Tall/Uninterested People at the rail...

[booB]

2. The people who get to the front rail a half hour before showtime, and then look totally disintered in the bands all night long. I mean, it is one thing to stand there for one band you do not like, but all of them?

This is just plain rude... but it's not as bad as the dumb fucks who go up front at a show because they WORSHIP the headlining band, and then turn their backs, or even boo, the openers, and/or yell the headliners' name through their set. These fucks seriously need to be beaten to a pulp.

I saw this happen at Fates Warning/Savatage, and I've heard about it at countless shows (such as Event/Symphony X) where the support band and headliner play very different styles of music. If you can't at least be POLITE, then don't stand up front. You couldn't possibly be any more of a dick, even if you stayed away during the support acts and then pushed and shoved your way to the front for the headliner.

There's a lot of behavior during shows that I find annoying... I absolutely ABHOR this shit.

 

[Regor]

Yeah, and while we're bitching about shit we have no control over...

I'm ugly, and I'm sick and tired of all the good looking guys getting all the hot chicks. GIVE US SOME!!!


Get real dude. Nobody can help how tall/short they are. But everyone is equally entitled to watch a show from any position. I'm 6'1" (6'2" with shoes) and if I allowed all the 'little people' to stand in front of me... guess what... I'D BE AT THE BACK OF THE VENUE! How's that fair to ME? Fuck that.

I'll tell you why "I" was at the front of the stage. I went thru chemotherapy last year. Thru this forum, the guys in Manticora found out about my condition, and sent myself and my brother European tour T-shirts and a get well message. I can't tell you how much that meant to me. And I promised them I'd be at the absolute front of the stage for their entire show. And I was. If you were there last year, you might remember that Lars the singer stuck the mic into the crowd to have them sing. Guess what. That was me and my band that he stuck the mic into! Takes a lot of balls for a band who has never played in the US to stick a mic into the crowd (not just point it at them, but into someone's face to sing along). But he knew I was there. Everyone, and I mean everyone, in the band saw me there and acknowledged my presence at the front of the stage. And that I'm sure meant as much to them as it did to me. That is an experience that I will remember for the rest of my life.

And I'll be damned if I was going to miss out on that cuz I'm tall.




(Oh, and BTW, I think all handicapped fans should get 'side-stage' access to all shows everywhere... and I'm not just saying that)

 

[SwordLord]

Yeah, and while we're bitching about shit we have no control over...

I'm ugly, and I'm sick and tired of all the good looking guys getting all the hot chicks. GIVE US SOME!!!


Get real dude. Nobody can help how tall/short they are. But everyone is equally entitled to watch a show from any position. I'm 6'1" (6'2" with shoes) and if I allowed all the 'little people' to stand in front of me... guess what... I'D BE AT THE BACK OF THE VENUE! How's that fair to ME? Fuck that.

Very, very well put ... I wish I would have said that!

 

[SwordLord]

If you were there last year, you might remember that Lars the singer stuck the mic into the crowd to have them sing. Guess what. That was me and my band that he stuck the mic into! Takes a lot of balls for a band who has never played in the US to stick a mic into the crowd (not just point it at them, but into someone's face to sing along). But he knew I was there. Everyone, and I mean everyone, in the band saw me there and acknowledged my presence at the front of the stage. And that I'm sure meant as much to them as it did to me. That is an experience that I will remember for the rest of my life.

And I'll be damned if I was going to miss out on that cuz I'm tall.

Neither would I!



The Therion singer remembered me from being at the Minneapolis show two weeks earlier when I had talked to the entire band by the bus before they left. I told him, "I will be right down front in Atlanta cheering you on." When he recognized me, he let me sing with them. It's always a humbling experience when a band recognizes and rewards your fanship in this way.

Nathan

 

[Evil]

Welcome to my world.

Tall people have as much right to the rail as anyone else. That said, I hate them all!

Special thanks to the two guys at the Strato concert in Tavastia May '04 who actually SAW me peeking under their armpits and pushed me in front of them! It' will probably never happen again.

Oh stop.... you know i'd do that for you anytime

 

[Bryan316]

I've been punched in the kidneys at a Shadows Fall concert, cuz the over-the-hill heroin-junkie fudgepacker behind me didn't like my headbanging. Apparently, my hair blocked his view, and his nasty fugly girlfriend wanted to see.

