Standing at gigs - finally some sense!

[StacksOfSnacks]

I love live music and frequently attend concerts and have been utterly baffled in recent years that people behave as they would in the cinema - plonked on their backside, mutely watching. For me it’s all about the immersive experience - dancing, screaming, swaying, singing, waving my arms… But not only are more people staying seated, but I’m actually seeing discourse where people such as myself are being criticised for acting exactly like a typical concert goer - singing and standing.

I went to a show last night and noticed this little note on my e-ticket “People around you may stand!” though I think it should go without saying, finally some sense is prevailing and those whingers can keep schtum now (which they advocate for at gigs anyway 😂).

Disclaimer: I know people will pile on saying that not everyone can stand, and no they can’t and I understand that. I’d support if they wanted to have a section where people stay seated if there’s demand for it. However, I have observed a change in behaviour that is out of proportion even when considering that.

I think there’s something in the idea of having a “seated and stay seated” area and a “you have a seat but you may stand if you want to” area, separate to the standing area.

My neighbour who works at an arena tells me if you are seated and you stand the stewards can't do anything BUT if it's going to result in a brawl they will advise the stander to sit down. You CANT stand in the aisle or push to the rails on the stairs as you block the egress. He has a ton of stories of CFs trying to get into the accessible seating. If you stand on the seat you will be advised to sit down or you will be ejected. Yungbluds management must have blanched because there are waivers/damages the acts will be liable for. A seat stander falls and injures themselves or others and it's on the act. If you want to stand buy that ticket. Stand in front of me when I and everyone else is seated and we will have words.

Common sense is we are sitting to watch the gig. If the act has whipped up a frenzy we will stand.

No issue with standing, dancing, swaying etc, but an adult woman screaming!

Absolutely no need for screaming.

But that wouldn’t work- when the big numbers come on everyone does stand up and dance and sing together. It is like everyone knows which are the song to stand up and which aren’t. Certainly the encores often people do stand for the last few tunes . It is just the majority of a 2 hour concert most people stay seated. It’s a bit like at a football match, everyone is seated until a goal is scored and then everyone stands up and cheers in unison…. And then sits back down. There is a an etiquette to the seated areas.

Cannot believe the insanity on this thread. Of course you should stand and dance at a music concert. I can’t even believe this would even be a debate

Stand and dance if you want to. Just don't complain when others tell you to sit down. They have paid to watch the concert, they don't want your body blocking the view.

Not convinced a grown woman needs to scream at a gig tbh - that would do my head in. Mind you, I was at the Magic Flute and the woman next to me decided to sing along to the Queen of the Night aria, which was very similar.

I've paid £££ to sit. I will dance/stand at the appropriate time. I know if I see ACDC or Oasis there is a chance I'll be standing all the way. If I see Florence and the Machine (as I did) and someone stands blocking the sightline of 10+ people then the stander should be downstairs on the floor. If everyone stands and I still have a great view I'll sit (Raye/MCR recently).

People paid to hear Louis, not your shitty singing. And, yes, people can hear you.

This!

It’s “you can” not “you should”.Its not in the terms and conditions. People enjoy stuff in different ways..who knew?

Was at a gig last night (standing) and some enthusiasts got a large flag out. Now about 30 of us can't see. We requested they desist (they did). Sitting on your partner's shoulders? NO!!

I saw oasis at Wembley in the seated section and everyone stayed seated pretty much the whole way through.

The last few gigs I’ve been to (Yungblud/Capaldi) have all been pretty respectful, I don’t know if it’s just a thing in the venue but everyone seems to respect not to stand the whole time in a seated section, but get up where it’s warranted. Judge the area around you.

It’s not as easy as saying “well buy XYZ” ticket then” for popular gigs, because of queues and scalping you have to scrape to get any ticket in the first place.

if you’re wise enough, you can figure out what seats are at the back of each section and stand to your hearts content. I just did that recently and it was a bloody fab option tbh.

I’m not the person to ruin someone’s evening , I’m blessed to be there regardless.

Sorry op, yabvu 😄

I actually thought seated tickets were harder to get than standing-is that not the case? When you think about it it's pretty shitty to buy a seat and then not sit in it all night! What a waste...

I book seated but stand up and dance. Seated means there's somewhere to put my jacket and bag.
I've been going to gigs since the late 80's and never known people to actually sit in the seats.

I always get a seat because i like to have a space of my own but i dont expect people to sit quietly in theirs. The last concert i went to was David Gray, not a particular fan but my friend is, it was an awful experience. We were seated at the back and most people paid absolutely no attention to the show, if they weren't constantly going in and out to the bar or the toilets (and I mean constantly) they were talking loudly or scrolling on their phones. I mean why bother?

If others are standing I’ll join in but tend to follow the crowd and read the room most of time. I was at a gig last night and did loads of standing, dancing and singing - fantastic night!

I’ve always found it’s easier to get standing, if you don’t mind where you stand (sometimes they are sectioned off)

it’s also far easier to book for a group of 3+ standing than ever expecting seating together. If it’s a popular gig expected to sell out, it’s so so hard.

Seated = you sit apart from last couple of songs.
Standing = you stand. Feel free to dance, wave your hands about as much as you like.

I was just going to say this.

I was there too. Fantastic show and the majority of people around me were dancing in the seating area, just like every other concert I've been to.

But there are way more seated tickets than standing. Not everyone who wants to stand can get a standing ticket. Why should our gig be ruined because others are boring?

It depends on the seating. If it’s tiered not so fussed about standing. However I went to see Michael Bublé a few years ago at an arena and even the floor area (that would usually be the standing area) was all seated, so when people then stood up, (everyone ended up standing up) you had to stand where you seat was. I literally couldn’t see a thing at all. So disappointed and an absolute waste of money. Generally if it’s a seated concert, sit.

on a side note the viral clip of Adele having a go at staff who told the lad to sit back down really pisses me off. He was blocking the view of everyone behind him but Adele clearly didn’t give a shit about all their enjoyment!