If you’ve seen any concert after the pandemic, you’ll notice that the behavior of the audience is different than it was before. Fans of artists are throwing things on stage or talking during low-energy songs, and needless to say, concert etiquette is not what it used to be. This isn’t just a problem just for the audience’s enjoyment, but also for the artist’s health. Lil Nas X, Harry Styles, and Drake were all hit by objects fans have thrown on stage. In worst-case scenarios, this can cause artists to be hospitalized, such as Bebe Rehxa. She was hit in the eye by a phone and was hospitalized. I decided to speak to Mr. Holmes, who loves live music and has gone to a great number of shows, about this change and what it could be attributed to.
“People celebrate this sort of rambunctious attitude,” Holmes says. Sometimes they just want to be recognized by the person, “world star hip-hop status” Mr Holmes calls it. Concert etiquette is important not only for your and other people’s enjoyment of the show but also for safety. Things like not pushing people to get closer to the stage and throwing things at performers aren’t just annoying, they’re safety hazards. Performers are now tasked with being an entertainer and also a security officer. It’s so common now that songs are stopped for the security crew to help audience members who are overheating due to the amount of people pushing towards the stage.
It’s almost unanimous that overall behavior changes are due to the pandemic, especially at concerts. “Everyone has lost social etiquette to a degree,” Mr Holmes says, “we weren’t socializing much.” It’s important to keep in mind that etiquette is different from artist to artist and from place to place. What may be okay at a System Of A Down concert might not be okay at a Mitski concert, and vice versa. “Every concert’s determined concert etiquette will at least partially be determined by the people who attend.” If you tell Mitski that she’s “mothering” when she’s performing or if you scream when Beyonce says mute, that eventually becomes the norm. For your safety, being aware of your surroundings and the people around you is important.
It’s very easy to get lost in the music, concerts tend to do that, but sometimes you have to sit and absorb the atmosphere. You should have a good time and be loud, that’s why you’re there! But remember to be respectful of others and stay safe.
INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT
Isabella: Okay, so what do you think is the reason that people’s habits have changed and caused people to lack posture etiquette? Um, like specifically, I don’t know if you heard about Bebe Rexa when she got hit with the phone, and like she had to,
Holmes: I did hear about that.
Isabella: She had to go to the hospital because it was huge. Um, so I personally think that it could be, like, attributed to the lack of concerts during the pandemic.
Holmes: Yeah.
Isabella: Because people missed it so much that they, like, just, like, got crazy over it.
Holmes: I definitely think that is part of it, you know? And it’s like, it’s not just, like, concerts. Like, everyone sort of lost, like, social etiquette to a degree because we weren’t socializing as much.
Isabella: Right.
Holmes: But I also feel like there’s sort of a trend where a lot of people also sort of, like, celebrate this sort of, I guess, rambunctious attitude. Like, I’m thinking Travis Scott right now. I’m thinking Astroworld. And, like, he doesn’t feel any shame about that, practically. Like, when that event was happening, there was, like, hardly any apology messaging coming out of here. It was almost like people were, like, reveling in the chaos more than considering what their impact was on other people. So I think it is partially, of course, COVID to a degree. But I think it’s also, like, uh, for whatever reason, there is a darker side of humanity, heavy air quotes around that, that wants to kind of disrupt the order of things.
Isabella: Do you think, like, um, Like, um, How am I trying to word this? Like, you know, like, You know whenever people commit crimes and they just do it to, like, have their name in the world?
Holmes: Sure. I think it could also be a little bit of that. People, like, just want to be recognized by the person. Sort of like world star hip hop status sort of thing, you know? Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. I could see that too.
Isabella: Yeah.
Isabella: Okay, so how would you describe the type of shows you most often go to? Do you enjoy underground bands playing in basements or big stadium shows like Taylor Swift, etc?
Holmes: Honestly, I don’t think I have a typical show. The first show I went to was the summer after eighth grade when I went to Warped Tour, which is like huge. I mean, like I started off big, honestly. But that doesn’t mean I’m not gonna go seek out indie bands playing in the attic or something like that. But I’m also not gonna not see T Swift at the stadium either, you know? I don’t think I have a typical one, but I have been to pretty much Most types of concerts. I don’t really go to too many like, dance hall, country, sort of western concerts. But I’ve seen one or two in my time, too.
