Was it just me, or was the crowd at victoria park tonight comprised almost entirely of the most irritating and idiotic brand of self-regarding london wanker? There seemed to be waaaaaay more snotty and annoying behaviour than I would have expected: groups of 4 or 5 people elbowing their way towards the front halfway into the set, talking all the way through songs, barely bothering to applaud or just generally twatting about without regard for anyone around them... I know this is kind of par for the course, but it seemed way more noticeable tonight than at any other gig or festival i've ever been to.
Maybe I'm being a grumbly old curmudgeon (I did actually really enjoy the gig despite the above), but the fact that this delightful young lady:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikki_Grahame
wandered past at one point, screeching and tottering maniacally, and that there was a bit of a scramble for people to get a picture of her, might say something.
oh my lol
'The rise of the idiots'
'cool is their favourite word'
They like 'shit' and stuff.
atp concerts are the worst
i swear 50% of the crowd don't even listen to the band.
they should charge more, and let less people in, and quiz people before they can buy tickets
or somehting
bad idea
because the idiots are the ones who can afford to go to a gig and not listen to the band.
ATP
In not-pretentious/exclusive-enough shocker
i don't know
i just want to be able to enjoy the gigs more
Draconian
but may be the only way.
There were some royal cunts in the crowd on tuesday, i can tell you.
Prince Philip was there?
wa-heeeyy!
.
i've generally had pretty good experiences at atp shows. well, apart from when one of them caused bill callahan to storm off in a huff by shouting out "you're not as good as joanna..."
I'm convinced that
that woman is the spawn of satan,if not the dark lord himself...
.
it reinforced why I really don't like huge gigs. They tend to attract the type of twats who are there just to sing along to the big hits. Radiohead aren't really that sort of band.
It got so bad for us that my friends and I actually had to move further away from the bunch of guys in front of us, who basically just chatted/yelled through all the 'non-hits'. On the other hand, the move meant that we ended up standing near Jude Law and his model girlfriend.
Did Jude Law sing along to the hits?
he was nodding along quite a lot
I tried not to stare.
there was one bit
where a guy did that pointing-finger-towards-the-stage-for-emphasis thing as he gleefully sang "i get eaten by the worms... and weird fishes", all as if it was oasis or something. very, very odd.
yeah
god forbid people sing along
that's not really what i meant
though... sorry, maybe I should have separated it more clearly from my comments about wankers. people singing along is evidently not a bad thing at all, it can just be a little weird and jarring if they're hoisting their fag / pint / cowboy hat aloft and chanting like they're at a football match or something, when the lyrics are about death and decay.
.
I understood your point. Mine was more the fact that it's not really incumbent upon anyone on this site to dictate to other people how they should enjoy the music. If someone wants to sing along triumphantly to a 'sad' song then they should be allowed to.
I'm also astounded at the arrogance of some of the comments in this thread. Large open air gigs will always attract fairweather (for want of a better word) fans. It shouldn't bother anyone that they came to hear Karma Police or Paranoid Android. They paid the same amount as you did, who cares if they're not familiar with Bangers & Mash.
I cannot defend people screaming and ignoring the show that they've paid to come and see, but as long as the way they choose to enjoy it doesn't affect you in any way why should you gripe? You elitists need to realise that no matter how much material you own, no matter how much you listen to the songs or go to see them, Radiohead are not your band. They're a massive massive act and a household name. My mum went to the show last night and the thought of one of you snobby tossers sneering down your nose at her makes me sick.
Not necessarily directed at you aeth, I just needed to get that off my chest.
fair enough if you want to vent,
but it'd possibly be better directed at someone who's been espousing the opinions you're arguing against. whatever.
