Question of the Week: What’s your biggest pet peeve about attending concerts?

Local Spins’ Question of the Week (Sept. 14, 2022)

What bugs you most about live shows? What’s your biggest pet peeve about attending concerts? What would make your experience better?

The winner in last week’s drawing of email subscribers who responded to our question of the week was reader Cheryl Sundberg. To be placed in a drawing for a Local Spins gift pack, sign up for email updates and the weekly newsletter here: https://localspins.com/subscribe-local-spins-mailing-list/

THE READER RESPONSES:

Lori Anne Hacker – Some way (wristbands) to identify who paid to see this band. And who did not. Studio Park for the Accidentals, we paid $50 and others just walked in no charge. It was a great show.

Ian Ormiston – My biggest pet peeve with live shows is that there are other people there.

Tom Morefield – The somewhat mentally unstable people who stand in front of the stage for the whole show dancing and yelling.

Diane Cutler – Talkers. Incessant talking prevents listening.
John Means – Love live music but two things bug me: 1) when people go to just party and talk and not listen! 2) The Neo Nazi retirees that trip on your chairs or how far you are away to the chair next to you at Meijer Gardens.

Don Clapham – I guess my biggest pet peeve is the curfew many venues have that end concerts prematurely. It seems like the band and audience are ready and willing to rock all night when, poof, it’s 10 p.m. or 11 p.m. and the party’s over.

Lee Chase – John Means It’s funny that you mention Neo Nazi retirees and Meijer Gardens in the same sentence…

Robby Jewett – I’m old. I need a seat to sit down in.

Futta S Bucco – PHONES

Shazzer McBroddle – People who view the show via their phone screen.

Rebecca Charbauski – We saw Bleachers last night and Jack said “we don’t play encores, they’re stupid” – I couldn’t agree more. So cliche and contrived. Just do your set!

Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk – People who do a loud whistle in lieu of applause. Absolutely hate it. They don’t realize the damage does to their hearing and that of others around them. I’ve had people do it directly behind me, and it can wreck my evening. Honestly, I’ve come close to wheeling around and punching their lights out. It’s terribly rude and genuinely dangerous to one’s hearing.

Adam Labeaux – I was just at Stevie nicks, and the audience STILL talked when it wasn’t a major hit. Right now, lack of masking is big on my list. Another would be all solos being pre-written. Even if playing the solo from the record, that is the leaf player’s moment push it, and themselves to someplace of pure expression and exaltation. Also, also… people shouting for the songs they want to hear. I say, let the artist take you on a journey!

Andrew Ogrodzinski – Not a fan of the modern ticketing system for big shows where second hand sellers get first dibs on tickets that are in demand just to Jack up the prices.

Greg Baxter – If you think Ticketbastard is bad, try getting tickets to a Red Rocks show. Events seem to sell out in 5 minutes and then there are thousands of tickets available at 5 to 10 times face value on the same ticketing site.

Nancy Ringelberg Honor – Inadequate number of women’s restrooms

Carmen Sluiter – Pet peeve: Loud talkers. We love live music. I want to hear the music.

Lee Chase – Prices: Tickets, concessions, merch.

Brian Haik – Like Andrew O. said inflated ticket prices, and shows sold out instantly due to re-sale tickets. Also, John I agree, I know some local bands play the same set-list over and over for years and years. That gets old, and it’s the reason I don’t go out of my way to see those kind of bands. I’m in a cover band and every show we have performed for the last 14 years has a different set-list with different songs rotated around every single show, plus we are always adding new songs to the repertoire. Of course there is always the issue if going to a concert and doing with humans. Some who are just plain annoying. At The Pretenders concert 20 Monroe a few years back, I was about 3 or 5 rows back from the stage and this woman was talking nearly the while show. I told her to stop talking so I could enjoy the show. She looked at me and said, “I’m their biggest fan.”

Steve Middendorp – If you wait for a long time to get a good GA spot, then you have a long way to walk to use the bathroom or get a beer, and end up losing the spot. People in the front holding up their phones to get a very poor quality video/audio that will hardly be watched again. Live in the moment and enjoy the show. You don’t need a video recording to prove to someone you were there. You know you were there.

Greg Baxter – The noisy picnic that takes place at most Meijer Gardens show. Too often it seems like FMG members buy tickets for an evening out vs fans getting them to enjoy the show.

Diane Yob – Prices and the extra charges

John Wenger – Paying good money to go to shows and festivals and sound is mediocre at best. Bracketed ticketing schemes where the people with the most money get to be in front. Excessive food and drink prices with no option to bring your own.

Chuck Whiting – Most shows start way too late. Opener goes on at 9, headliner at 10:30. Ridiculous. Throws off my sleep pattern for like three days. I hate it.

Chris Jane – Chompers. High prices.

Stephen Aldrich – Door operations being unable to process lines, sometimes resulting in missing parts of the opening act. Ticket prices are certainly an issue, the concert industry is unwilling to write off the pandemic seasons, and trying to make up for it now. Having said that, I would not mind paying for acts that are more 2022, than 1982.

Chris Malachino – People who think the concert is background noise for their conversations. They have no respect for the performers or those who came to enjoy the music.

Sylvia Brooks Taylor – It bugs me when there are a million paid sound guys around and they still let the vocalist be drowned out by instruments that are too loud. Corrine Bailey Rae concert at Meijer was the worst. I guess the keyboard player thought he was who we came to hear…NOT!

Cheryl Sundberg- The beach ball! Make it stop! I am an unapologetic serial deflater, ha. Loud conversations nearby during performances, people who leave early to beat the traffic….ha. I think I just realized I am becoming a concert curmudgeon.

Bob Niedt – “NOW YOU SING IT!!” No. Just no. I bought this expensive ticket because I wanted YOU to sing it. I’m a fan of YOU. Not the person next to me. Please stop pointing the mic at the audience. Not a fan of sing-alongs, and I’ve covered concerts since 1978. Call me crabby.

Wendy Reed – My biggest thing these days is people who stand WAY TOO CLOSE. I’m standing in the back, please give me the courtesy of not feeling you breathing on me.

Jeff Mantia – 1) Artists that talk way too long between songs and kill the energy. Los Lonely Boys is an agonizing example. They spent about half of their St. Cecelia set reminiscing about how great it was to play music together while growing up. This kept us from hearing them play music together now. 2) Artists that spontaneously jam between actual songs, taking up valuable time and making me wonder why I don’t know this song (Red Hot Chili Peppers). Save that for rehearsal!

Dave Adams – All the fees associated with purchasing tickets.

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