So You Want to Go to a Concert: The Crowd

Everybody loves music. Everybody has a favorite band. Everybody wants to see their favorite band live in concert. It goes without saying that each band, while they could be admired by anybody, has a particular fan base that is unique to that band.

A gaggle of fine gentlemen at a Marilyn Manson show

Nirvana fans wear flannel, Led Zeppelin fans partake in illegal substances, Marilyn Manson fans are goth and misunderstood, and Phil Collins fans get beat up by Nirvana, Led Zeppelin, and Marilyn Manson fans. All of these are stereotypes, it's true, and not all fans of these bands can be described that way. But, one cannot deny that these attributes apply to the respective fan bases on some level, even if only a little.

Know the concert you're attending. People will act differently depending on the concert.

Not long ago, I attended a Jane's Addiction concert in Louisville, Kentucky. Jane's Addiction is an alternative rock band who hit it big with their 1988 debut Nothing's Shocking and their 1990 sophomore Ritual de lo habitual. After these two incredibly successful albums, Jane's Addiction broke up. Sure, the band reform in 2003 to record a mediocre album called Strays, but it wasn't until 2011 when the band return to the alt-scene with their newest album The Great Escape Artist. This was a massive event for Jane's Addiction fans because not only did the album not suck like Strays, they announced a nation-wide tour.

Of course, I got on board with this idea.

I'll admit, I didn't have the best seats at the Jane's Addiction concert. I sat a little more than halfway back, ready to see one of rock's biggest legends in action.

As the concert began, I noticed the ladies in front of me. There were four of them, with a combined weight of 650 pounds and not one of them under 40 years in age. They were probably more attractive in the early 90s.

Jane's Addiction, 1990

Once the first note of the first song was hit, these women let it all loose. They screamed, they hollered, they cried. Jane's Addiction was undoubtedly their favorite band. All of this was fine. You should cheer for your favorite band. But, things get out of hand when the women are yelling guitarist Dave Navarro's name. They drunkenly scream the song lyrics to each other. They are trying to remind the band when they saw them live in 1988 in a bar and how they were fans since the beginning. One woman has all the live albums. Another has a tattoo. A third has their first album on cassette. The final woman screams "Dave!" over and over, waving to him, hoping to get even a glance, way back in the 18th row. I may be overplaying it slightly. Only slightly.

"People get pretty invested in their favorite bands and when they're in their presence, they don't even care who sees, they'll let it all loose, loud and wild," says Nicole McGinnis, another attendee of the Jane's Addiction concert.

Don't let the antics of the crowd discourage you from seeing a band you like. No matter where you go, no matter what band it is, there will be people who rub you the wrong way or get on your nerves. It's all part of the experience.

And remember, you may be that person one day, screaming out your favorite rock star's name, asking him if he remembers you from twenty years ago.

Or eighty.