Isabella: Yeah, do you think that the etiquette in those two is like, any different, or do you think that do you think the vibe is different?
Holmes: The vibes matter. Like, through and through. I would say every type of concert’s etiquette and behavior is at least going to be partially determined by the people who are attending, who are attending because they want some sort of outcome out of that concert. Right. Yeah, you’re good. Um, so you know, like, I think the things, the types of concerts I go to most recently are usually electronic concerts. I started that in like, my like, mid-twenties and I haven’t really stopped there. And I mean, electronic music is, especially here in America, in the Western world, is usually revolving around the identity of PLUR, which stands for Peace, Love, Unity, and Respect. So people who are going to these EDM shows, naturally, more often than not, they’re going If they’ve been educated by people who’ve also been going to these shows, know that they’re going in with an open mind, going in trying to share and spread positivity, so on and so forth. Now, I also have been to a lot of metal shows in my lifetime, like College, that was like four years of pretty much almost exclusively heavy rock and metal shows for me, and so those have a very different energy to them. Not that people at metal concerts aren’t considerate. I think some of the kindest moshpits I’ve been in have been at metal concerts because people know they’re going for the moshpit and in turn want to make the moshpit something that everyone enjoys, you know? So it’s not that there’s one good or one bad, but there is a certain expectation of behavior determined by the genre and style of music being played.
Isabella: I mean, like, you can’t mosh, to T swift. I mean, you could.
Holmes: But, I mean I feel like I’d throw down with Travis down in the pit if he was there, you know? Like, that would be fun, that would be fun.
Isabella: What is your bucket list concert? Like, your most, if, like, you could dead or Living.
Holmes: Dead, oh, you just opened it up, and that’s so much more difficult now.
Isabella: Sorry.
Holmes: Um, I don’t know So let’s talk living first. I want to go to the Sphere. The Sphere looks amazing. I don’t care who I see, I want to go to the Sphere. That’s a bucket list venue for me. Another bucket list venue I have that I haven’t been to yet is going to be the Gorge in Washington. If you’ve heard of Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado, it’s famous for its natural features that create the concert venue. And so the Red Rocks is very much like a canyon all around you on each sides. The Gorge is basically where you’re in a big open field. There’s the stage. And then the canyons. Behind the stage and it’s this big open space and the sky is always sunsetty and absolutely gorgeous So one of my favorite groups does an annual concert there I would love to see the above and beyond group therapy show there But to go back to dead shows you had to say that Bella.
Isabella: I know it’s okay.
Holmes: I would probably say I mean, like, historically speaking, I would have loved to have gone to the first Woodstock. Like, I very much love music festivals, and that has become a certain part of my identity, I would say. But I would also say, like, I would love to have gone to the 1993 show of Nirvana here in Trees in Dallas. Like, that would have been awesome, too. And it’s close to home, so there’s a certain special history there, too. That’s what I’d say for that answer.
Isabella: Okay, cool. Do you have, like, a go to show buddy, and how do you recommend that people pick them?
Holmes: Sure.
Isabella: And do you think this show buddy having Concert etiquette is important?
