I Have a Big Time Question
I leaned over and yelled into Alexis' ear, "Put your sign down."
"What?" she mouthed back to me, her voice lost in the sea of bass beats, harmonized voices, and little girl screams.
"Put your sign down. The people behind you can't see," I repeated.
Alexis was mad. MAD. At me. She was having fun and she wanted to blast her love for Carlos as loud as possible. When you're seven and in the middle of a sea of people, a bright neon sign is a great way to be heard.
But.
The people behind us couldn't see through the sign. I'm all for fun, but not if it ruins the fun for others.
Apparently I stand on a lonely island with my thoughts on this.
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This past weekend, Project Spoil The Alexis continued. There was the water balloon fight and cheerleading camp and there was a little something I arranged months and months ago.
Giant Eagle started something last year and that something was a total and complete devotion to all things Big Time Rush. Alexis is head over heals in love with their music, TV show, and everything in between. It was a no-brainer that I would buy tickets and take her to the show again this year. It was an even bigger no-brainer that I would buy good tickets. I wanted her to be able to see the stage and enjoy everything about the concert.
She wasn't able to see a damn thing. I paid for her to get to stare at a bunch of grown women's butts.
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Big Time Rush is very clearly geared towards the pre-tween crowd. Everything about the show and the music screams HEY, KID! LIKE US! The only thing that could make them more Alexis-centric is if they walked around throwing glitter in the air.
Streamers don't count.
Although, the streamers are working for somebody, and that somebody is a heck of a lot of grown women. I don't remember last year's concert being the same way, but this year's was easily half grown-ups. The row in front of us was solid grown-ups. Not a single pre-tween. I must have missed the memo, but apparently Big Time Rush has become the Go To Band for cougars and their spouses.
First, WTH?
Second, OK, fine. You go you with the crush on the boy who is 20 years younger than you. Whatever makes you happy is totally cool. Seriously.
BUT WHY WERE YOU STANDING UP AND WAVING YOUR ARMS AND BEING COMPLETELY OBNOXIOUS THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE CONCERT?
I might be alone on my island, but on my happy little island, fun can be had just as long as it doesn't interfere with the fun of others around me.
I'm 5' 8" tall and my fun was dampened. *I* couldn't see, nor could I figure out a way to help Alexis see.
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On my island, nobody would ever dare to complain that others are having too much fun. I mean, I complained. A LOT. But, I didn't walk down the aisle to get a security guard.
"These women are talking about us and taking pictures of us to post on Facebook. If we want to stand up we can. I don't give a crap if their brats can see," the woman in the bright neon Big Time Rush t-shirt yelled to the security guard in the yellow shirt.
He followed her back to her seat and did whatever he could to calm the storm. The end result, from a distance, appeared to be that the group with kids left. I suppose they went to sit somewhere else, but man. MAN. They spent $50 per person for the privilege to sit in those seats and then didn't get to use them.
I don't know. I'm torn. It's not cool to talk about people and try to shame them on social media. Whether it's anonymous or passive-aggressive or whatever, it's a jerk move. But it's also a jerk move to be all "I'm having fun and screw you if that ruins your fun."
By the way, PUT YOUR DAMN ARMS DOWN. Don't you need to scratch your nose or something? Just for a second? PLEASE?
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Out of the 300 or so photos that I took during the concert, there were arms blocking the view in 112 of them. No joke. I counted, because I have issues like that.
For what it's worth, we were in the pavilion near the front of the top section. There wasn't a single person standing up in front of the people who blocked our view. They weren't standing up and waving their arms out of necessity, but rather because they wanted to.
I am seriously about 60/40 on the whole thing. Go, you! Have fun!
But does that fun really have to cause everyone around you to not have fun?
What do you think? Is it a jerk move to stand up and block the view with your body and/or signs when you're at a concert that is clearly geared towards kids?
I'm seriously asking.
(Big shout out to Post Gazette Pavilion or Starlake or whatever it's called for CLEARLY not slanting the pavilion enough. People who are 5' 8" should have no trouble seeing.)