I know what you mean about big gigs
I was a bit apprehensive earlier today when I realised just how big this gig was going to be. I feared the high wanker quotient. But in the end I ended up next to the sort of people who sing and jump along to Idiotheque. Good stuff.
mind you
there was almost a fight next to me during bangers and mash. A bit of aggro and pushing, but came to nothing.
well
Before this show I said to myself that I wouldn't go to 3000+ capacity shows any more, just because I rarely have a good time at them. This just proves it.
Instead of spending £45 on an average night not really being able to see a band (though hearing very good songs), I'd rather spend £5-8 to go to a small gig in a room above a pub.
Same
Generally ended up next to people who danced a little bit and sang along to all the songs.
The last ATP gig i saw was of Modest Mouse
the was some twat yelling jumping and swinging off of the barrier because he was fucked on pills, he wore a tracksuit, I wish he fucking fell.
gigs with more than a couple of hundred people are normally shit.
Nikki Grahame
Really. Fuck
Quite a few girlfriends on shoulders during the encores which led to a few harsh but fair shouts of "get down you selfish cunt" near me.
london gig
innit?
i take issue with all this "london gig" bullshit people spout on here
i lived in newcastle til i was 21, went to all kinds of gigs, and then same down here, and there is little at all difference in crowds from one place to the next.
maybe the "eww, london gig, eww, london people, ewwwww" posters just go to really shit gigs in london?
Nah, I go to awesome gigs.........
and London crowds are generally a fair bit worse, sorry.
Maybe that explains why near enough every band that plays Southampton makes a point of saying how lovely the crowd are and something along the lines of 'We were in London last night and it was a cuntfest'.
the same bands
also always say what a good crowd london is compared to elsewhere. they probably say that to 95% of crowds they play to. it's called showmanship. it's a pretty basic facet of crowd interaction.
i've never had a problem with arseholes in london crowds compared to arseholes in crowds anywhere else. arseholes are arseholes across the country.
aside from which, when i do go to a gig, it's to watch the band, not stand there judging the crowd and feeling all smug and superior in my opinions of them.
Sorry, but I go to a lot of gigs in London
and I regularly attend shows in Brighton, Southampton, Portsmouth, Oxford and Bournemouth too and this is an observation that has been proven time and again.
It's not simply a Spinal Tapesque 'Hello Cleveland, you rock our world!' thing.
Additionally, yes, like you when I go to a show I go there to watch the band, your comment about stood there judging the crowd is null and void when you consider the fact that their actions are at best cheapening and at worst ruining an experience that a lot of people (including you) have paid a considerable sum of money to see.
some fair points
i don't know. it just gets my back up when someone (not you) chips in with a comment like "yeah, london crowd, innit, boo". it's like on BBC haveyoursay, the inevitable comment about immigration and gordon brown in every single thread, adding nothing. personally i really don't think london crowds are that bad.
and yes, in spite of what i just said, the tuesday radiohead crowd did get on my nerves - particularly the guy holding his cowboy hat up, *right in front of thom yorke* from my perspective, and it was just big enough to completely block him out, so i was watching a disembodied hat of an existential singer for half the set, but i definitely wouldn't put that down to it being london. i've been in worse crowds in many other parts of the country.
the impression i get from a lot of anti-london crowd posts though is not that they're slagging london crowds for being obnoxious or rowdy, but just for being perceived as aloof or somehow unengaging and unengaged, which i've never found to be the case, and you can't tell me that a lot of that doesn't come from bandwagon jumping, and it being considered 'cool' to be anti-London by people who aren't in London, the way some people make a point of the fact that they don't watch TV. i bet as soon as you mention the capital's name to a lot of anti-London posters, they'll give an automated 'London? bah! can't stand the place!' answer straight off the bat.
I understand what you're saying........
actually, I don't watch TV much either, not because I feel I'm sort of intellectual titan, but due to the fact that I don't own one at the moment!
I like London and have a great time whenever I go there. It's a city with an enormous amount to offer, but therein lies the problem.
I can't help feeling that due to the vast array of entertainment on offer, that there is a tendency amongst a sizeable minority to act in an incredibly jaded/seen it all before way.
