I've been to a couple of shows now (mostly rock gigs) and attempted to do the whole mosh-pit experience. I'm only in my late twenties, but I just can't see the appeal of standing around for hours, legs aching, dehydrated, people crushing into you, having to look at the back of some bald guys head obstructing your view of the stage everytime he moves to the left etc. Usually by the time I've sat through one or two support acts and then waited for the band I want to see to come out, I'm just uncomfortable, tired and past caring.

And yet I see a lot of folks twice my age doing this and seemingly having a great time! Am I alone in my dislike of standing concert venues?

[Edited 4/6/13 4:16am]

I gave it up in my late 20s, although just bought tickets for the Rolling Stones in July so that'll be a chore.

It's awful being that young and feeling so old. It's when the lower back pain kicks in if you don't have any room to move I actually don't mind it all too much if the bands are on time, or there's very little waiting time between support acts and headliners. It's the tedious waiting that makes it worse.

I'll never forget one time at the Hammersmith Apollo we were up front, and when the gig was over we headed out of the nearest fire exit by the dumpsters to bend our knees as we just couldn't wait another second. I was 27!

And what's the alternative?? Fucking seated concerts where you never get the chance to buy good tickets (in the first couple of rows) unless you're willing to pay twice and triple the price on the black market and are fucked when you're stuck behind a tall guy (or girl)?? I'll take standing concerts over seated concerts any day of the week and twice on sundays. Much more control on where you end up and what you're going to see.

I was able to hack it all the way up to my early fourties but now that I'm a few years older my back, knees and feet make it impossible.

It depends on the situation. I prefer to have a seat in most instances. That means that if I am coming to see a headliner, and I don't care for the opening act I can just skip them. I did this with Sade. I can get to the venue any time I want to, and know where I will be before I get there. I don't have to rush. There is also room for dancing. This is good at a Prince concert, very good in fact. If the artist is late, you can get drinks, socialize, walk around, keep your spot.

Standing @ small clubs can be good if it's an artist who is playing what they normally don't play at an arena show. Prince, for example. 5 feet away while he's playing a new song, priceless. The downside is that you sometimes have people who are dancing offbeat and drunk bumping into you (D'Angelo's show). There's no personal space. As for outdoor festivals...standing or sitting in the hot sun all day to reserve a spot, no bueno. Festivals with seating are good though.

Gunsandhalen, is that you?

Mosh pit? No, no more. I was pretty seriously injured (my back) while having a great time at a Slipknot show back in 2002. That was the last time for me. But just standing room? Yeah, sure. Even for a rowdy, pogoing, crowd surfing show. It's kind of unavoidable if you go to smaller shows where they don't have seating. But if moshing starts at those shows I'll go to the back, or side, or wherever. For a lot of bigger shows, where they have assigned seating, I often try to get seats behind the soundboard (assuming it's on the floor, otherwise, back of the venue is all I'm gettin' at), close to floor level. It's nice to be able to see over everyone, see the entire performance with all the bells and whistles, and get really good sound.

I'm 52, my wife is 53 and we still do standing venues. We have stopped standing in the front though. We want to be in a place where we can see the stage, can leave from and come back too to go get a drink or go to the restroom. If there is a possibility to watch the show from an upstairs level or balcony, we usually do that. We'll be standing three nights in a row in Montreux this summer!

i rather sit.

JoeTyler said:

Gunsandhalen, is that you?

alas it is not... but even i had to do a double take when i first saw this thread

HonestMan13 said:

If I want to see an artist badly enough, standing is fine, I'll get through it. Ridiculously, I have a knee injury that makes sitting with my knee bent for a long time very painful. So, standing is better in that regard. I have more problems with the crowding and bumping at a standing venue than with the pain of standing, though does become an issue sometimes.

The best situation is having a seat at a concert where concert goers are regularly on their feet, so it's a combo of standing/sitting.

So, I can hack standing venues, but I think long and hard about how much I want to see the artist, the layout/harshness of the particular standing venue, and other factors.

I'm in my 40s and I prefer standing venues because the ticket prices are cheaper. All I need is a good night's sleep the night before and I have no problems standing the entire time and through opening acts. Most of the artists I like now are too small to play in assigned seating venues anyway. It's really just Prince and maybe 2-3 others who play the bigger places.

My SRO days are over.