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Reader Comments (21)
It's a jerk move whether its at a concert or sporting event. Sadly, it's becoming more common. :-/
Well. I'm sorry that happened but not surprised. We were way up on the lawn. There were 2 girls, under 12, who waited until there was a lull in the screaming and then shrieked as loud as they could. I glared. Then my kid glared. The people next to us glared, and the people in front of us glared. The girls, obviously, couldn't understand the social cues. But mom? She was on her phone probably playing candy crush. We couldn't hear the singing over those precious children.
then there were the 2 dudes with no kids. Creepy. They surely didn't come for the cheap beer.
livenation staff were up on the lawn, giving away tickets for seats under the pavilion because it was so empty. They created a mob. Pushing, shoving, screaming. Adults.
I don't know if you saw this from where you were, but during the song when the guys were in the crowd, half the lawn rushed the pavilion and filled the aisles. No one stopped them.
I follow all the guys on twitter, and usually after the show, they talk about it for at least the day after. Not one, except James, said anything, and all he did was post the obligatory picture. He didn't even spell Pittsburgh right. I feel like even they weren't happy with how things turned out.
I hope they come back next year. I'm going front row all the way.
Jerk move for sure. Unfortunately I see it all the time though. Sorry your fun got dampened.
Jerk move all the way.
Something like that just happened at the NKOTB concert. We were in the fourth row of the top section. The ladies in the first row were standing up dancing but the ladies in the second row right behind them had a person with them that for whatever reason was unable to stand. It quickly escalated from nicely asking them to sit down to a screaming arguement. I seriously thought punches were going to be thrown.
But yes, so many concerts over my lifetime have been ruined by not being able to see anything thorugh the glow stick holding, waving hands right in front of my face or people who would not put down their signs. Making a sign and holding it up for a bit is fine, but to hold it up the entire time makes me stabby.
Those ladies were jerks. People are so inconsiderate nowadays, and just oblivious to other people areound them. It gets to me sometimes too. And if someone ruined my kids' fun, I would have said something directly to them. I know they wouldn't have done anything differently, but it would make me feel better to call them out on their rude behavior.
Those people are obviously jerks, I agree, you should not behave that way on any public events, you must be considerate of other people.
On another note, my 7yo son, is dying to go to the concert, I only hope that we don’t find people like that in front of us.
I went to the Taylor Swift concert and sat on the floor with my wife. I am 6ft tall and there were little girls all around and directly in back of me. I know they couldn’t see so I sat as much as possible but the problem was that EVERYONE on the floor was standing. So even if I sat down it didn’t necessarily mean the girls in back could see because the people in front of us were blocking their view. The problem is the first person stands then everyone behind them has to stand. There is no way to solve the problem than to elevate the floor on a slant like a typical theater setting. I felt bad for all the little girls that couldn’t see, the ushers wouldn’t let people stand on their chairs. WHY does everyone have to stand the whole concert, why can’t people just stand occasionally? This problem is never going to be solved UGH.
Such a jerk move! Why can't people today have consideration for others around them?? So frustrating!
My first question is: did you say anything to them? Politely, of course.
The reason I ask is because years ago I attended the championship game of a college basketball tournament to cheer on my team. It was a close game, and I & my friends spent most of the first half on our feet cheering. Until a man came up and started screaming at us to sit down. A young, able-bodied man yelling & screaming & threatening violence because we wouldn't sit down during a very close championship basketball game. I refused to sit. Why should I? Let's just say this did not go over well, and the police were called in to referee. No, I did not yell back. I just refused to sit. I paid for my ticket. It's a close game, the people in front of me are standing, it made no sense to me why I should sit.
Until the game was over, and everyone was packing up their seats to leave. Then, as we turned around backwards to gather our sweatshirts & cups & trash and things to clear out our seats. Then, we saw the man with a cane who could barely stand up on his own. Sitting directly two rows behind us. Who could not possibly see the game thru our bodies.
Had someone tapped any one of us on the shoulder and said, "hey, this guy can't get up & can't see", we would have GLADLY sat for the entire game. But instead nobody said anything until they'd worked themselves into such a tizzy that one of them came down and screamed at us and threatened violence, still not explaining WHY us standing up was an issue.
I still feel like crap thinking about it. How I ruined that guy's experience. Even though I didn't know he was there until it was too late, I still feel awful.
So, did you ask nicely? If so, totally on them for being jerks. If not...
