Hey People, Can We Stop Doing This At Concerts Please?
You know that feeling when you go to a concert and you're giddy and excited? It's one of the best feelings ever but it seems like that feeling is being replaced with something else lately.
For some background, I went to see my favorite artist of all time over the weekend. It was something I had planned for awhile with my mom but this wasn't an ordinary concert. This was a Las Vegas residency, which I had never been to before.
Not only had I never been to a Las Vegas residency but it is more of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity than going to an actual concert on a normal tour. It costs more, it requires travel and it is something you may never experience again.
I went to see the Velvet Rodeo, which is Miranda Lambert's residency in Vegas. There are only dates for a few months and so I knew I had to hop on it and see her while I could! My mom and I planned a trip around it and I was so excited.
While it was incredible to be there, I can't lie. Some of the people around me put a damper on the experience! There were two girls a few rows in front of me that were filming themselves dancing the entire time and talking to the camera.
I'm not saying that they shouldn't do that - they should if it makes them happy but at some point, it becomes a bit rude to have your phone blocking the view the entire time. There was also a family in front of us. It was a small venue so the seats were packed together. It wasn't like a U.S. Bank show where you can see no matter where you're at because it's so big.
The family in front of us kept moving seats so their daughter could see, which I understand as she was younger but they were constantly moving so we had to keep adjusting as well. On top of that, the mother filmed her daughter watching the concert the entire time instead of watching the show or filming the actual concert. She had to keep moving to get the best view of her daughter watching the show, which kept restricting our view and meaning we had to move as well.
About halfway into the show, they set her daughter on top of her chair. While I get that she wanted to see the show, there are rows of people behind the couple which could no longer see. They kept moving her on top of seat to seat, which again meant moving about the whole time.
After doing this for awhile, the mother decided she wanted to sneak her daughter into the pit. It worked but first, she discussed the idea loudly with her husband while Miranda was singing one of her ballads. She wanted to spread the word to a bachelorette party a few rows in front of her in hopes of getting them to the pit as well so she spent the next few songs playing telephone with the people in front of her. The bachelorette party then went to the row in front of us to hear from the woman directly, which was all I could hear during another part of the show.
I don't mean to sound angry because at the end of the day, I had the chance to see my favorite artist in Las Vegas and that is something I will remember forever and am thankful for. However, I do think that we all need to be a little more mindful when at concerts. I think concert etiquette should be a thing.
I also understand that we were stuck at home for a few years and we all want to take pictures and make memories now that we are able but what happened to soaking in the moment? Why do we need to film everything on our phones? Are we really going to watch it all back later on in?
I understand taking a picture or two but spending the whole concert on your phone and moving seats and doing anything but having a drink or two and singing along seems like a waste to me. I took a few pictures and put away my phone and while there were distractions around me, I can say I soaked in the moment as much as I could.
All in all, I think we all need to soak in the moment more and get off our phones at times like that. I also think that we need to practice concert etiquette and make sure we aren't taking away from those around us, because we are all there for the same reason after all.
By the way, this isn't just me - even Kip Moore made headlines years ago after he went on an onstage rant about cell phones. I am sure artists just appreciate you being there but they probably want you to pay attention too.