An event that most would consider to be a memorable occasion that they would wish to look back on for years to come ends up becoming nothing more than an excuse to get tanked up with Charley and Hattie and inflict their wackiness on those around them.
These people couldn't care less that tickets were fifty pounds or so, that may not even seem like much money to them (considering the fact that they're happy to pay it and then pay no attention at the show, it's probably small change), they know full well that there will be another grand spectacle to fuck about at the next evening.
These people need to be told in no uncertain terms to either pipe down or leave.
It's true that when you tell people that you live in London
many that don't live there feel they have a right to tell you how shit they think it is. I can't imagine that slagging someone else's home town in the same way would be acceptable. Having said that, the crowds at London gigs are different to the ones I've encountered in Bristol. It can be better in the capital, as there tends to be a wider variety of people, not just students, etc. and can mean that there is the critical mass that you need to give some gigs atmosphere. Sometimes it can be worse with more professional gig gowers not paying attention.
I went to the gig last night
The crowd was extremly mixed - i saw 2 mohicans about 7 gollys several of pensionable age (crock n roll is becoming very fashionable) the big brother tart and several beer boys with about 3 pints each !!There was plenty of space and no trouble at all at the sides or back of the gig .. Yes some people were talking but thats there perogative -its a two hour set for gods sake !! £42 was far too much -luckily i scored a pair off e-bay for less than half of that !! Incidentally the best gigs are full of skinheads (often 40+) and you need to have at least a couple of pints of beer all over you - 2 years ago best gig cockeny rejects last year sex pistols this year so far weller at koko all full of skins and got drenched in beer -good fun times with atmosphere !!!!
7 'gollys'?
Yeah,
what is a golly?
Hopefully not what I think it is.
case study:
december 2007, Interpol play alexandra palace in london.
-not only suffering a really awful sound, not one person was actually paying attention to what was going on and was (particuarly for what is one of my favourite bands ever) one of the most frustrating shows I've ever been to.
3 days later; Interpol play re-scheduled gig at Newcastle Carling Academy.
It is one of the greatest shows of my life because, not only is the sound amazing but EVERYONE is respectful, even those who don't know the words (there's weren't many, mind) shut up and at least watched the band.
I don't think I've ever had such a difference between two shows over a couple days of the same band. it really went from utter dissapointment to dizzying heights. - the same thing happened with Converge last year too.
This is just one example though, I hate going to gigs in London because people just don't care, they go because they can, then don't give a shit about anyone else when they're there.
The only good show I've been to in the capital was my first; Modern Life is War at the barfly, because it was completely packed and EVERYONE went crazy for the band without interrupting those who weren't at the front.
yeah, i was at the interpol alexandra palace gig
and you're right, it was terrible.
they're a band of the size that will attract a crowd of random non-music fans though, especially playing somewhere like ally pally. same goes for radiohead the other night.
i think there's a really strong argument here to just never go to large gigs. i bet if interpol had been playing the telewest arena it'd have been a different story.
yeah
it sucks though, particuarly seeing how this will be my first radiohead (and My Bloody Valentine a week later) show and when it gets to situations like that its becoming such a horrible balancing act to deciding wether it will be worth it or not.
last month I saw broken social scene at shepards bush, the crowd talked as usual but funnily enough that wasn't irritated me, it was just BSS becoming the stalest act i've ever seen live and making me give up on them entirely.
gigs I've enjoyed in london:
Modern Life is War @ Barfly
Cave In/Pelican @ Garage (RIP)
Mono @ Underworld
Deftones @ Scala
Appleseed Cast @ Underworld
Rolo Tomassi @ notting hill arts club (although my band supported)
A Silver Mount Zion @ Scala
dissapointments:
Explosions in the Sky @ Koko
Converge @ Electric Ballroom and Peel (although that's an entirely different kind of london dickhead that ruined it - hardcore kids)
Interpol @ Ally Pally
Broken Social Scene @ Shepards Bush
grey areas:
Isis @ Koko
Glassjaw @ Brixton Academy
Sonic Youth @ Roundhouse
basically I'm looking forward to living up North for a bit and having consitently less irritating gigs.
