This is the most annoying concert behavior, say Boston.com readers
"I got three drinks spilled on me, hit in the head, cups thrown at me, stepped on, and pushed left and right."
Last week, we asked Boston.com readers if behavior at concerts was getting out of hand. Since then, Bebe Rexa got floored by a phone; Ava Max got slapped on stage; and our own critic at last weekend’s Re:Set festival at Suffolk Downs almost had to rescue a drunken concertgoer from falling onto the tracks on the Blue Line.
In short, it’s only gotten worse.
And it seems readers agree: A sizable majority — 84% — of respondents said that concert behavior was a problem, and 59% of those say it hasn’t always been this bad.
“Ever since venues opened back up after lockdown, I’ve noticed a dramatic shift in bad behavior and I’m not the only one,” says Emma Furrier, a Boston-area music critic. “No matter what size venue, what genre act … it seems completely commonplace to act entitled, with pushing and shoving to get a better spot, constantly going back and forth to the bar, talking loudly throughout the entire show, the list goes on.”
It was that constant chatter — the people who somehow thought it was a good idea to pay good money for concert tickets in order to have a conversation they could have had literally anywhere else — that rated No. 1 on our readers’ list of annoying concert habits. Holding up a cellphone for the whole show was a close second, with “general drunken hijinks” placing third.
CONCERTS:
“Thirty years ago, selling alcohol at concerts was less important to the venue’s profit. Now it appears to be the primary source of their revenue,” commented Heywood of Harwich. “I don’t see alcohol sales being curtailed anytime soon, so I simply don’t go to live music anymore.”
Sadly, Heywood was hardly the only one who doesn’t see a solution presenting itself anytime soon. “I pay good money to hear the artists, not someone’s sloshed shower-stall serenade,” wrote Doug from Metrowest, adding, however, that “Not much can be done to curb narcissistic self-indulgence.”
Some readers did have suggestions for how to get concertgoers in line, however — everything from requiring a Breathalyzer test to get in, to banning cellphones, to more burly bouncers. They also had more than a few horror stories about sights they saw (and which they’d now rather un-see) when seeing their favorite artists. You can check out a sampling below.
Some responses have been edited for length or clarity.
Here’s what should be done:
“No electronic devices at shows. Learn to be present. The musicians are giving you a show you paid a lot of money for. Why waste [time] recording on a phone that you barely will watch? Obviously, this is easier said than done but bands like Tool do this and it ends up being a better show for it.” — Colleen C., Jefferson
“Heavier security presence, two-drink maximum.” — Erika M., West Roxbury
“Hate to say this, but may need more security. If adults are going to act like privileged drunk children then they need ‘parents.’ Also, don’t let drunk idiots into the show! A cutoff of drinking, whether a time or actual drink limits, may be needed as well.” — Damian M., East Taunton
“Other concertgoers need to stand up to the bad behavior.” — Tiffany, North Shore
“The individuals should be given a warning, and if it continues they need to leave … Some individuals don’t understand social cues.” — EJ, Quincy/Cambridge
“Artists need to be more forthright and call out bad and/or uncool behavior.” — Rosysky, Medford
“Set concert etiquette. Play a video at the beginning of every show reminding people of the rules, just like they used to do at movie theaters.” — Lisa, Attleboro
“Venues need to hire better security, train them properly, and if they have to, pay the security to care more about what is going on.” — Val, Quincy
“Stop serving alcohol at the venue; kick them out; track those who get kicked out; FINE them for disrupting.” — Anonymous, Boston
“There should always be a ‘standing room/general admission’ section so people who want to be lively can be themselves, without annoying the folks who want to listen to rock music like it’s an opera. Even if it’s not near the stage and the band wants to put them in the back, having a space to enjoy music on your feet should be encouraged. And of course, still toss out and ban anyone actually fighting or being an actual villain.” — David, Somerville
Your concert behavior horror stories:
“The [worst] behavior I have seen was at a Mt. Joy show last fall at MGM … I got three drinks spilled on me, hit in the head, cups thrown at me, stepped on, and pushed left and right. The crowd talked loudly and were on their phones the entire show. It was stifling and so disappointing! I don’t know what has caused this shift— but live music has sadly been drastically impacted by this sudden onslaught of poor concert etiquette!” — Emma Furrier, music critic
