Rock concerts

[Orruar]

So I went to my first big rock concert in years last night, and was shocked at how different they have become. It was Nine Inch Nails (in Orlando) and I paid good money to get onto the floor, expecting to lose a fair amount of blood and sweat.

First let me say that the music and light show was fucking amazing. Best show I've ever been to, hands down.

However, as good as the band was, the crowd was the exact opposite. Probably half of them had their phones out at some point, some had them out the entire concert. I'm guessing Lron was among them. Hardly anyone was moving around, most just stood still, not even bobbing their heads or anything. You could hardly tell if they were hearing the music or not. 0 mosh pits, 0 crowd surfing, 0 rowdiness. Now I'm all for letting people enjoy things the way they want, but what the hell happened in the last decade? It's tough to really get lost in the experience of it when everyone else seems to be so disconnected. I had ankles swollen to the size of grapefruit due to a run in with fire ants and yet I had more intensity than 99% of the people there. If I had it to over, I'd probably just take some acid and sit up in the stands and enjoy the lights.

My question: Is this pretty much normal for rock concerts these days? Or is it just this city that sucks? Either way, why do you think it's like this?

Here's a couple video from the event, and you can see the motionless floor with shitloads of cell phone screens blocking everyone's view. Looks more like a wedding than a NIN concert.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duwiTeVC0d8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZKkksuTyCo

[Lron]

First of all, i wasn't there.

Second off, NiN were huge in thie early 90s...we are getting old.

Third off, NiN isnt really a band you "mosh" to.

fourth off, Maybe everyone was on acid and just enjoying the light show

and last but not least, I was not one of the douchebags that just holds the camera watching the concert through a 5 inch screen the whole time, i hate those fags.

[pharmakos]

it's 2013. NIN is mom rock now.

[Orruar]

The average age there was certainly under 30, probably under 25. Only one or two silver foxes there, and they were rocking harder than most.

[pharmakos]

i know plenty of moms that are under 30 =p

a lot of them listened to NIN in high school

[Orruar]

That's true. I'd say ratio was probably about 4:1, which is a little higher than most rock concerts I went to back in the day. Still, can't totally blame this on women can we? I mean, we've gone from unmitigated chaos to what would appear to a deaf person as a church sing-a-long. There's gotta be more to it.

[pharmakos]

"dad rock" would also be an appropriate term. "mom rock" is just the more commonly used variant.






also, it might have something to do with the last few NIN albums sucking.

trent used to spend like 3+ years working on each album. now he just shits out music.

[Orruar]

Yeah, he sorta dropped off much like Tool. Though he did play about 50% from PHM/DS, so he still knows where his bread is buttered.

[Orruar]

Third off, NiN isnt really a band you "mosh" to.

You were kidding about this one, right?

[Swish]

Blame the Linkin Park era...they turned a lot of young people away from real metal music, and you're left now with bands like Bring Me The Horizon (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7cczTyQ4iY)... and while that tune isn't bad, a lot of their stuff is so shitty I feel sorry for kids now.

[pharmakos]

Yeah, he sorta dropped off much like Tool.

i gotta disagree with you on that one. :) Tool is still rocking... when they actually get together and do stuff. one album every 5-10 years is a bummer.

[Itap]

You want to mosh? Go to an August Burns Red show. Shit gets ridiculous

[citizen1080]

30 seconds to mars concerts are are pretty insane

[Aenor]

You were kidding about this one, right?

Not kidding... NiN kinda elevator music. Also, venue matters a great deal. Flew out to Denver to see Incubus at Red Rocks two summers ago and it was the best concert experience of my life. Saw them 6 months later at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Alpharetta, GA, and it was a total letdown.

[Champion_Standing]

Blame the Linkin Park era...they turned a lot of young people away from real metal music, and you're left now with bands like Bring Me The Horizon (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7cczTyQ4iY)... and while that tune isn't bad, a lot of their stuff is so shitty I feel sorry for kids now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-nChX_0HMY

[Dr. Edge]

NIN is still very popular with Rockers of all age, I'm sure there were plenty of younger people at these shows. I wanted to go but I'm too cheap to spend $70 on a big stadium show.