I also went
and personally, that Interpol gig didn't seem that bad to me, bar the swaying drunken Irishmen standing right in front of me.
However, like The Arcade Fire a week earlier, the venue was too big for them (in all senses - just how high up are those ceilings?). Interpol's performance was okay, the venue was not. Alexandra Palace was and always will be a poor choice of a live music venue for bands in my opinion.If two of the most epic-sounding bands of recent times can't grip the audience there, then who can?
'I hate going to gigs in London because people just don't care'
You fucking what?
"Can I just squeeze past please?"
Just say no and don't let them past. Simple. If someone is elbowing past you and stands in front of you, just pick them up and put them behind you. Maybe.
Yup
Most annoying person of the evening award goes to the girl on her boyfriend's shoulders turning back towards the crowd and spreading her arms wide in quizzical fashion to give full expression to the lyric "You used to be alright/ What happened?"
Lock and Load.
Anyway, full marks to the bullseye artist who bounced a bottle off the noggin of the big bald bloke, prompting him to instantly withdraw from his friend's shoulders.
And during Bodysnatchers, which was literally hairraising, there were people sttod with their backs to the stage talking to each other. I mean really, it's been said a number of times, but how the fuck can you ignore that?
Apart from that, it were grate.
I saw a group of girls
going back-to-back to see who was the tallest during Nude. Then shrieking and screaming. I was so fucking livid.
.
There was some unbelievably infuriating people near me, and I was on the verge of saying something, albeit politely. Is this not acceptable? I wish I had now. It didn't quite ruin it but it came very close.
Of course it's acceptable
I guess you're just taking the risk that someone is going to through it all back in your face. In that case, just move somewhere else (although that's easier said than done).
'Excuse me,
I couldn't help noticing that you're a complete cunt. Would you mind terribly moving towards the champagne tent where you'll feel more at home? I think there's some Foxton's Estate Agents on a works night out around there. Thanks'.
or
'.......' - nah just post about it on a website the next day, that will show 'em
Yup.
Lots of first class wankers there last night.
Afterwards I made the silly mistake of actually trying to take the exit near my flat, barriers leading onto Gunmaker's lane, you know the usual things you get on park entrances. Anyway, it turned into a massive bun fight with people being absolute fucking morons because the police were controlling the flow so that nobody actually got hurt, but because they were so impatient there was a massive surge and people 15+ deep were surging onto the people waiting at the front. They were totally ignoring the police, a proper fight broke out and a couple of people were physically lifted away, and I ended up screaming at the top of my voice "stop fucking pushing", because I was stood chatting to a very pregnant woman who was getting quite uncomfortable with it all.
Not to even mention the talkers. Let's not talk about the talkers.
I'm glad
that I waited until that Gunmaker's gate scrum cleared. I a few people who had been lifted by the police. There seemed to be some 'operation' taking place down at the canal...
you are all lonely losers, its true.
last night
i think there were more tossers per square metre than ive ever seen
Yep, the crowd were dicks
No one caused any problems for me last night but on Tuesday I could quite happily have killed at least a dozen people around me and the consequences would have been totally worth it.
I'm never going to a gig in London again, I know not everyone is but most gig-goers there seem to be obnoxious shitbags.
:(
That makes me sad.
Last night was the worst London crowd I've ever seen. It's never usually that bad.
London people in being wankers shocker
I mean, what did you expect?!
^ like this, for example
see above.
From my experience of London gigs
I have never been to any where the crowd weren't mostly there for scene points, talking over the music, and gernally not giving a fuck about the band.
