When Did It Stop Being About The Music?

That sucks, rparker. Concerts (no matter who's playing, in general) tend to be a crap shoot as to what kind of crowd you're going to get.

I went to an Allman Brothers concert about 2 years ago. Musically, it was the best concert I've ever been to. There were a couple guys in front of me who talked constantly for about the first three songs before the guy sitting next to me told them to shut up. And they did. Another guy got very drunk, very early, and was annoying, but he passed out pretty quick. That stuff kind of stuff is rude and obnoxious, but it happens, and it always has, it's nothing new. But really, other than those two incidents, everyone there was great. The Allman Brothers tend to have a dedicated cult following, so most of the people there are really into the music, albeit a little stoned perhaps.

A lot of people who go to, say, a Rolling Stones, Who, or Clapton concert do it just to say they were there and saw legends play, despite not being able to name more than two or three songs. These people tend to be the worst, because they'd rather sit and chit chat about their kids, or mutual funds or whatever. That sort of thing is distracting. I will say, though, that the two Clapton concerts I went to the crowds were great.
I'm with Cnev on this one. If everyone in the crowd just sat and listened to the music, there'd be no atmosphere. If I go to a gig, I WANT the crowd to be pumped up. If you're just going to sit and listen to the music, then put a CD on in your living room. And what's wrong with singing along? Are you telling me that a band with thousands of watts of power pumping through their amps can't drown out the odd loudmouth?

It's rock'n'roll - it's meant to be loud, and it's meant to be FUN!

When the loudmouth is right in your ear, yeah, that's kind of hard to drown out. You can be into a concert without being obnoxious. I'd prefer people not sing along, but it doesn't really bother me that much, so I don't have a problem with that. The non concert related blabber and constant screaming is what bothers me. I just find it very distracting. I'm a pretty reserved person in general. I'll clap and cheer after a solo or a song, but while they're playing I sit and listen closely.

box,

To me it really had nothing to do with Carlos, I've seen him in his heydey in the 70's and several other times and I wouldn't say his performance was lacking, other than the factthat he was liek 25 years older and a littlemore reserved, no it was more about the crowd and the vibe they gave off.

Put it this way, it was snooze city...I felt like I was at a convalescent home everyone was to old to make any noise. it just wasn't my cup of tea.

Stormy - Your right no one likes an idiot screaming in your ear all night. At a concert I can handle it a little more. It's worse at say a baseball game to have some drunk jerk right behind you screaming like an idiot in your ear through the whole game..now that I don't like.

personally i would prefer to be the only person there, especially with todays ticket prices.
I paid to listen to the music, not for the experiance of the crowd or whatever.

best concerts i've been to have been quiet crowds both young and older folks that wanted to hear the band/performer and didn't want to miss a note.

I read in a King Crimson diary about a gig in Toronto, Massey Hall. Fripp said that John Wetton was displeased with the audience, whereas Bill Bruford and himself had a good time. I also have a bootleg of the gig. Rowdy crowd.

I've played gigs where the crowd couldn't care less about what we were doing, and gigs where the crowd seemed to be part of the show. I'll take the later any day.

David Lee Roth once said that he didn't feel like he was playing concerts, but that he was hosting the biggest party in town.

I find these posts very interesting in how all of us have such different ideas about what is or isn't good music/concert whatever. Variety is really the spice of life.

Twisty - You could do the same thing just listening to the CD in your room, no?

I think David Lee Roth had it right and as much as I never really liked VH he is an entertainer so you have to give him props for that.

Concerts and music to me are more than just notes there's o much more than that especially when your in a live setting. A good crowd has a life of it's own and adds to total "experience" at a concert. Maybe i'm a little bit of a people watcher and enjoy absorbing everything going on not just what's being played but to me that's the fun of it.

But getting back to the title of the original post..I'm not sure it ever was only about the music at least at a concert. Maybe if you're listening to an album but at a concert it's always a crap shoot and that's part of the fun, experiencing that music with 10,000 other fans.

Twisty - You could do the same thing just listening to the CD in your room, no?