Its not just at concerts, but common courtesy has gone out the window. I was just on a plane and the little kid behind me was kicking my chair for an hour straight, before I finally said something. Then the mother gave me attitude about it.
Jerk move, given that the rest of the crowd was not standing. When everyone stands, everyone stands and you deal. When no one else is up? Sit your butt down and behave like adults.
It is absolutely a jerk move. As someone who's not quite 5'3", I am stuck in situations like this nearly every day (not just at concerts and sporting events) and every day I want to scream (but I don't, because ADULT).
Kudos to you for being so diplomatic about the whole incident. It frustrates me just reading about it.
It is absolutely a jerk move. As someone who's not quite 5'3", I am stuck in situations like this nearly every day (not just at concerts and sporting events) and every day I want to scream (but I don't, because ADULT).
Kudos to you for being so diplomatic about the whole incident. It frustrates me just reading about it.
It is absolutely a jerk move. As someone who's not quite 5'3", I am stuck in situations like this nearly every day (not just at concerts and sporting events) and every day I want to scream (but I don't, because ADULT).
Kudos to you for being so diplomatic about the whole incident. It frustrates me just reading about it.
It is absolutely a jerk move. As someone who's not quite 5'3", I am stuck in situations like this nearly every day (not just at concerts and sporting events) and every day I want to scream (but I don't, because ADULT).
Kudos to you for being so diplomatic about the whole incident. It frustrates me just reading about it.
It is absolutely a jerk move. As someone who's not quite 5'3", I am stuck in situations like this nearly every day (not just at concerts and sporting events) and every day I want to scream (but I don't, because ADULT).
Kudos to you for being so diplomatic about the whole incident. It frustrates me just reading about it.
It is absolutely a jerk move. As someone who's not quite 5'3", I am stuck in situations like this nearly every day (not just at concerts and sporting events) and every day I want to scream (but I don't, because ADULT).
Kudos to you for being so diplomatic about the whole incident. It frustrates me just reading about it.
Several years ago I went to the Big 12 football championship game at Reliant Stadium in Houston (Oklahoma vs. Colorado). I had no real rooting interest for either team. We had good seats given to us (20 yard line, club level). In the front row of our section there was an OK fan who refused to sit down. He said it was tradition to stand during the games and he was going to stand. This lasted despite numerous complaints from his neighbors, until the 3rd quarter. Someone directly behind him went to security and the guard politely asked him to sit down. After much discussion he finally did sit, but as soon as the guard started up the steps, he stood back up. That earned him an ejection from the seating area and cheers from the crowd.
If I knew that I wanted to stand the whole game, I would be sure that I either got tickets in the student section or at the back of a section (or offer my better seats to someone in the back row if I couldn't do that). That is just me, though, and I know many people would not even think about considering others' comfort. It is a gray area, though. I don't think anyone would complain much about people standing in the last minute/inning of a close game. But everyone's definition of close and when the standing should start is different. The security guard did not want to kick this OK guy out and their discussion was long enough that I don't think he would have removed him if he had insisted he had the right to stand in front of his seat. He kicked him out for saying he would sit, then not doing it.
For a kids/tweens concert I don't know what the etiquette should be. Certainly nobody would object to people standing and cheering when the band takes the stage, or at the end of the performance. But when do you have to sit down? Can you stand during your very favorite BTR song? What if each member of your cougar pack has a different favorite? I think you did the right thing, but I may have been louder to my kid about taking down her sign in case they might hear me and realize their jerkiness. Maybe every concert should have designated sections where standing/dancing is permitted throughout and security keeps an eye on the other sections.
Total jerk move at any venue, not just kids' concerts. Unless there's something incredible going on, sit the eff down, ESPECIALLY the people up front whose views are not being blocked. They're the first domino.
Absolutely a jerk move. And unfortunately, an every day occurrence. People are just flat out inconsiderate. I'm not sure if it's that they don't KNOW that they are being rude or if they know and they don't CARE.
The really sad thing is, even if you had tried to say something, it might not have worked. I have witnessed many occasions when someone is being inconsiderate, and something is politely said to them, and they immediately get defensive and snotty.
At least this didn't happen...
http://deadspin.com/unicorn-mask-wearing-porn-star-kicked-out-of-pnc-park-f-825617644