If it wasn't true about London crowds, they wouldn't have such a negative stereotype.
how many london gigs have you been to?
i go to one or two a week, and this is really hardly ever the case, and that goes double for radiohead in victoria park, which was the least 'scene' thing i've ever been to. it always strikes me that people who use the word 'scene' are always having a go at something that's perceived to be there. all the people they think are acting 'scene' have probably never used the word in their life and have no idea of the concept. try going again, and leave the chip on your shoulder at the door.
i'm going to completely ignore your "it's a stereotype, so it *must* be true" point.
When I worked in London (for 18 months)
It was a couple a week, and only the smallest gigs were ok in terms of the crowd. Maybe these people have no idea of a scene per se, but if going to a gig and talking over the bands so you can socialise with everyone you know isn't part of some bigger agenda, then obviosuly I'm looking at it the wrong way, it just rarely happens to gigs I've been to in other cities.
My stereotype comment was flippant, but you have to wonder why a lot of people who've been to gigs in London seem to have bad to things to say about the crowds, can't just be 'chips on shoulders' and a coincidence.
i think you are looking into it the wrong way
i don't see how people seeing their friends and talking to them could be part of any 'bigger agenda'. it's not like there's a conspiracy of people who go to all london gigs, you're looking at a fairly random selection each time. for example, i saw times new viking a couple of times recently, which looking at it the way you are, you'd expect to be the biggest 'scene' gigs going, but unless you were standing at the bar, everyone was dancing around, enjoying the band. i don't think anyone was there for the lols, they definitely wanted to see the band.
i don't know, i just never hear people talking about a 'scene' unless they're 17, or they're slagging people.
yes, it is annoying when people talk over the band though. maybe i just don't notice this cos i usually go right to the front, i like feeling immersed in the noise.
someone posted something above about how people who don't live in london seem to think they have the right to tell people who do live there how shit they think it is. i think that was spot on. and i think it has a lot more to do with chips on shoulders than you might think. that's definitely the case with people i know from back home. shit, i get it off my dad all the time, and the chip on his shoulder is so large he had to move to a bigger house.
I have nothing against London istelf
other than it's too expensive, hence why I moved!
Maybe I am being overly cynical, but I remember seeing Mono at the Underworld, packed out, and most people where I was standing were talking over the music...some people even left because they found the quiet bits boring...I mean Mono aren't exactly hip central, but a lot of people there seemed to just want to be able to tell their friends tha they saw Mono last night, regardless of whether they actually like Mono or not.
People not respecting the band and other gig goers by talking is what gets to me the most, and I've experienced this more in London than anywhere else.
The point about London gig-goers are generally true
but you occasionally get some amazing crowds- Sunset Rubdown last month and Sigur Ros on Tuesday in particular. And London crowds aren't a patch in the twat stakes on Leeds ones.
Never had a problem with Leeds myself
Though I did avoid the bigger venues when I was there.
yeah
what the hell? I always find Leeds crowds really nice?
I've been to about 20 gigs in Leeds
and at least ten of them were partially ruined by large swathes of the audience chatting through the songs. Even London crowds can generally be counted on to be relatively respectful during quiet songs, but not in Leeds. The student venues are the main offenders though, although I've wanted to punch people at the Cockpit once or twice.
Well...
... Seeing as you're talking about Mono, I've been to two gigs: the one you talk about in Camden, and one at Joseph's Well (sp?) in Leeds. Both times I was at the front, but whilst I don't recall any problem with the Camden crowd, the Leeds one - seemingly the entire audience - was constantly talking over everything.
They were still amazing, though.
I was at that Leeds gig too
and didn't notice a problem, so it's obviously dependent on personal tolerance and where you stand, maybe.
And yes, they were awesome.
^^ I go to
at least two or three gigs a month in London and have done since I moved here 9 months ago and the only gig I've been to which has had the infamous 'london crown' was Liars last week. However this was at The Koko which is also infamous for it's shit sound.
