‘We can’t blame COVID’ Why do people behave so badly at concerts?

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Recent trends of unpredictable and dangerous activity at concerts have left many concerned about the future of live shows.

Last month, at a Bebe Rexha concert in New York, an audience member threw a phone in the singer’s face, causing an abrupt end to the show and multiple stitches in Ms Rexha’s face.

Pop singer P!nk was also the victim of a bizarre interaction between herself and the audience when, during a performance in June, a fan threw what appeared to be a bag of her mother’s ashes onto the stage.

More recently, while performing in Austria, a fan threw a small object at Harry Styles’ face causing him to bend over in pain.

On Moncrieff, Irish freelance columnist Tanya Sweeney said she believed the trend was the result of fans wanting “social media influence”.

“You’ve noticed a lot of these stories get picked up on social media, they go viral, and I think a lot of the time people just want to become a figure of infamy because of some of these events,” he said. she declared.

“There was one instance where the attacker actually said, ‘I thought it would be funny to do it,’ which is beyond belief when it comes to defenses.”

Interaction

Ms Sweeney said fans might want to bond with their favorite artists in the heat of the moment.

“There’s a feeling that they just want to interact with the artists in a more substantial or meaningful way,” she said.

“Maybe you have to look at the chemical enhancements, alcohol, cocaine does it play a part in any of this?”

Pink is confused after a fan throws her mother’s ashes on stage. pic.twitter.com/g7AQ9kUH77

Pop Base (@PopBase) June 27, 2023

After COVID, Ms Sweeney said many people had forgotten how to act in public.

“I think we just don’t know how we’re being asked to behave in a public place,” she said.

“You go to the movies, everyone carries on like they’re in their own living room, chatting.

“I just think people have to relearn how to be in spaces with other people.”

‘Big deal’

Ms Sweeney said people expect performers to go “beyond pale” when attending concerts.

“Isn’t it enough to sit and watch a band go through their music catalogs? No, you actually want an add-on for your money,” she said.

In the 1990s it was much more important to have international artists coming to Ireland to perform, according to Ms Sweeney.

“Now there’s a situation where people just go to a concert, not because they love Depeche Mode or Blur, but because it’s a social thing,” she said.

“There’s a song they know, off the radio, that they’re just gonna love, and then it’s back to business and we’re talking follow-up mortgages for the rest of the set.”

Generation X

Ms Sweeney said the ‘bad behaviour’ was not limited to a generation of spectators.

“A lot of perpetrators and culprits are actually Gen X, it’s not something you can paint on a younger generation,” she said.

“Maybe there’s a situation where they pay for babysitters, they don’t go out often, and when they do, they really tie one up.

“I think it actually makes me a little more protective of the experience because I’m paying for the babysitters.”

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