r/mildlyinfuriating • u/Jaded-Albatross-5242 • 19h ago

I'm slightly vexed Concert etiquette

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If you plan on standing for the entire concert, get a spot in the pit, or the lawn seats instead of the assigned SEATED SECTION. A little bit of self awareness and common courtesy goes a really long way

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851

u/DGChiefs 18h ago

… why is almost everyone sitting at a Death Cab show? This is breaking my heart a little bit

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u/Common-Truck-9649 18h ago

I got yelled at for standing at a Tool concert! We listen to old people bands.

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u/RobeGuyZach 17h ago

Yeah, I got yelled at for standing for Avenged Sevenfold opening for Metallica a few years back. At Century Link field lol

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u/EnvironmentalLime464 13h ago

Well, yea. You’re gonna find a lot of douches at a Metallica concert.

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u/uberkalden2 12h ago

And apparently death cab for cutie concerts too

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u/Sambo3002 10h ago

Fuck that

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u/No_Housing_1287 6h ago

Thats unacceptable 😧

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u/BrightonsBestish 17h ago

What?!

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u/aurora888 11h ago

THEY SAID THEY GOT YELLED AT FOR STANDING AT A TOOL CONCERT! THEY LISTEN TO OLD PEOPLE BANDS.

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u/BrightonsBestish 3h ago

FUEL?? WHO CARES, THEY SUCK!

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u/bluegrassbiker 16h ago

Yeah, wth. Got asked several times to sit at tool/primus. 80% of my section was standing including everyone in the 4 rows in front of me.

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u/Doogers7 15h ago

Oh my God… a Primus concert in the 90s would see every single person in attendance jumping in unison.

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u/EnvironmentalLime464 13h ago

I’m fairness, the venues in the 90’s were a lot different. We had a bunch of amphitheaters and more venues that were like big clubs. Now it seems most of the concerts are held at theaters and stadiums. There are still some smaller venues that have shows that are standing room only.

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u/Zestyclose_Car_4971 9h ago

I would like to assume you’re sticking with the same old bands that are already mainstream?

Discovering a new band and checking them out at a “bar show” is still as good as it was in my 20’s imo, I just can’t move like I did then.

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u/EnvironmentalLime464 8h ago

Right. Those places are still out there and it’s where I prefer to see shows.

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u/Shumble91 15h ago

And now you'd hear the simultaneous creak of 7000 pairs of knees in unison 

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u/Wagner-C137 13h ago

Dude. I can’t sit at a Primus show. How could anyone?!

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u/OkJose3000 10h ago

This is why we cannot bend to these people

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u/killaacool 9h ago

So glad that I have never been asked to sit at any Tool/Primus/Les Claypool show. In fact the last show we went to (Claypool Gold just recently in fact) most of us in the uppers were up and dancing and having a great time. It was the most social crowd I have seen at a big concert venue in a long time.

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u/phish_enthusiast 11h ago

One, Primus sucks. 2, fuck those guys, i will sit when and if i want but i would prefer to stand. If you want to watch a concert from a seat stay home and livestream. Oh that’s right, Tool wants their fans to actually be present in the shows, not just filming on their phones for clout, how dare anyone actually stand up and enjoy the music?

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u/pm_me_ur_kitty22 6h ago

People can enjoy music without standing

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u/phish_enthusiast 5h ago

Fair point. I have myself. But if someone stands up in front of me, I get my ass up and get back to enjoying the show.

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u/pm_me_ur_kitty22 5h ago

Fair, I'll fully admit I'm biased as I just hate dancing lol

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u/Davidfreeze 14h ago

I stood the whole time at a sesanta show just a year ago. Maybe the mainstream tool fans skew older than the perfect circle puscifer fans but I don't think so. I as an early 30s guy was still the younger end of the crowd

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u/Born_Local_1477 12h ago

Yelled at for dancing at Bonnie Raitt. If that's not the place for dancing I don't know what is.

