Went to see the Weakerthans at the Independent last night. Fantastic show. Going again tonight, as a matter of fact. I may not have mentioned lately how much I like the Independent. Even at sold-out shows it never seems packed, the beer prices are totally reasonable, the sound is always great, and the location is perfect. (The last two things are reasons why I never go to Bottom of the Hill any more.)
Oh, and the bartender last night said "I haven't seen you around in a while." I used to go to a lot more shows than I do now.
ANYWAY. You didn't think this was going to be all sweetness and light, did you? You want that shit, go read Zooey Deschanel's blog or something. (I'm assuming here; I've never read Zooey Deschanel's blog. Does Zooey Deschanel have a blog?)
There was one, and only one, problem at the show last night, and if you go see live music with any regularity, you will recognize this problem at once: THE LOUD TALKERS.
FUCK THESE PEOPLE.
Standing by the bar was a group of four, two guys and two girls. And during the entire show, nonstop, start to finish, they were YELLING at each other. I don't think they could have heard a single song. I really just do not fucking understand this. With service fees and everything, tickets to this show were around $22 apiece. Why would you spend $22 to go to a show that you have no interest in watching and then compound your mistake by bothering everyone else around you who IS watching it? Fuck you. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck you.
After a couple of songs of that, we moved further up into the crowd and that fucking frizzy-haired bitch's donkey-like braying receded, but I was treated to a fresh round of her shrieking every time I had to go to the bar, which was often. Fuck.
They left during the encore and the same frizzy bitch bumped into The Wife on her way out and kept walking. Throat cancer for her. Crippling arthritis for the other 3. That is my decree.
But it's hard to bitch too much. We had a great time.
Anyway, if you go to a music performance, don't talk through the whole thing.
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13 comments:
The loud talkers are the worst! I also really hate the nonstop social media-ing during shows.
When I went to see U2 in June, there was a woman in front of me checking her Facebook every two minutes. I'm not exaggerating. EVERY TWO MINUTES! And then she was shoving her phone in her friends' faces to show them her Facebook page. It was annoying them, and it was annoying me. I felt like she was shoving her phone in my face every two minutes.
The tickets for the concert were really expensive. I don't know why she even bothered. I guess so she could Facebook that she went to the concert?
i got shushed at a yo la tengo concert back in 1999.
I can believe that.
Irritating. The sad thing is that you can't say anything to those types because then you're just an asshole.
I got yelled at a stadium concert in the nosebleeds because I was trying to dance in my seat area. Then by the bf because I was trying to yell back and cause drama. Oy vey. Yet another reason to hate stadium concerts.
Also, is it just me, or do less people dance now? I'm NOT down with all these people standing around and being phone-y...
I am constantly amazed at how people treat the Indy like it's a bar with a huge cover charge and overpriced drinks then proceed to talk through the whole show.
I recently went to a SPOKEN WORD event as part of Litquake (for which tickets were about 30 bucks each), and the two drunk blond chicks in front of us talked through the whole first 20 minutes before leaving. This is after they were shushed TWICE by two different people near them, which prompted them to be quiet for about 30 seconds before they started babbling again. Personally, I've started carrying pepper spray in case of future incidents. If it's good enough for UC Davis protesters, it's good enough for loud talkers.
my favorite solution was at a Tina Turner concert: Two women were talking very loudly behind us. Everyone was on their feet. I turned fully around smiling and nodding as they talked as if I was part of their conversation (since they decided to talk in a manner that included everyone) ... but I did not say a word. After about 45 seconds they got the impression that I was just really creepy and shut up!!! YEAH!!!
We also had gabbers by us at Nights One and Two of the Weakerthans. On the second night, I finally gave the "shush" gesture to the talkers behind us and after the song ended, the male half of the talkers said "Dude, I'm sorry." Then he pointed to the 6-foot-2 guy with me and said, "Could you please move." Nice.
I agree with you about the Independent. It's so great since Another Planet improved it. If you were ever there when it was the Kennel Club, you know what I mean. But I love Bottom of the Hill. Those are the two best clubs in the Bay Area.
@Mike: Curious to know how you liked the space when it was Justice League? I miss those Twist pieces...
I usually tend to agree about loud talkers. Annoying to many, still I think how long the conversation goes on and what type of venue should be taken into account. Drunk babbling equals a big fuck you. However, I did get shushed at a Calexico concert earlier this year after one comment. May have been the price of the tickets...
How do you feel about someone pulling out a joint at a show? Does that annoy you too? I saw this 40-something lady trying to re-live her youth with her middle-aged husband at a Dave Alvin show earlier this year. And this guy in the same category went off on her. I felt bad for the women....
I was at the show on Friday night and was standing on the side at the benches and could hear loud talking from the bar area all through the show. I don't understand why the bartenders don't intervene and say something. I so wanted John K. Samson to call these fuckers out but alas no luck. it was an AMAZING show though. And i agree with the other comment about what's with the not dancing. Was it the crowd (overly Canadian-infused, polite and reserved?) I for one was screaming along and dancing like I was home alone. And it was wonderful. I love this band.
One time I went to some crappy show at some venue in Hayes Valley (all of the details are foggy) at the last minute. I was quite drunk.
At the end of the show, a guy turned to me and said, "Wow. I didn't think it was possible for someone to talk for AN ENTIRE SHOW, but you just proved me wrong."
Oopsie!
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