I know you're not saying that without a crowd making distracting noise that you can't tell the difference between live and recorded music.
i love live music much more than recorded music, I've been to near 100 concerts.
my point is only in the spirit of wanting to hear the musicians, and not a bunch of people who have nothing to do with why i am there.
concerts like Nugent, B.O.C., Sabbath, Deep Purple, etc you could stand next to me and scream all you want and it probably wouldn't distract enough to ruin the show, but other bands that may play with a bit less volume or more complicated or technically structured songs etc , like Yes, ELP, Zappa, i was lucky to see in venues where there was little to no distraction. these are the shows that set apart in my memory as being the most enjoyable. :wink:

to be fair, i have been to concerts that were more of an "event" such as the "summer jam" series in the mid seventys here in the KC area, these were very much fun and were not made less enjoyable because of the huge stadium crowds

I think musicians, and guitar players especially are always more into the music. When I was young I would try to get up close to the stage to see my favorite guitarists. It was both wanting to see my heros, but I was always watching their hands and trying to see how they played hit songs I knew. As soon as I got home I would practice the songs before I forgot. :D

I like a lively crowd, as others said it makes for a fun atmosphere. So I like to see some cheering, and people singing along. But I am not into throwing objects and moshing. Last show I was at one guy kept slamming into me. I tried to be cool for awhile, but he kept it up. Last time he slammed into me I was waiting and gave him a good elbow. After that he slammed into others, but not me. I think that stuff is just stupid and a good way for someone to get hurt.

Robert Fripp wrote comparing recorded music to live performance was like comparing a love letter to a hot date. I agree with him that I'll take a hot date over a love letter any day.

He also said that the only similarity between a live performance and a sound check is that they occupy the same space.

Wes, you're in a band, right? Does the energy thrown your way get returned to the crowd with more energetic songs? I bet it does. That's part of the high of being in a crowd that's focused on the show in front of them. I really dig it. Springsteen got pumped up down here a while ago. He had a blast, his band had a blast and we all had a blast. Live music rules!!!! I love a good crowd, but HATE a bad one.

Wes, you're in a band, right? Does the energy thrown your way get returned to the crowd with more energetic songs? I bet it does. That's part of the high of being in a crowd that's focused on the show in front of them. I really dig it. Springsteen got pumped up down here a while ago. He had a blast, his band had a blast and we all had a blast. Live music rules!!!! I love a good crowd, but HATE a bad one.
Springsteen must put on awesome shows. I'd love to see him live someday.

Roy, your original post sounded like a really good description of the crowd at a Primus concert my family and I went to, taking along a few of my kids' friends, in Asheville, NC a few years back. Worst colosseum crowd I've seen. Like you said, loud, rude, all about the social scene, didn't give a rat about the music or who was playing. Rude to the band, threw stuff at them, causing Les Claypool to stop playing several times and first ask them, then warn them, then he and Larry got offstage, playing from the wings with wireless rigs. They didn't put on a good show, because the stupid cretins wouldn't let them. A guy sitting next to me and my wife had seen them in Greeneville, SC the night before and said the show there was awesome. He was furious. My kids were down on the floor up near the stage and came back with tales about that being a much worse crowd than the usual, also. I'll never go back to Asheville to see another music show again as long as I live. I think a part of the problem is that there were several concessions selling alcohol in the colosseum; as has already been mentioned, drunks tend to get rowdy and aggressive, whereas stoners are mellower. But that Asheville crowd was there to raise hell, not to listen to music. I don't want any part of being around them.

I'm just curious - was that this show? http://www.primuslive.com/catalog/show.php?show_id=42 Description: "First Heckler of the tour!"

I've bought a few of the live shows from that site, they're great and a terrific value, IMO. That one sounds like it might not be so good, though. :?

Well, wish me luck. Leaving within the hour for the Def Leppard/Foreigner/Styx show. Hopefully the ABB show was a one time incident.

Wes, you're in a band, right? Does the energy thrown your way get returned to the crowd with more energetic songs

You never know with crowds. Sometimes you think the band is smokin' and the crowd just stares. :shock:

Then some nights they all get up and dance right in front of the band. I've never been able to figure this out. But I enjoy when the crowd gets up and dances, hoots and hollers... Oh yeah, much better than playing in front of stiffs.

The only exceptions are drunks. I hate when some guy (usually) or gal (once in awhile) staggers up and wants to touch your guitar. I have had people trip over the monitors, knocking the mics over, one night a guy tripped on the monitors, pitched forward and fell into the drum kit. So I like the crowd to have fun, but not that much fun. :D

And yes, the band plays much better in front of an excited crowd. This is what you want to see when you play:

I'm just curious - was that this show? http://www.primuslive.com/catalog/show.php?show_id=42 Description: "First Heckler of the tour
That would be the very show, Voidious. Wasn't pretty. Wasn't a total loss of course, they tried to carry on, but it wasn't nearly as good a show as it should have been.