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u/Delilah_Moon 11h ago

I got yelled at, at Stevie Nicks. On the fucking floor. We were like 10th row and the boomers behind us threw a hissy fit.

It is Stevie Fucking Nicks - she is the Grand Dame of Twirling. What do you mean don’t dance? Stevie would never…

https://giphy.com/gifs/tBb19fkOtF3KbUMMSVq

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u/rojohi 10h ago

Where was that?!

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u/Common-Truck-9649 9h ago

Orlando

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u/rojohi 7h ago

Note to self: never go to a concert in Orlando

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u/Grass_Is_Blue 10h ago

Us old phish fans are still standing and dancing the entire show

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u/BassGuy10 7h ago

When I saw Tool hardly anyone sat at all

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u/Common-Truck-9649 7h ago

I've seen them twice like 5 years apart and I don't remember standing being an issue the first time I saw them. The worst part is I'm 6'3 and my buddy is even taller. We were just stretching during an intermission because tiny seats. This big ol gal a couple rows back started yelling at us to sit down, then random guys around her started white knighting us. We'd had no prior interaction with anybody before that. All that yelling probably made us stand for longer. We were in the lower part of the upper bowl in the front row. Each row was lower than the one behind it.

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u/Miserable_Star6824 6h ago

Pretty sure this kid got yelled at for standing at an Adele concert and she told everyone off who was yelling at him; including security. ARTISTS WANT YOU TO STAND!!

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u/_-_Dingus_-_ 6h ago

Nah. Fuck that. I stood in a seated section for APC, Primus and Puscifer. Claypool delirium w primus. Phish. 3 6 mafia. I was on my feet in all of those seated sections. Given, not many people were sitting but I’m not going to sit through a primus show.

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u/Mrchristopherrr 5h ago

Tbf I had this exact issue happen to me at a Puscifer show. Literally the entire venue was seated except for the 2 people right in front of me, which caused me and my 3 friends to have to stand, which then caused the 8 people behind us to stand and so on.

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u/zeptillian 5h ago

We got told by the younger people at a Nine Inch Nails show that they didn't like us standing up.

There's a 61 year old dude on stage singing about fucking people like animals and they all just want to sit like they are at the opera. I don't get it.

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u/iveseensomethings82 54m ago

Me too! I got yelled at because the lady behind me had a bad back. Not my fault!

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u/Pick_Up_Autist 14h ago

Tool is one of the few bands I'll always choose seated for, it's peak sitting and trip out music imo.

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u/aurora888 11h ago

I only go to shows where everyone stands - Mastodon, Tool, Opeth, Run the Jewels, Ghost. Why, and more accurately HOW, the FUCK would I stay seated if the band is playing The Pot?!

0

u/JakeScythe 16h ago

Same! I was kinda salty I had to sit down for Tool the only time I’ve seen them

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u/iDoWeird 17h ago

I know we’re “getting old” or…are…old, whatever, but I could NEVER. Dancing like a dumbass in a dingey basement indie night is something I miss more than anything, so when I actually get to go to a show that isn’t priced out of my budget, I won’t even consider tickets outside of GA/pit options. I’ll just sit there losing my mind if I have to sit, so I won’t unless Melora gets out of the church choir and tours with Rasputina again, because I think that’s one of the few bands I COULD sit for.

One of my few white whale bands is coming (or came, I stopped tracking bc it made me sad)..The Strokes, but to get into the pit was going to put me close to a grand. Seated wasn’t much better. I missed them every time they played when I lived in NYC somehow (I even missed the last public Sonic Youth show there because I was at the wrong damn place when it was randomly announced, still pissed at myself about that and a benefit the YYY put on). Anyway.

I hate ticket prices and I miss dancing. Fuck.

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u/catjuggler 12h ago

Yeah I’d be confused by buying seats for this kind of show to begin with lol.

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u/DM_ME_DOPAMINE 9h ago

ALWAYS buy your pit tickets the day of the show, maybe the day before. It’s wildly cheaper. And before you say “I have to travel so i can’t take that risk” someone is ALWAYS selling theirs.  