“I have friends who peed in the stands at Great Woods. Many times …” — Colleen C., Jefferson
“I saw Origami Angel at the Sinclair, and a teenager who went up to stage dive stood straight up on stage, stepped up to the guitarist, then stuck his hand out to try and get a handshake mid-set.” — Kath, Lowell
“I attended a concert at Gillette (The Weeknd). Front row. As soon as the performance started, 100 people rushed to the first couple of rows and aisle, essentially shoving me out of my seat. I was squished between people that shouldn’t have been there, and forced to stand and couldn’t see the stage. Waste of front-row ticket money.” — Lana, Arlington
“I was deliberately thrown up on when I asked the guy behind me to lower his voice.” — Erika M., West Roxbury
“In the last couple years I have been at three concerts — Hampton Beach Casino (Sublime), Levitate Festival, and House of Blues (Elovators) — which are typically very chill shows. Drunk idiots started fights with me three different times while I did absolutely nothing to cause it but stand there and mind my own business. It was never like this before and it usually is great with those bands.” — Damian M., East Taunton
“I was at a concert at the MGM earlier this spring to see Quinn XCII and even though we got there early to stand close to the stage for GA, groups of people would push their way forward with no regard for anyone else when the concert was already halfway in. The audacity!” — Tiffany, North Shore
“At the Elton John concert at Gillette last year, my wife and I had to listen to a drunk individual behind us sing the songs obnoxiously very loud and purposefully singing out of tune. Then he would talk very loud to his friend during quiet moments in the concert. When we asked him to bring it down, he just made it worse. ‘What, I can’t sing at a concert?’ he would yell.” — EJ, Quincy/Cambridge
“The loud drunk girl in front of me at the last Tom Petty show at Boston Garden in 2017 who thought the concert was all about her, wouldn’t sit down, wouldn’t shut up, waved her arms to block the view, and enraged the entire section.” — Rosysky, Medford
“Drunk guy falling on me at a Tool show in 2022 at the Garden, launching me in the air. I landed on the seats two rows in front of me and left in an ambulance with a broken rib and no apology.” — Lisa, Attleboro
“A few weekends ago, I went to Boston Calling … When it got time to find a place to stand during the Foo Fighters concert, people were not quite pleasant. One woman warned me that she had tried moving farther up to where some friends were and she was threatened by multiple people that if she kept trying to move forward they would beat her up … This woman was easily in her 60s. I get not wanting a giant to stand in front of you, but this woman was MAYBE 5-foot-3 … During the Paramore set, a man that was standing in front of me was recording songs. Every. Single. Song. This was insanely frustrating as he blocked not only my view of the concert, but the folks behind me as well … Throughout ALL of these moments, there was a security guard standing DIRECTLY in front of all of this and yet said nothing.” — Val, Quincy
“So many idiots nowadays videotaping the concert on their phone right next to dancing, then acting shocked and offended when someone bumps into them and they drop the phone.” — David, Somerville
“About 20 minutes into the Rod Stewart concert at Mohegan Sun Arena, two drunk girls sat directly behind me. They kept talking very loudly as they were trying to pick up a Wi-Fi signal so they could go on Facebook and post pictures they were taking. I could hear the whole conversation they were having. They were talking nonstop about stupid stuff. And because these girls were standing most of the time, they were blocking the view of the people who were sitting behind them. So they were arguing with those people when they first came in. Well, about a half hour goes by and these two girls were still talking very loudly among themselves and screaming in our ears. Even when Rod Stewart played his toned-down acoustic set, these girls just wouldn’t stop talking and screaming. Yes, I know, I’m at a concert. But these girls were a bit too extreme. This wasn’t a Metallica concert.” — David B., Rhode Island
“A completely drunken sot was jumping up and down on temporary bleachers scaring the bejesus out of me.” — Marc T., Billerica
Boston.com occasionally interacts with readers by conducting informal polls and surveys. These results should be read as an unscientific gauge of readers’ opinion.
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