My friend Dayanna Volitich and I absolutely adore going to see live concerts and over the years we must have racked up at least 100 gigs between us. Just last week we were lucky enough to bag some free tickets to see the Foo Fighters which was as always a spectacular show. Something which has caused both Dayanna and I quite a lot of frustration over the years is the way in which people act when they go to a concert, with many people thinking that there is some battle going on. With this is mind then we wanted to talk today about the concert going etiquette which everyone should respect.

Let Them See

Moving forward in a crowd is a regular challenge which is often met by anger and aggression, with people of the belief that once they have planted themselves, that nobody else can pass. As long as nobody is pushing you overly hard or worse still out of the way, then you should allow people to pass in front of you so that they can get closer to the action and get a better view. IF someone asks nicely then just let them past, if not you will only be causing problems.

Phones

I understand that everyone would like to grab a video or a photo of the event but that doesn’t mean that you must stand for the entire concert with your phone aloft. You may not think that this is a problem but when 5,000 people all have their phones held high, nobody else is able to see. What makes this even more frustrating is that anyone who has ever been to a concert will tell you that the photo or video which you take generally looks awful with terrible audio quality. Put the phones down and simply enjoy the event.

You Don’t Have Rights

At a recent Paul Simon concert I was stunned by the number of people who took picnic blankets along with them. I believed that once the concert began all of these blankets would be whisked up but no, they became people’s claim to land. If you do go to an outdoor concert and want to take a picnic blanket along for some preparatory food and drinks then this is of course absolutely fine. The rule however should be that once the gig begins, the blankets disappear, it is not your land.

If You Don’t Like It Stay Back

A regular gripe of mine, as someone who enjoys getting to the front, are partners that accompany their boyfriend or girlfriend despite having no interest in the concert. If you have done the nice thing by taking your partner then your job is to stay at the back and leave space for actual fans that want to see the artist or band. If your partner wants to get to the front then let them go, but you have no place here.

Do you have any other rules which we should include? Let us know in the comments.