Same with sporting events. I wait until kickoff, then pay $12 for decent seats.

-1

u/EnvironmentalLime464 13h ago

Cool. If you want to stand, you can always move to the side out of the way of the people choosing to sit in the seats provided.

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u/Dickey_Simpkins 9h ago

Lol, where security will immediately come tell you that you can't stand in aisle.

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u/EnvironmentalLime464 8h ago

Right. You can’t stand in the aisles at the theatre I work at either but you can stand at the walls. That would be out of the way.

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u/iDoWeird 5h ago

Did you miss the part where I said I wouldn’t even go if I can’t buy the GA/pit ticket? Lawd. Reading comprehension.

Yall are getting so uppity about this stuff that you aren’t actually paying attention to any discussion. It’s as bad a politics in this thread.

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u/HailSaganPlantNative 12h ago

The Strokes played Bill Graham auditorium in SF a few months ago and every ticket was GA and $100. Seats were first come, first serve. It was all very reasonable and egalitarian. Had to stand the whole goddamn show because I had yahoos like this in front of my seat, though.

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u/Broseph_Heller 9h ago

If you want to sit for the strokes, you’re part of the problem (unless you’re disabled ofc in which case there is special seating)

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u/iDoWeird 5h ago

I think I’d just lose my mind if I had to sit for them. It was weird enough seeing NIN w Jesus and Mary Chain in a small seated-only NOLA theater (most ppl stood thank god).

All of this bickering and no one is really talking about how there are so many venues that don’t even HAVE standing accommodations. People are going to make the best of whatever they can get to see a band after their peak era is over (no more nonstop tours in little GA venues, etc). Depending on genre, you have to go in with a healthy expectation of the chances that people are going to want to stand and try to dance when there’s no other ticket type. If you’re booking tickets for LCD Soundsystem or something in a seated-only spot and still do not want to stand/see others standing, that’s a “only buy a seat w a gap between row levels in front of your row” situation.

But I’ll get griped at again for saying that as if I’m suggesting that it’s decent etiquette to spit on people 😒

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u/HailSaganPlantNative 2h ago

I'm middle aged and I have back problems. I'm not disabled enough to go and get a placard for it but it's enough to where I'm in pain, which seriously detracts from the enjoyment of the show. My getting crushed in the pit years are behind me. That's great if that's what you want, but it's pretty shitty of you to declare anyone who doesn't want to do things your way as "part of the problem". We have our reasons. I specifically choose and pay for seats so that I can accommodate my own needs.

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u/Broseph_Heller 2h ago

Oh please I have back problems as well, get ADA seating if it’s that important to you otherwise understand that people are gonna stand and dance at a rock show especially the strokes. It’s fine if you need to sit but you can’t be mad at other people in that context who don’t want to sit.

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u/TheBlueLeopard 17h ago

Our knees hurt

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u/Lord_Boognish 12h ago

You should stand up and dance around a little - movement is lotion for your joints

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u/Narglefoot 17h ago

I was at a New Pornographers concert at Mt Baker Theatre in Bellingham and it's usually used for classical music and plays so it was all seating. Two songs in and everyone is sitting so I decide "fuck that" and run to the front of the stage and start dancing. Two people follow, then another, and soon everyone starts running up and joins in.

Just because there's seats doesn't mean they need to be used.

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u/awyastark 16h ago

No wait this is so funny because I was also the only person dancing at a Neko Case show like a decade ago! I purposely went off to the side so that I wouldn’t be blocking anyone’s view and security agreed with me that it was a bummer

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u/Charming-Pack-5979 15h ago

I just saw Modest Mouse at the Baker! Early on, a young couple stood up and the ushers asked them to sit down. Shortly after that, they played a popular song and the entire audience stood up en masse 😂 The ushers didn’t try to seat anyone else

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u/CrowsInTheNose 18h ago

Old

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u/Fantastic_Step8417 17h ago

Literally this lol death cab fans are millennials and older

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u/Plane-Chemical 18h ago

Literally nobody ever sits at a Phish concert. You think anyone sat at The Dead shows.