IT'S A FUCKIN HEAVY METAL CONCERT YOU PUSSY! NOT A YANNI SHOW!!!

I really wanted to pummel the fucker. First time I've ever considered getting thrown out of a show on my own actions.

So following this lame-as-fuck argument, should I cut my hair because people can't see past me? Should I stand at the back cuz I've got long hair?

 

[Kenneth R.]

Jack Daniels scented cakes?

It's not about the scent, it's about the FLAVOR!

J-Dubya

I can't believe people are complaining about this. It's like complaining that it's too dark to see or that the music's too loud. This is how concerts are. If you want to get up front, you gotta deal with everyone else who wants to get up front.

PS Yanni is WAY metal

 

[SavaVIDude]

Neither would I!



The Therion singer remembered me from being at the Minneapolis show two weeks earlier when I had talked to the entire band by the bus before they left. I told him, "I will be right down front in Atlanta cheering you on." When he recognized me, he let me sing with them. It's always a humbling experience when a band recognizes and rewards your fanship in this way.

Nathan

I've been wanting to salute you, SL!! I've been to the last 2 PPs and you stand out, to say the least. I'm 6' and don't have all that much trouble seeing, but the way you fuckin' headbang to EVERY fucking song, know almost all the words; hell I enjoy watching you!!!! You fuckin' rock the way I think you're supposed to rock!! Keep doin' whatcha do!!!!

Chris

 

[longshot9]

6'4" here with my boots on. I will let someone (normally just the opposite sex ) in front of me if they are obviously trying to get a good look at the band and i'm in their way. Short chick behind me that's just standing there showing no interest at all, find someone else to move. I have no problem letting someone a lot shorter than me move in front of me, but some dude that's 6' that i'm just barely in his way, sorry, I have just as much right to be there. I am always down on the floor before the band starts, generally when there's enough room on the floor to get about half way back, if you're shorter than me, you can see me there when you come in, so don't stand behind me.

I get fairly into the bands I like, bob my head, a little air drumming and guitar, singing the words I know till my voice is horse... but my best friend who loves this stuff too never does stuff like that, but he still enjoy's it just as much as I do. Just like musical tastes, everyone is different.

I've been in the front row for numerous shows when I was younger, but nowadays, I couldn't be up there if you paid me. I like my space, I like to be able to pee and get a beer, hang with my friends in the lobby, go outside and get some fresh air, and don't like being crushed or drenched in some smelly dudes sweat... plus I honestly prefer the view and sound from the mid-back of the floor, easier to see the whole band and i'm not craning my neck all night. I did get in about the 3rd row for Symphony X at Gigantour but that was totally worth it (favorite band).

 

[trentdk]

bryan316, i get pretty pissed when long hair dudes headbang in front of me... not because of view blocking... but because of man-hair flying in my mouth. I'd punch a motherfucker in the kidneys too if he didn't have the decency to not flail his hair in my face and getting caught on my eyeballs. OH OH, and whats even worse is when it isn't headbanging... but when the dude runs his hands through his hair to fluff it up/strait it out, thus fluffing it all over the guy behind him. Ponytail that shit or something.

 

[DAVETHEMETALGUY]

i totally agree with swordlord. im 6'6''. both he and i have a gold badge and we both get there early. we enjoy seeing the backs of our heads in peoples pictures! yes, we have amassed quite a collection of drumsticks from bands over the years-so? it's a metal show not an opera.
maybe i should suggest that the people that travel the farthest get to lay in bed on stage left? or maybe a private room for the tall gold badger's to sit- where we can look indifferent and touch the hands of the gods whenever we want?

 

[Megawozniak]

Wait, so is everyone but Greykiller over 6 feet tall?

 

[Kenneth R.]

<-5'8" & louder than all of you

 

[lady_space]

Well, I'm only 5'6" but usually wear heels that make me 5'9" or 5'10" precisely so I can see better... I don't expect anyone to let me in front of them, but it does happen (though not nearly as often as when I was younger), and I always appreciate it. Back in the day, my best friend (4'11") and I were in the front for virtually every show. Most of the time we were the first at the front, but on the occasions we weren't, guys always let us in front of them without ever even being asked.

Someone else brought up the headbanging thing... I hate to try to be the arbiter of headbanging etiquette, and I love to see people having a good time, but, really, some guys *could* stand reining it in a bit. I fear for my life sometimes.