Not just Londoners
People came from all over the place to be wankers as well. The most annoying people I saw were a load of Americans, one of which starting doing some weird "urban" dance.
Its more that
those people wouldnt be at a gig in manchester or lasgow - they all gravitate to London because its easy.
Being a Londoner myself
I hate to agree but I think you're right although this just didn't seem to be an issue at all 10 years ago. Whilst attempting to watch Radiohead on Tuesday with the masses it occurred to me that 2 years ago I saw Radiohead in Paris where the crowd was even larger. Needless to say everybody and I mean everybody was into it from start to finish. Tuesday hacked me off that much that I actually sold my ticket for last night. Officially now retired from any gig bigger than Brixton Academy.
Me too.
With one exception only. David Bowie. Anything else can piss off.
Unless it's in another country who are notorious for respectful crowds.
^this sadly
I dont remember it being an issue a few years ago, either I was less fussy back then or gigs are just attracting more and more wankers
^ Me too
Apart from, erm... Radiohead.
Not bigger than Brixton
is my general rule. I'm breaking it for Get Loaded in the Park. Clapham, I'm just asking for trouble arent't I?
Its not the size, its the place
I love a big gig. Mozzer at the NIA in Birmingham the other year was great and reminded me that big can be good. But I understand the London shows on that tour were shit.
Maybe apply the size rule in London, but nowehere else. Fr'instance, I bet those MBV shows in Glasgow and manchester are awesome compared to the Roundhouse-good-band-shit-crowd-affair.
this is my whole problem with radiohead though
their continuing popularity baffles me and they attract the sort of "yeh, bit of culture innit" moron who hasn't really enjoyed their records since OK Computer but buys them regardless - the same sort of cultural automaton that goes out and buys Oasis records and hasn't noticed they turned into pub rock bores in 1997.
This isn't to say I don't see why people think Radiohead are good, I can't find justification for THIS many people supposedly liking them.
this^
is how 'Ok Computer' got to number #1 of Channel 4's "100 greatest albums" list a couple years back.
I was Sexual Harrassed at a Radiohead gig! (tuesday night)
Some girl started gyrating and bumping and grinding against me during Everything In Its Right Place - I've waited 8 years to hear that song live and frankly it ruined it for me. She then repeated tried to talk to me during How To Disappear Completely and, after I refused to give her my number (no i wasn't making it up) she grabbed my arse with two hands during Jigsaw Falling Into Place. She apologised when I turned round but by then the damage had been done.
My simultaneous feelings ran thus -
1) I felt very uncomfortable about the whole thing and most importantly -
2) It ruined a large section of the gig and will be ingrained in my memory of the show.
3) it was almost funny, except it wasn't.
4) Hey I've still got it!
Number 4 is an ego issue I have. The rest symptomatic of the crowd. Chattering Herberts. She wasn't there for the music.
Not exactly sure if I have
any sympathy with you!
Obvious follow up question, but........
HOTT or not?!
I'm guessing the latter otherwise your post would be more like 'I saw Radiohead last night and hooked up with a fox - 11/10!'
If she was ruining the gig
you should have at least got noshed off to make up for it. Thems the rules.
I'm a Ray-dee-oh-head fan!
I'm a Radiohead fan - does this mean anything to you? I'm socially awkward, loathe life, largely hate everything (especially well worn stereotypes) and, might I add, do not want want some gucci piglet groping my anus flaps while Thom sings "i'm not heeere, this isn't happening..." directly to me.
Love/Sex is for idiots!
P.S. She was about a 6/10
Gucci Piglet?
Oh that's fantastic. Consider that stolen.
kicking squeeling...
gucci little piggy.
He's a radiohead fan, you know.
noshed off?
haha
I can see how that wouldn't be too funny.
Just because it was a woman doing it to a man rather than the other way round, doesn't make it alright at all.
Yes it does
That would have made my night.