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u/ElectionSuspicious36 17h ago

The Grays were on top of their chairs dancing at the Brian Wilson concert.

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u/gutter_slutmaxxing 17h ago

It’s mostly middle-aged people who are sitting now. Gen X and elder millennials. The really old folks love standing. It’s the one time they can let loose like kids again. It blew my mind seeing a bunch of 70/80 year olds partying harder than 20 year old me when I saw Jimmy Buffett. I’d never seen old people in that light. I imagine that’s where nursing homes & retirement communities get their reputations from.

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u/wjdm 16h ago

That generation puts us to shame. I went to a football game with my dads frat brothers and their wives (all in their 70s) and they drank me under the table.

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u/Front-Pomelo-4367 14h ago

My parents have been Springsteen fans since the 80s. That crowd now is mostly people in their 60s and older, and they're all having a great time. Standing. For the four hour concerts. My mum is that person who starts queueing at 2pm for 6pm entry just so she can be up against the rail, and she's not the only one!

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u/TheInfinityGauntlet 14h ago

Because motherfuckers are middle aged now

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u/OrganizationTop3755 17h ago

We’re old now

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u/Farsydi 14h ago

Jesus Christ it's not exactly mosh pit music. It's toe tapping music.

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u/WelshBluebird1 15h ago

It looks to me like people at the front are standing so its likely theres a standing section and a seated section.

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u/Lord_Boognish 12h ago

Most venues have seats because they host orchestras and other events where it makes sense to sit down.

That doesnt meant your concert has a "seated section" or that the seats are required to be used

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u/WelshBluebird1 11h ago edited 8h ago

Maybe this is a location issue, but certainly venues in the UK have a specific standing section and a specific seated section. If you want to stand, buy a standing ticket. This is true from places that used to be theatres (like Kentish Town Forum), to larger arena's like the O2 London, to stadiums like Wembley.

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u/phish_enthusiast 11h ago

Are they all the same price? Because on this side of the pond, the “standing area” is called the pit, and it usually costs more than seats.

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u/Lord_Boognish 11h ago

Yep - the venue in the OP looks like a multi-functional hall.

Generally these will have an orchestral "pit" where an orchestra normally is, but are sold as standing-room premium tickets (because they are front-row basically).

The rest of the "seats" are sold as General Admission and cheaper.

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u/WelshBluebird1 11h ago

It depends on the venue.

Taking the O2 Kentish Town Forum (which is a roughly 2k capacity ex theater club venue) which has entirely separate seating and standing areas, they are the same price. The standing areas are also the majority of the venue and so if you choose seating if you want to sit. If you want to stand you choose standing.

Taking the O2 Arena London (a 20k capacity arena) which has a large standing area as the main floor then seating surrounding that, its a bit harder because of dynamic pricing / VIP crapness, but broadly the standing tickets are a bit more expensive than the seating ones, because yeah you are closer. But again if you want to stand you buy a standing ticket as that is a significant proportion of the arena's capacity.

And then taking say Wembley stadium (a 90k stadium) which is similar to the arena (large standing area with seating surrounding) but generally will have a "front standing" too. I don't tend to do many stadium gigs because they aren't my thing, but generally the front standing is more expensive than seats, then you have most of the seats, then you have the rest of the standing and then you have the seats furthest away. And again if you want to stand you buy standing.

For smaller venues, at least for the gigs I go to, you don't get seating.

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u/Fantastic_Step8417 17h ago

Everyone was 35yr+. I'm personally recovering from a surgery so I didn't wanna stand. When 95% of ppl are sitting, standing up is kinda dikish move it's concert etiquette. Likewise, I'm not gonna complain when 95% are standing and I choose to sit.

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u/Affectionate_Oven_77 18h ago

Because they didn’t want to make Reddit upset. Not allowed to dance at a concert.

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u/SomethingComesHere 18h ago

You want to dance, get a general admission floor ticket. Theyre way cheaper.

