard at least a couple of songs by someone before I see them live, but I don't generally go to shows unless I'm very invested or very bored otherwise.

― Blood and sparkles (bloodandsparkles), Monday, 23 February 2004 21:32 (twenty-two years ago)

All the time. Neutral Milk Hotel, Pavement, Belle & Sebastian, The Pixies - all bands I went to see without previously having heard a note of their music.

Keep in mind that the vast majority of bands I've seen don't come close to that standard, though...

― mike a, Monday, 23 February 2004 21:52 (twenty-two years ago)

i see bands i own nothing by all the time. if a band has a decent rep and a friend or 2 endorses it - why should i stay at home¿

― dyson (dyson), Monday, 23 February 2004 23:59 (twenty-two years ago)

Generally, I see bands I already know but if the price is right (usually the case for newer bands) I'll think nothing about going to drop ten or twelve bucks to go out and see a show (if I'm in a gig-going mood, which hasn't been the case for much of the last twelve months).
Re: comments about tall people at gigs ... I'm 6'3" and I'm well aware of it, and if you can't see over me, too bad. I don't want to hijack the thread, but if I've been waiting down on the floor for an hour and a half to get a good view of the band, I ain't moving.

― Barry Bruner (Barry Bruner), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 00:05 (twenty-two years ago)

Wow, Barry. You're a totally selfish prick!

Just curious - how much money are most of you willing to pay to see an act you've never heard?

― Matthew Perpetua (Matthew Perpetua), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 00:22 (twenty-two years ago)

£6

haha

― RJG (RJG), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 00:48 (twenty-two years ago)

Selfish? No, arriving late to the gig and pushing my way to the front would be rude and selfish (for anyone) but particularly so for me, since I am tall. But if I'm standing down on the floor with 20 other people who all showed up early to get a good spot, and if you show up afterward, then either stand behind someone shorter or show up a little earlier next time. Tall people, support me on this one.

$15 is about the max I'd spend to see a band I'd never heard.

― Barry Bruner (Barry Bruner), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 00:56 (twenty-two years ago)

You're sitting on the floor?

― N. (nickdastoor), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 00:58 (twenty-two years ago)

Sitting? No, standing.
In most places in Toronto you get major heat from the venue staff if you sit.

― Barry Bruner (Barry Bruner), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 01:00 (twenty-two years ago)

For some reason I read 'standing' as 'sitting' and I was reminded of sitting on the floor en masse at the Knitting Factory in New York, which is the only place I've seen such a thing at an indoor gig.

― N. (nickdastoor), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 01:05 (twenty-two years ago)

okay folks, i've been thinking about this whole tall-people-ruining-concerts-for-short-people thing, and i have come up with the ultimate solution! a floor at an incline. please implement asap.

― j c (j c), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 02:47 (twenty-two years ago)

Kind of dangerous.

― N. (nickdastoor), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 02:49 (twenty-two years ago)

why don't you just have "short/no short" sections, that's easier and safer¡

― dyson (dyson), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 02:55 (twenty-two years ago)

because apparently some tall people object to being placed in an enclosure toward the back where they're prohibited from bothering their innocent height-challenged pals (who may have arrived a few minutes later, AHEM).

this is obviously western selfishness at its most vicious.

― j c (j c), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 02:57 (twenty-two years ago)

there would be no safety hazard with the inclined floor! if there were enough free space for someone to fall all the way to the floor, they would have already brought the folding chairs out.

― j c (j c), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 03:00 (twenty-two years ago)

terraced?

― RJG (RJG), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 03:02 (twenty-two years ago)

maybe you could have the band perform twice for both groups of "short" and "tall" people.

― dean! (deangulberry), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 03:02 (twenty-two years ago)

twice?

― RJG (RJG), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 03:03 (twenty-two years ago)

You could always float the shortest people on clouds above everyone else.

― dean! (deangulberry), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 03:03 (twenty-two years ago)

i feel like you people aren't taking this seriously because you're all above 5'8.

― j c (j c), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 03:04 (twenty-two years ago)

I slouch at shows.

but I have tall hair.

― RJG (RJG), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 03:06 (twenty-two years ago)

and a top hat.

― N. (nickdastoor), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 03:28 (twenty-two years ago)

Similarly, I heard that cities were building roads that were two feet higher than parallel roads so that short people could feel on par with tall people.

― dean! (deangulberry), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 03:40 (twenty-two years ago)

This is in Mexico, I think.

― dean! (deangulberry), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 03:40 (twenty-two years ago)

they have tall people in mexico¿

― dyson (dyson), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 03:41 (twenty-two years ago)

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.