 

[Dark One]

I've been punched in the kidneys at a Shadows Fall concert, cuz the over-the-hill heroin-junkie fudgepacker behind me didn't like my headbanging. Apparently, my hair blocked his view, and his nasty fugly girlfriend wanted to see.

So following this lame-as-fuck argument, should I cut my hair because people can't see past me? Should I stand at the back cuz I've got long hair?

I don't mind people with long hair next to me headbanging at all, as long as they keep it in an up and down motion and not a circular or side to side motion. When headbanging is done in a circular or side to side motion, that's when long hair flapping about hits other people around you in the face, gets in their mouths, etc., which is definitely not cool. If the headbanging is kept up and down, that doesn't happen. That's the only issue I have with it, not any type of inability to see around it or anything, because that's just the luck of the draw as it relates to where you get to stand for a show.

 

[Bryan316]

Awwww... the shorties are now picking on the longies?


Dayamn.


It's as if this dude wasn't getting bounced around by all the little emo kids and their fake moshing and flailing their arms around. And he was 5 feet away from us.

 

[Dark One]

Awwww... the shorties are now picking on the longies?

Huh? I think most here acknowledge that tall or short, long hair or short hair, you have a right to stand wherever the "luck of the draw" leads you.

Anyway, the long hair comment I made I think is a valid "complaint" if you want to take it that way. Long hair spinning in a circle or side to side does indeed hit other people in the face, which is not cool. If you headbang up and down, that doesn't happen.

 

[Bryan316]

If I'm crammed in like sardines and there's no physical room, then the extreme headbanging is reserved for when I can get over to the sides or the back. Example: tonight, gonna go see Trivium and In Flames at Harpo's. If anyone's familiar with Harpo's, it's not the friendliest joint in town.

Last time Trivium came through, I was down in the pit, and four totally random dudes kinda joined me in making a hair-swirling, headbanging fiesta at the side of the pit. It was like A Chorus Line of hair. \m/ But we sure weren't shoulder-to-shoulder pinned together choking people with our antics.

I'm pretty courteous at shows. I don't do that shit too intrudingly.

But I do go home with a sore as fuck neck.

Cuz that's metal.

Bitches.

 

[Dark One]

If I'm crammed in like sardines and there's no physical room, then the extreme headbanging is reserved for when I can get over to the sides or the back.

Cool, that attitude is definitely appreciated because I've seen quite the opposite at many a "sardined" show.

Last time Trivium came through, I was down in the pit, and four totally random dudes kinda joined me in making a hair-swirling, headbanging fiesta at the side of the pit. It was like A Chorus Line of hair. \m/ But we sure weren't shoulder-to-shoulder pinned together choking people with our antics.

Oh yeah totally - if everyone around you is also into that, it's a completely different story.

I'm pretty courteous at shows. I don't do that shit too intrudingly.

Exactly - don't invade other's space unless it's welcome. If it's welcome, absolutely go for it.

But I do go home with a sore as fuck neck.

Agreed, so do I, from practically every single show I attend. Even the sardined shows, I headbang furiously up and down and get the sore neck without bothering another soul.

Cuz that's metal.

Bitches.

 

[Greykiller]

Every day that a post like this comes up I just realize how, despite being the most awesome crowd I've ever dealt with in a concert, is also the most spoiled crowd I've ever seen in my life... Complain about not having seats together, tall people on the rail (although I do think you have a valid point on people being there uninterested)

But anyway...come on people... Quit bickering and complaining for these little things... seriously, lots of grown up men here(not pointing fingers any one specific) sound like little girls complaining about some stuff...

Sorry if I "offended" anyone, I just feel some of these complains/thoughts are not 100, but 200% useless. Quit the bitching and enjoy the festival =)

I.
Am.
NOT.
Bitching!

I have a GB. I get there early. I stand exactly where I want to stand to see the entire band and get good pictures.

I could not care less if the 6'5" guys sit at the front rail. If I cannot see over them I would just move back a little.

I WILL say that I have let persons shorter than me stand in front, simply because I have taken shorter persons to concerts and know how the G.A. environment is.

And I have not complained about the audience...the PP people are the greatest in the world IMO when it comes to stuff like this. But I have seen the disinterested who stand at the front rail and act like they are waiting in line at the DMV. They are not bothering anyone. I was just curious why they would stand at the front if they are completely NOT into the groups that are onstage.