You need to get out more!
Probably
But then all the wankers at Radiohead gigs send me scurrying back indoors.
6/10
Surely worth a dabble? Any port in storm and all that.
should have sexed her
would have only taken five minutes :p
honestly, slappers AND chatty herberts at a radiohead show, times sure have changed...
um
this sounds quite a lot like me and my mates. sorry. I bloody love radiohead but what with the outdoorsiness and excessive beer we got a bit hyper and silly and started dicking about a bit.
To be fair we moved quite a lot further back to avoid pissing off people who wanted to take it a bit more seriously. And I've no idea who Nikki Grahame is.
^ quick!
Get him!!
totally agree
yeah it was the worst crowd at a gig I can remember. I thought it was just me being spoiled by a few quiet / interested crowds at recent gigs, but seeing this thread I realise it wasn't just me who had the gig ruined by bawling idiots and people talking al through! I could barely hear any of the songs over these idiots who were only faintly aware they were even at a gig. The crowd seemed to be full of cretins!
Bollocks
I'm dreading manchester now.
For those who were there last night or tuesday, was there a golden circle or anything? the best place to stand is usually right at the back of that. If not, where would be best to stand to still have a decent view, but be a good clear distance from the thousands of toolbags?
I found tuesday to be a lot worse than wednesday
To the right of the stage in front of the first row of big speakers was great, really good crowd.
From reading everyone's thoughts
I am 50/50 about this gig, and I should be really excited for it. I saw them at the Manchester Apollo in 2003 and then again at Nottingham later that year, both times thought they were untouchable. Is it going to be third time unlucky?
I am also concerned as I am going with a mate who has never seen them before and after 4-5 years telling him how ace they are live don't want to look like a twat!
What's the Manchester venue like?
London was a park, it was open-air, people had the space to be absolutely twattish. Also, the lack of darkness seemed to affect their mentality too. They stopped talking so much and actually danced after dark.
It's at
Lancashire county cricket ground.
Hmm.
Has to be your call but personally, I wouldn't. There were probably 50,000 people standing in front of me, 20,000 of whom were behaving like utter idiots.
I was going to take my 13 year old nephew because I like taking him to impressive gigs, I spent ages deliberating it and in the end my sister said he'd be too knackered.
I was very happy this morning that she'd made that decision.
^ i was gonna ask
i remembered this from the 'should i sell my ticket?' thread. sounds like a good call though. sorry to hear you had a shit time mirri :(
's okay love
you win some, you lose some. I had the most perfect gig of my life the night before, which made last night much easier to swallow.
Do you not reckon
you might have had a gig hangover so to speak? I can't enjoy a gig as much if my last one was amazing.
That's very possible.
I reckon
either right near the speakers so the sound drowns the bastards out, or at the back. My pals stayed at the back while I shuttled forward to 'get a better view' - my gig was ruined by the tons of cretins, whilst my friends really loved it, everyone around them was respectful and quiet, some people were even crying they were that into it. The people near me were talking about piano lessons, beer, and how great each other looked. Loudly. All the time. CHOOSE YOUR PLACE WISELY!!
Reminds
...me of the Portishead show at Brixton a few weeks back
Id waited years to experience Beth Gibbons voice live and everywhere I turned it was ruined by some cunt and his south london yummy mummy girlfriend chirping along like some pissed up warble ants
I wanted to kill
ZOMGGGGGGGGGg
Radiohead in completely mainstream band SHOCKER...loved by fans of lad rock as well as bed wetters who think they're "experimental".
I'm sure that'll make
the people who spent £40 on train tickets and £50 on a gig ticket feel so much better.
Give yourself a pat on the back.
Gigs
Are public events. If you think that you're superior to the crowd or understand it one a different level you're a fucking idiot. If there's people pointing and singing, so fucking what.
Don't think that at all.
Just don't want everyone surrounding me to talk all the way through it. Groups of four or five with their backs to the stage, for example.
