This May I showed up to The 1975 over an hour before doors (9000 Cap, GA Only) and could barely see a thing. For the record, I'm 5'6 and everyone is tall in Minnesota. This is me holding my phone above my head.
I've never had an issue just pushing myself to the front or crowdsurfing at a GA show, I don't see much of a point queuing up way ahead of time
It depends. If I get there before doors and wait in line for a while and rightfully earn my spot and then some person who walks in after doors or even after the show starts shoves their way to stand right in front of me, I am going to be pissed. If I don’t get there before doors and rightfully earn a good spot, I’ll usually move up in between sets or if I see any sort of opening that isn’t blocking someone else’s view who was standing there before I moved up.
I’ve shown up during openers and made my way to the front. Nobody really packs in til the headliner starts anyways.
Well, MCR's cover of All I Want For Christmas was just playing in Walmart. Never thought I'd see the day lol
It depends on the venue and the band, but this is generally true: In the back of the venue you are actually hearing the processed FOH mix through the PA speakers, while if you're up front the band's amps are drowning out the vocals, and you're getting bleed over from the floor monitors. Even if the band doesn't use floor monitors and sends direct signals from digital guitar processors straight to the FOH, there's still a chance the sub speakers (which are usually on the floor under or in front of the stage) end up pushing the bass & drums WAY too hard so that's all you can hear.
I usually just aim to watch from where the sound booth is, just seems like an overall smart move to me
Straight up, do not slip by me at a show without saying “excuse me.” It is so uncomfortable when someone is rubbing their entire body up against you just to squeeze by when they can just say “Excuse me” and I’ll gladly move aside.
There is no greater villain in the history of mankind than the person who says "Oh, I'm just trying to find my friends over there" as an excuse to get to the front of a packed show.
In a scene where moshing and crowdsurfing is the norm, I just personally never saw much harm in trying to make your way to the front heh. Everyone gets packed like sardines throughout the show anyways That being said, I haven't really gone to a show like that since I was a teenager. I'd much rather be able to sit down and in the back so I can actually hear the music and not blow out my ears
Seeing mcr was always way intense with the pushing and shoving to get up front and that was before the breakup. As much as I wish I was at the reunion show I'd probably literally die
Oh, a show like MCR I totally understand the movement in the crowd. But I also understand lining up super early to secure a spot on the barricade rather than risk ending up on the back of the floor if that's not your thing. And as a short person, that's 100% what I'll be doing if the tour ever happens.
Moshing, crowdsurfing AND pushing to the front all fucking suck and annoys everyone around you. Honestly there should be a blocked off mosh corner for people who want to do that shit.
I can pretty easily get near wherever I want at most rock shows, but pop concerts fucking suck cause everyone just gets as far up as possible and stands like a statue for the whole time and you can't move around the floor without people being weird about it. Someone once asked if they could lean on my barricade spot because they were too tired aftee moshing, and I let them, cause that's just basic human kindness. At another show someone let me cut through the crowd in front of them to get up close cause they could tell I liked the opener more than them. That sense of decency is lost and bigger shows, which kinda sucks. Really big venues just suck in general and I would hate to pay $127 on MCR tickets just to have to stand a city block away from the stage (which yes, the Armory in Minneapolis, which is roughly the same capacity as the Shrine in LA, is a whole city block long, and SUCKS).
The only reason I'd like to be up front is so I can watch the show without a bunch of phones in the way but I survived my time being on the barricade at MCR shows where people passed out because we were all squished together or the one fan who yelled in my ear the name of every song as they started playing it til I told her they were playing the Black Parade in order and we didn't need her contribution to the evening. I just wanna be in the building, maybe by the soundboard, loaded down with merch that I'm gonna be upset* with myself for buying later. (*upset because all the new MCR merch seems very poor quality)