Masuk Free Press

In the post-COVID rush to public events, we have seen a dramatic increase in concert attendance, alongside a startling lack of concert etiquette. From borderline catcalling artists on stage to staring at their phones while recording a two-hour-long video, it feels like people don’t know how to show even an ounce of empathy at concerts. This ultimately makes what should be a fun, sometimes even once-in-a-lifetime experience, into an actual hellscape.

Now, I get it. I, too, like taking videos at concerts so that I can go back and watch them and remember what it was like to be in that moment. I understand that people want to show off that they saw their favorite artist live. But what I don’t understand is standing there, after spending hundreds of dollars and hours of your time, to watch the entire concert through your phone.

“When I went to a Clairo concert, there was this girl who literally wasn’t even a fan. I mean, like, she was talking about how she only knew ‘Bags,’ and then she proceeded to shove in front of me and hold her phone up like six feet in the air so literally no one behind her could see or get a good video,” said senior Aubrey Zvovushe-Ramos. “If you don’t know the song, why are you even recording it? And if you are gonna do that, at least have the decency to hold it in front of your own face and not with your arms fully extended in the air.”

Due to problems like these, artists such as Bob Dylan and TOOL have resorted to strict phone bans at their shows. Fans can only take photos and videos for the last song at the show. If they try before, security is instructed to kick them out. Some artists like Coldplay and Tyler the Creator, although they haven’t put bans on phones, have had to basically beg fans to put down their phones for certain songs so that they can actually experience the concerts instead of worrying about the validation of their followers online.

“I usually only record like two or three songs at concerts,” said senior Gabriella Assignon. “I only really need my favorites and then I am good. I don’t understand why people think it’s better to stand there and stare into a screen than just watch.”

And the crazy part is, the people who are standing there, more worried about their videos than the actual experience, are also the people who line up outside of the venue  12 hours before doors open. It has become increasingly common for people to arrive at absurd times for general admission concerts.

“Like, are you seriously getting to concerts eight hours early, sitting on the streets of New York City just to see an artist five feet closer than you would if you got there three hours early?” said Assignon. 

This leads to an insane culture where people are left skipping school and work, getting hotel reservations just to have a shot at getting merch before it sells out. And even when people get their spot at the concert, they lack the little maturity it takes to not scream explicit and inappropriate comments to the artists.

“This one person kept yelling ‘Claire bear’ at Clairo. Like, oh my gosh, how are you not embarrassed that she definitely heard you and just ignored you three whole times,” said Zvovushe-Ramos. “Also, you don’t know her like that. Stop making up weird little pet names for people you don’t know.” 

This has become a recurring issue at concerts for singers like Mitski and Reneé Rapp. At multiple Mitski concerts, people have yelled things like “Marry me, mommy,” which has made her understandably upset. She has resorted to carving out specific segments for fans to shout in order to “get it over with.” And when the fans inevitably don’t listen, she becomes so clearly uncomfortable, covering her face and shaking her head. Reneé Rapp has had many instances where fans take their signs too far and become sexual. She addressed it saying, “Sometimes signs are funny and other times they make me feel like a piece of meat!”

“I think it is really very gross,” said junior Ritiksha Patel. “I have never been to a concert but the way some of these people act makes me not want to be associated with them.”

Still, fans continue to treat artists as exhibitions. They poke and prod at artists until they have no choice but to acknowledge their nonsense.

This new concert atmosphere has formed a disturbing trend where personal validation and social media feeds take precedence over the core of live music itself: connection and shared experience. We need to remember that we are not just watchers, but rather participants in an experience that we should appreciate, not bury behind our screens.