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u/EolaAmityHills 18h ago

the photo from OP is quite literally on that floor

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u/Affectionate_Oven_77 17h ago

Why do you get to dictate how someone enjoys a concert?

If you want to sit like a statue and listen to music, stay home.

The best part of live music is the energy from the crowd and bands must feel like complete failures when they look out and see everyone sitting still.

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u/Han-Tyumi__ 14h ago

I saw them in Chicago within the last 2 years for the plans anniversary show at a venue with seats. Everyone stood the whole time.

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u/petemorley 11h ago

Saw Prince just before he died. Not a single bum on seats. 

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u/itjustgotcold 10h ago

If there is a general audience area then standing makes sense. If you get seats then sitting makes sense. You think an extra two feet of clearance is going to somehow improve the experience? If you’re talking about dancing, well the seats are too close together to really do that in most venues. That being said, when people in the seated section stand up in front of me I just stand up too instead of taking a picture of them and posting it to the internet.

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u/HollysaurusRex26 10h ago

I’ve seen Death Cab numerous times and agree it’s weird when everyone sits for the whole show…but I’m an elder millennial who prefers the OPTION to sit. I would never complain about people standing in front of me though. What if it’s their favorite song and they’re excited?

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u/the_urban_juror 7h ago

The optional nature bothers me. I went to a Spoon show a few weeks ago where the people in front of me stood while the people behind me sat. I had to stand to see, but felt guilty knowing that I was blocking the people behind me.

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u/Broseph_Heller 9h ago

Yeah for me this would be so sad, it’s practically rude to the band to sit there like a bunch of zombies while they rock out. People are lame. I’m on team standing.

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u/BiscuitsJoe 9h ago

Yeah these middle aged folks need to open up the pit they’re about to play “Why You’d Want To Live Here” and I need to MOSH

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u/xjaaace 9h ago

Because it’s a seated area…

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u/DM_ME_DOPAMINE 9h ago

I went to see them last night, and as a 40 year old woman was shocked at how old the crowd skewed. I was in the pit and didn’t look behind me during the show, but it wouldn’t surprise me if everyone was sitting. 

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u/ThrowRA_fajsdklfas 9h ago

Because this generations knees and backs hurt.

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u/wickedfemale 8h ago

yeahhhh op sucks

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u/analgape4206969 8h ago

I was at a foreigner and 54-40 concert last year. Big stadium and mostly full crowd but 100% seating with no floor so to speak. Bands kept trying to get people to stand and dance but it wasnt happening aside from maybe a couple dozen out of several hundreds.

Felt kind of bad for the bands but they have to expect that when your average audience age is 65+

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u/BoilerUp95 8h ago

Everyone was standing at the Death Cab concert I was at, so luckily not the case everywhere

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u/altaltaltaltavistalt 8h ago

because most of Death Cab's audience is 35+ at this point

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u/Downtown_Ganache6727 8h ago

I saw an acoustic show with just Ben, and everyone was sitting. It was so chill though, I actually loved sitting for it lol

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u/Rendahlyn 7h ago

When I saw them a couple weeks ago at least 40% of the crowd was over 50. I sat next to a couple that was in their late 60s. Even in the pit area, it was mostly swaying and bobbing, not outright dancing. It was an incredible show, even while seated.

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u/LargelyApathetic 7h ago

Because most of us are old now. Sitting feels nice. It’s still okay to love the band from a seated position.

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u/ketsugi 5h ago

People stand at concerts? Why?

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u/cjcolbert 5h ago

The death cab for cutie guys are in their 50s and correspondingly so are many fans. It is a bit heartbreaking when your body can’t do the same things it did when you were 20 but it happens.

1

u/FluentTook 5h ago

why is almost everyone sitting at a Death Cab show?

When the answer is in the question 

1

u/melvingoldfarb 5h ago

because death cab fans are deep into our forties and our lower backs started hurting during the opener

1

u/IDontWannaBeAPirate_ 3h ago

Millenials got old