Holmes: Yes, it depends, and yes. Uh, so my show buddies have kind of changed over the course of my life. Uh, back when I was in high school, honestly, it was my brother. Like, we went to all the shows together. He had a band as well, and we had friends who were in bands, so we were just kind of in the same circles. And so, we were always together. Once I got to college, uh, one of my good friends named Michael, I took him to his first music festival when we were in college, and he was like, Oh my gosh, what is this? And so we started going to shows all the time, and honestly, he’s easily outpaced me. And he’s gone to probably over 500, if not over a thousand shows in his life. I’m like, that’s his thing. He goes to shows now. And then now that I’m older and in my 30s, I actually met a friend through my friend Michael. And now he’s my show buddy, just because of locality. We’re both in Dallas, even though we went to the same university. We didn’t actually get to become friends until after we graduated and we started making these connections. Um, how to find a show buddy. I think finding a show buddy really depends on You because we all have our own certain energy and vibes that we want to bring into the concert If you want to mush you should find someone who wants to pick you up off the mush for when you fall if you want To stay closer to the back You probably want someone who also is gonna stay closer to the back because you don’t want to have that anxiety of them Running into the pit, getting lost or something like that. A lot of the things that I read online about concert attendee anxiety is largely about what you do with yourself with a group. So you want to make sure that whoever you’re associating with, whether it’s one person or a group of people, that you’re not going to be having this sort of passive anxiety just because you’re worried about them instead of the show. You want to find someone who’s going to help you enjoy the show for the show, not just make you want to go because you’re with someone else. Um, and then concert etiquette. Again, it depends on you. I’m a very polite person, I like to think. I’m not gonna bump elbows, I’m not gonna kinda squeeze through the crowd, but sometimes I wanna ride the rail! So it’s really nice to have someone who is a little bit more assertive, possibly, if I wanna go up to the front of the show or something like that, and that’s usually not my style of thing. So, I think to a degree, everyone should have good concert etiquette, but sometimes it can be nice to have someone who’s a little more Extroverted, let’s say.
Isabella: Um, what do you have to say about the lack of concert etiquette in recent years? Do you think it’s more noticeable?
Holmes: I think, you know, I read about it more than I experience it. Uh, there was a show a few years ago at House of Blues, uh, right after pandemic, if I’m thinking about this right? Yeah. And, uh, there was a guy, He was not in his right state of mind and he actually punched me and broke my glasses at that show and you know I’d never had a bad experience at a show aside from people just being you know, like bumping into me and whatnot But it does feel like it is something that’s there. I think it’s a matter of like To a degree, I think it’s sort of like generational differences. Like, I’m an older guy starting to realize there are younger people at shows, so I’m a little bit more cognizant of the people around me sometimes. But I also think it goes back to what we were talking about earlier. It’s a matter of losing social etiquette in the pandemic. It’s a matter of the show you’re going to, and really the artist and what they’re trying to get out of their show as well.
Isabella: Okay, and then, What is the best concert you’ve seen? Where and who is playing? And, their openers.
Holmes: This is still so hard.
Isabella: You can do a top three if you want.
Holmes: I mean, so, two summers ago, I went to LA to go to that group I mentioned earlier, Above and Beyond’s 500th radio show. So it was an all day event from 2 to 2, basically. And, they had, uh, So, Above and Beyond has a record label named NJUNA that they started themselves. So, all day long, all the people who were playing were people off of their own record label.
Isabella: Oh, sick.
Holmes: They really try and promote from within, sort of, to a degree, as much as you can within the music field, you know? So there were people like, uh, oh gosh, there was ANIME, there was, uh, GRUM who was there that I was really excited to see. There were a lot of people that were there under the record label. And then, of course, Above and Beyond closed out and, like, I talked about PLUR earlier. I don’t think I have ever felt that feeling more than when I was there. Like, from waiting in line for an hour to actually getting out of the venue and riding the subway back after it was way too crowded, like, everyone was just happy to be there. And I don’t think that that’s because of substances or whatever you might possibly be blaming this on.
Isabella: Yeah.
Holmes: I genuinely think that there’s an energy that people sought out and received, and that delivered really well. I would say that would definitely be one. But shout out to some festivals, um, I’ve loved attending Firefly in Delaware. I got to see Paul McCartney there, as well as Florence and the Machine for the first time, as well as Major Lazer for the first time, and Kid Cudi, and like all these people.I really hope that festival comes back. They had to cancel recently because of, again, pandemic and recovering from it, but there is a small chance they’ll come back next year and I’m hopeful. I’d also shout out to Electric Forest. Specifically for the electronic scene, there’s nothing like it. And that’s all I will say. Google image search it, you’ll see what it’s about, and you’ll probably want to go.
Isabella: Cool. Okay, thank you so, so much.
Holmes: No problem. Happy to help.