It's also bloody discourteous to the bands. If that makes me an idiot, then whatever.
wow, you're odious AS
it's not about people thinking they're "superior to the crowd", it's about people not being able to hear because everyone's talking in front of them, pushing them, generally behaving antisocially
i think they're perfectly within their rights to grumble about people behaving that way, and if you don't, then that's a fucking disgusting attitude to take, ok?
hence why
i went abroard to see them...crowd were incredible, quiet for the quiet bits, dancing to the fun bits, singing (badly) to the crowd pleasers... plus mexican waves before they came on.. ace ace ace
To the girl behind me
who brayed along to Karma Police in a register that must have had every dog in Hackney shitting themselves...
... you are a tuneless, screeching harpy who ruined it for everyone around.
There was a definite Oasis element to the crowd, for sure.
Who noticeably did not get excited when they played National Anthem. Fools.
See
You think you're better than them when you're just one of them.
100%
Spot on. The review on here a few days ago had that attitude too.
yeah..
nothing like that, i just remember chuckling along when the french crowd sang karma police
"dis iz whot hu'ell geeeet"
you had to be there..
Weds night
We had the same thing when Jude Law pushed past on Weds night. Although that at least made a welcome change from having to devote all our energies to avoiding being crashed into by Mr and Mrs Shrek, two monstrous specimens determined to cover us all with beer, bruise us all entirely and prevent us from hearing a note of the set. Seriously, i didn't think mere human voices could compete from a festival soundsystem. Alas, wrong again. It was like being at the zoo - they even had their own enclosure after everyone cleared them a 6m-squared space simply to try to get away.
And, of course, they only knew the OK Computer tracks...
of course
Hmm
My favourite bit was when the bloke behind us shouted 'this one's shit!' in the middle of All I Need and then carried on talking bollocks. Thanks mate.
My problem is not with people who come 'just for the hits' but for the ones who ruin it for everyone else who actually want to listen to the whole set. And since when have Radiohead been a singles band anyway?
I saw Nikki Grahame too. She's very small. And quite orange.
i went to this..
..gig with specific intent on checking out the new stuff live.
reckoner was sublime.
but some fat cretin and his monsterously hoggish girlfriend clad in adidas barging past me when my iron lung started muttering "this is what we came for!" really got on my tripe.
im fucking sick of chavrock fans muscling in on decent gigs because the nme told them it would be a hoot.
So solutions?
1. Turn the soundsystem up to MBV levels?
2. Put the ticket price up in London so the wankers think twice about going?
3. Punter-power - stand up to wankers by not letting them get away with acting like cunts?
I like 1. personally...
1) YES
Beat them down with waves of noise until they can only stand and watch...!
To whoever said people can act how they want because it's a public event, you really missed the point. Without the event to hold the thing together it's just a bunch of morons behaving badly in a field. Bat For Lashes must have gone down like a lead balloon in this case I imagine...?
the guy from radiohead
has a funny eye/face
and they arent good, he thinks hes political but really his band are shitish. 'girl from' mars is good tho
actuaLOLz
at the above. It would only be funny if thom yorke had posted that...but kudos and lolz @ "shitish"
Sunday'll be ace!
.
I had a bit of a dobby in the stationary cupboard (without the end result) at a Fanfarlo gig once, still not sure if it was deliberate or not.
Glastonbury was prime for people who have no consideration of their tallness. I'm over six foot myself so I try to avoid standing too close to a shorter person behind me if there is room. Didn't seem many people standing in front of me that could work this out and then usually spent the time talking to someone next to them whilst moving their head in and out of the way of the stage.
Then there's hats. If you have to wear a hat please don't wear it an an angle that maximises the amount of stage it blocks. I had six people in a line at British Sea Power in the John Peel Tent joined by a seventh who had some of those stupid fucking plastic sung glasses perched on the top of his hat blocking yet more of my view.