Concert Etiquette

There are rules of society when attending a concert. These rules change depending on the venue of the concert and the type of music played. For example, a Hannah Montana concert has different societal rules than the opera or a concert at Orchestra Hall. However, last night at a very enjoyable concert at a very intimate venue, I encountered the ultimate rule-breakers when it comes to social ettiquette...and I was PISSED.

Let me back up for a second. My sweet boyfriend bought me a 'date' to see Colin Hay - former lead singer of Men At Work - for my birthday. He's been doing solo accoustic shows for a few years and I had heard he put on a good show...so we went. It was in an older theatre - an old movie theater that is maintained by the taxpayers of the City of Minneapolis - and we were sitting in rows of folding chairs before the stage. I'd bet the capacity of the room was 450. The show was sold out.

We were off to the side of center stage in an area set up in rows of 6 seats per row. Behind us, a group of four sat down - one girl and three guys. Immediately, I knew they were going to be difficult...particularily the two guys sitting right behind me. You know the type. They are loud laughers. Not just a knotch louder than most people...they were always the first to laugh and they were the loudest laughers in the room. This was accompanied by incessant repeating. Whatever the preformer said, whether it be a little story or an intro to a song, they would repeat the last few words to each other...either one at a time or at the same time. SO ANNOYING. This didn't happen once or twice...it happened throughout the entire performance and got progressively louder as the night went on.

Then about half way through the main event, the girl sitting behind Phil began to sing. Loudly and off key. This wasn't a sing-a-long concert. NO ONE ELSE was singing. But No Social Skills was. Loudly. And Badly. About the time the Bad Singer started, so did her sidekick - the fake drummer. The guy sitting directly behind me was pretend drumming - complete with foot-kick on a bass drum (my chair was the pedal for this). His arms were flying around as if he was playing drums along with the old Men At Work classics.

The finale was when the Bad Singer not only belted out the last song but also started acting out the lyrics. Her hands in the air...waving...her hands in a prayer position...jazz hands...dancing fingers...hands in her hair...you name it. And it wasn't subtly...it was as if she was in a Southern Baptist church praising her creator on Eastere Sunday.

Never ever in my life have I witnessed a group of people with LESS social graces. Please please please people...I beg you...teach your children these little social nuances...they ARE IMPORTaNT!!!!!!!!!!