I stood at a concert

As I said I don't recall this phenonom at the various concerts I attended for the rock concerts in the 90s and 00s.

Seated means you have access to a seat. It doesn’t mean mandatory seating in most cases, as another poster has pointed out by sharing several venues’ seating policies. It means that (unlike standing) you can take rest breaks between sets/during songs if you want to, visit the loos and stretch your legs and be easily able to resume your place in the venue and it gives you somewhere to put bags/coats/merch down if you have them. Buying access to your seat doesn’t influence how other people around you will behave if they are keeping with the venue’s rules. I don’t think dancing during concerts is a really new thing. I remember standing and dancing to Steps as a child in the 90s.

Exactly. It’s all about common sense.

But if the person behind cannot stand and asks you nicely to sit down then you should oblige. Or if there were small kids behind you then surely you have to have a bit of cop on. To think you are entitled to stand at or worse again on your seat for the duration of a gig is pure ignorance. Standing tickets are what you want to be buying even if they are more expensive. You can dance, jump, mosh and sway to your hearts content.

I think you just have to be mindful of others around you. If everyone stands up then fine but if the people directly behind you are sitting, I think it's rude and selfish to block their view. I'm going to a concert later in the year but at the moment, I have trouble with my knee, foot and leg and can't stand for too long at a time. I will have spent a considerable amount of money on the tickets, transport and accommodation, so I'd feel pretty pissed off if I had to sit and look at someone's arse!

It doesn’t make anyone better, but a desire to move to music is a fairly universal human trait. Standing up facilitates that better for me than sitting and tapping my toes if I’m really into a song.

It very much depends on the venue and the artist - a musical at a theatre, a classical concert, or a small venue without a dance floor then it is not the custom/etiquette to stand.
But an arena or stadium rock or pop concert then it is absolutely the norm to stand with a 'seated' ticket, to join in with the experience and atmosphere.
It seems a bit disingenuous to suggest otherwise for those types of concert - a basic youtube search will show you that for some venues/artists the majority of the crowd stand.

I'm glad you posted this. I've been to 100s of non classical concerts over the years, always seated where that's an option but loads where it was standing only.

I've tailed off going to non classical concerts and what is being described on here as "universal" wasn't my experience. However things seem to have changed and I probably will avoid concerts where seated means damn all.

Do you expect the arena to rip out the seats because it is something like King of Leon where the majority wish to dance? Maybe they can pop them back in in time for a classical evening. Or should they just not bother selling tickets for the fixed seating at their venue?

The Usher Hall removes all the ground floor seats for rock concerts. I saw Jack White, The War on Drugs and Christine and the Queens on the upper seated levels- no dancing. The ground floor was standing only.

The first time I saw Foo Fighters was at the (fully sold out) SECC at Glasgow. The floor of the arena was heaving with standing audience. The seated area was seated.

It was the same recently for The War on Drugs at Glasgow. Howver as you point out things seem to have changed. I will simply avoid these venues where standing is allowed in the seated area.

YANBU.
Saying buy a standing ticket is like saying if you want to sit down without anyone else ever getting up to dance buy a front row seat. In fact, if you don’t want anyone standing in front of you, buy a front row seat.
Standing tickets are limited and sell out quickly.
I suppose venues could specify some areas are sit down only and dancing is forbidden but I guess the reason that they don’t is because on the whole people want to get up and dance so these wouldn’t be popular.

Of course I don't disagree with anything you've said.

I disagree with everyone on here who says you have to remain seating regardless because they don't want to stand.

Not sure- it is just the big rousing end numbers right at the end that everyone just collectively gets up and starts dancing and honestly I think if you have seen a band before you sort of learn the way it works I guess. But it’s a bit like who starts a chant at a football match - how does everyone suddenly join in? I think it is difficult to complain about 20 mins for the last song rather than 2 hours of standing

I think if you’re in seated you’re guided by people around you. If there are lots of others standing then I don’t think it’s unreasonable to stand.

It doesn't and I never said it does but several people on this thread have commented that they find it quite sad that people can't enjoy music without remaining seated.

They probably also remain seated at parties because there's no need to dance

That’s what I mean though about being guided by the majority and respecting people around you.

I imagine in the scenario you describe no one would actually be sitting?!

I don’t think there are hard and fast rules either way but people just need to think about others - and that applies to both sides. If you’re in seated, you need to accept that it’s a concert and that sometimes people might still stand. If you’re in seated and you like to stand, you need to accept that sometimes you might need to sit if no one else is standing.

Equally what's the obsession about standing up (and annoying other people) makes you a better person / better connoisseur of music than some one who doesn't?

I don't stand for them

So those who said YABU but will stand for the big songs .... how come you get to choose to stand up then? What if the people behind you don't want to stand?

Where did I say everyone was sitting? I said my daughters were there with seated tickets.

Where did I say everyone was sitting? I said my daughters had seated tickets. Get your fucking facts straight.

Is it "universally accepted"?

The last non classical concert I was at was The War on Drugs at Glasgow Hydro a couple of years ago. Nobody was standing in the seated sections- there was a huge and crowded floor area of standing only.

I've seen Foo Fighters at least 3 times, always in the seated section of venues and people weren't standing there. I've seen Belle & Sebastian at least half a dozen times and the same. Same with Scissor Sisters and Rod Stewart. Even QOTSA I don't recall people standing except possibly right at the end- if you (general you) wanted to stand you could buy tickets for the standing area.

I've been to loads of concerts where standing is the only option and a few where there's a small amount of unallocated seating at upper levels, and that part remains seated.

Well it depends on the venue doesn’t it?! Not every venue says that and often the wording is that people “may” stand up - I still think it’s shitty not to consider the majority around you.

I always go in seated for the reasons I’ve explained. I’ve sat through plenty of concerts where frustratingly, everyone has remained seated. I very much prefer it when people are standing and dancing but I still think it’s extremely rude to buy a seated ticket and stand up if everyone else is sitting. That’s what is “fucking normal” in my experience of the many, many years I’ve been going to concerts.

Maybe the disconnect here is the artists. Maybe the people who insist that it’s always ok to stand only go to shows that appeal to a younger, more lively audience? My preference is rock and bands which the audience almost never stays seated for, but I have attended gigs with a family member/friend to see an artist of their choosing that had a different vibe. IIRC the Simply Red concert was pretty much everyone seated the entire first half and then up dancing the second half!

It is absolutely ridiculous to stand at a seated concert. Even when stood up, if there is an average-height guy in front of me, I can't see a damn thing. I paid the same for my ticket and I get to see nothing. There are usually standing areas - if that's what you want to do, buy a ticket for the standing space and leave us short-arses to enjoy the concert.

So if everyone else stands around you, do you tell them all to sit down?