John Freese is my favorite drummer, was he with them on this tour?

http://youtu.be/s0Rdn1n8yW4

http://youtu.be/UsYpEV2GyNU

[Ahldagor]

trent sobered up and got crappy like metallica. opeth is the best show i've been to, and highly recommend for the jokes in between songs

[Zadrian]

Shit man, I went to a Black Sabbath concert in August and they had seats out on the floor. I mean, I don't know how they did it back in the early 80s, but I'm sure people got wild.

[Orruar]

You want to mosh? Go to an August Burns Red show. Shit gets ridiculous

Where do you live?

[Orruar]

Not kidding... NiN kinda elevator music. Also, venue matters a great deal. Flew out to Denver to see Incubus at Red Rocks two summers ago and it was the best concert experience of my life. Saw them 6 months later at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Alpharetta, GA, and it was a total letdown.

Not really. I mean they do have a few songs that are slow. I don't expect moshing during Hurt. But when you whip out Terrible Lie or Head Like a Hole, you kinda expect people to show a little energy. The music and lights were most certainly high intensity during about 2/3 of the show.

Also, I really don't think it's all about the music. I mean, people can get rowdy to some relatively tame shit. I remember getting wrecked by mosh pits at a Candlebox concert back in 96, lol.

[pharmakos]

trent sobered up and got crappy like metallica. opeth is the best show i've been to, and highly recommend for the jokes in between songs

i saw opeth a few months ago... people were yelling out the names of Opeth songs that they wanted the guys to play, like happens at every concert.... so i decided to try to be a smart ass, and i started yelling the names of 70s prog rock songs, hoping to make Mikael laugh. i think he might have cracked a smile when i started yelling out the names of Camel songs, but for the most part it seemed like he didn't pay attention. i really was hoping i'd make him laugh. =p

[Klendathu]

Love Opeth. If I could see a Opeth-Dream Theater-Symphony X show, I'd be ready for the grave afterward, cause I know it would never get any better for me, all downhill from there.

I don't do 'big" shows much anymore, I prefer smaller venues. But I saw Slipknot a few years ago headline a local day long festival. That crowd was fairly violent.

Sepultura in around 96 was the most bloody show I've seen. Insane. You do not get on the floor at all at Sepultura unless you are ready to defend yourself or die trying.

[Deadmantis]

Shit man, I went to a Black Sabbath concert in August and they had seats out on the floor. I mean, I don't know how they did it back in the early 80s, but I'm sure people got wild.

Before the Who had an incident with fans getting trampled in 79 almost all concerts had a general admission floor. After that most arena shows had seats on the floor. First mosh pit I saw with seats on the floor was Megadeth opening for Dio somewhere around 88? They put all the chairs in a pile and moshed around it. Some people got pushed into the pile of metal. Was fun to watch from the cheap seats...

[Itap]

Where do you live?

Sofla

[Orruar]

Before the Who had an incident with fans getting trampled in 79 almost all concerts had a general admission floor. After that most arena shows had seats on the floor. First mosh pit I saw with seats on the floor was Megadeth opening for Dio somewhere around 88? They put all the chairs in a pile and moshed around it. Some people got pushed into the pile of metal. Was fun to watch from the cheap seats...

Most arena shows have seats on the floor? Sounds like you live somewhere lame as fuck. I've only been going to shows since the mid 90s and have never seen seats on the floor. Hell, most shows back in Kansas were nothing but GA.

[Mandalore93]

Who tries to sit in the floor at a concert klendathu? Might as well stay at home and listen to headphones.

Nine inch nails is pretty soft, not sure what was expected there lol. Bring me the horizon were dreadful until Sempiternal which is an amazing album. Best pit I've been in was As I Lay Dying, concussion and blooded the fuck up from that one and I'm not the smallest of guys

[Ahldagor]

i saw opeth a few months ago... people were yelling out the names of Opeth songs that they wanted the guys to play, like happens at every concert.... so i decided to try to be a smart ass, and i started yelling the names of 70s prog rock songs, hoping to make Mikael laugh. i think he might have cracked a smile when i started yelling out the names of Camel songs, but for the most part it seemed like he didn't pay attention. i really was hoping i'd make him laugh. =p


he proly didn't notice you. i think he finds one or two people he can focus on to make them feel uncomfortable. he basically called this teenage girl a slut in the nicest way, i'm not sure she understood, the first time i saw them.

last time i saw them mikael went on for ten minutes about martin smoking joints while taking a shit and reading donald duck comics. the band was laughing their asses off while the crowd was confused.