So that means I can wear boots again.

I prefer standing venues as it just seems to feel more lively to me and more dance friendly... that being said though, places should always have a few chairs/stools around in my opinion so everyone feels welcome (even those who can't stand long).

I took my mother (who is in her 60s and has had a couple back surgeries) with me to Sheila E. and I was feeling pretty bad since all the tables were taken and I wasn't thinking about how she probably couldn't stand all night . Luckily we we're able to snag a bar stool for her when fDeluxe came on.

It depends on the kind of show it is. But I would generally prefer to have the option of a seat. I'm 45, and my feet start to feel like they've been pounded by sticks after being at a standing gig for more than about 3 hours. I have ended up at a couple of festivals having to sit against the back wall or lay down at the back of the field for long periods. I can definitely relate to that feeling, by the time the main band comes on, I'm so burnt out I'm ready to go home.

My only way to deal with it has been to show up as late as possible and not be too greedy about my position.

It was a factor in deciding not to buy Prince tickets for the Grove. After paying $200 I would still have to spend 3+ hours on my feet to get anywhere near the stage PLUS all the time waiting in line. It's a situation I would put up with if the tix were $50 or even $100. But for $200 I expect a nice, comfortable night out.

Shit, it's not even standing at the iniital gig. Most of these SRO shows got you standing in line at least an hour or two even before you get in. Then your bunched in with the crowd during the concert pushed against each other, their bad breath, their sweat and yours, yelling etc ..man fuck all that.

Next time Im chillin ion the back at the bar with a drink taking it all in.

It used to be sitting all the way for me. Now it's standing all the way. I guess I just got fed up of being miles away from where the action is, and constatnly ending up next to people who had the urge to get up and go get a drink every five minutes (if drinking is all you're interested in, why not just go straight to the oub and save yerself £60?????)

Anyway, in my years of standing at concerts I've been squished, showered with flying bottles of... something tangy ... shoved around, exhausted myslef countless times waiting for the star turn to grace us with his presence, and almost concussed by a fat dude landing on my head in a mosh pit. It's those times when I feel most alive. (What, me masochistic???)

rdhull said:

Shit, it's not even standing at the iniital gig. Most of these SRO shows got you standing in line at least an hour or two even before you get in. Then your bunched in with the crowd during the concert pushed against each other, their bad breath, their sweat and yours, yelling etc ..man fuck all that.

Next time Im chillin ion the back at the bar with a drink taking it all in.

I get to the venue late after everyone else is inside and then push my way to the front.

Okay, not really, but I see many people doing that. So it's pointless standing outside on line for any length of time.

sexton said:

rdhull said:

Shit, it's not even standing at the iniital gig. Most of these SRO shows got you standing in line at least an hour or two even before you get in. Then your bunched in with the crowd during the concert pushed against each other, their bad breath, their sweat and yours, yelling etc ..man fuck all that.

Next time Im chillin ion the back at the bar with a drink taking it all in.

I get to the venue late after everyone else is inside and then push my way to the front.

Okay, not really, but I see many people doing that. So it's pointless standing outside on line for any length of time.

Until they run into me and I put a shoulder into 'em, then glare as they try to peel themselves off the floor. OK, honestly, I only do that to particular dickish people. We all paid the same price to get in, so don't assume you have more rights than everyone else standing there in each other's sweat and bad breath.

I have the same problem as you with smaller shows. A lot of the venues I go to just don't have any seating, assigned or otherwise. If they do have some it's at a bar where people are always pushing past to get drinks, or maybe a few small tables at the back or on the sides where you can't see properly if you sit down. Cerebus is having none of that.

Cerebus said:

sexton said:

I get to the venue late after everyone else is inside and then push my way to the front.

Okay, not really, but I see many people doing that. So it's pointless standing outside on line for any length of time.

Until they run into me and I put a shoulder into 'em, then glare as they try to peel themselves off the floor. OK, honestly, I only do that to particular dickish people. We all paid the same price to get in, so don't assume you have more rights than everyone else standing there in each other's sweat and bad breath.

I was at a Tamaryn gig a few months ago and some guy, clearly high on something, made his way past me and tried to push between two guys standing in front of me--who didn't know each other by the way--and they formed a wall and refused to let him pass. The guy got the hint and then slinked back off to the side. I wanted to give those two dudes in front of me high fives.