There are some unspoken rules at concerts

Thomas Bowman
Staff Writer

Imagine being in the front row to see your favorite band play the coolest venue in town. 

You got your tickets months early so you’ve been anticipating the show for a while. 

Now picture a sweaty, stinky stranger shoving past you and sliding into that front row spot you previously occupied. And the here’s worst part about the situation: you can’t do anything to get that spot back.

Going to concerts has been a popular pastime throughout history – from Shakespeare plays at the Globe Theatre to crazy competitions held at the Roman Colosseum. 

Going to concerts is an activity that many people enjoy and strive to have a good experience while attending. 

It’s really disappointing when audience members pay good money to see their favorite artist only to have to deal with an annoying person being disrespectful. 

There are several things concert goers should be aware of before going to a show.

An important part of going to a concert is refraining from talking at times when it’s disrespectful to talk. 

This means not talking when the performer is singing, talking or doing whatever their act requires. Good times to talk are before and after the show. 

If the concert has multiple bands playing, it’s okay to converse between each band set. 

In a more classical professional setting, the lights will flicker before the show starts to remind the audience to lower their voices.

It is also polite to hold your applause until all selections in a set are completed. One of the musical performance practices currently is for a performer to acknowledge all applause. 

It can be challenging for younger and less experienced artists to maintain attention, especially when there are multiple songs for an artist or group. Some classical pieces of music are separated into different parts called movements. In between movements, the music will pause for a few moments. 

The slight pause between movements is the time for the artist to prepare the mental tone for the next part. Having to acknowledge applause by bowing can throw the performer’s concentration off. 

Sometimes applause during a selection is acceptable. For instance, if there are any soloists in an ensemble such as a jazz group, the audience often applauds when the soloists finish their solos. 

Usually, the director also acknowledges the soloists during the applause for the whole group when each piece is finished.

Those are several rules to follow while at a show. 

There are more that should be acknowledged such as refrain from cell phones, no flash photography, whistling and the more apparent manners. 

Remember to always respect the artists and the audience when attending concerts.

Header photo courtesy of Flickr.