Idiotic Behaviour

I had never intended for this blog to be an opportunity to have extended rants on any particular subject, or to be overly negative, but I'm afraid I'm going to have a short verbal attack on some behaviour I unfortunately witnessed on Friday evening during The National's gig that I blogged about in my last post.

Live music is very often a particularly masculine place to be, but that doesn't excuse acting in an offensively misogynistic manner. I'm really not a fan of people talking during gigs - well, during the songs specifically, obviously - and certainly not extended conversations that last the duration of two whole songs. What is so important that it can't wait until 11pm to have a chat about it?

Anyway, the talking part leads me to this: during The National's gig an extended conversation was taking place between two men in a group of around five, just behind me. A young woman next to me turned round, quite within her rights, and asked politely if they wouldn't mind lowering their voices. What followed made me embarrassed to be a man. Rather than taking on board the polite request, the young woman was subjected to a volley of abuse, ranging from telling her that the stage was in the other direction, that she was a "lesbian" and a "spastic", to shouting out requests for "Smack My Bitch Up". Oh, how very droll. She was, as well as myself after gently supporting her request for the men to be quieter, either spat upon or had beer thrown/flicked in her direction.

This kind of behaviour is, for me, completely unacceptable for grown men to be indulging in. In fact, it would be seen as embarrassing if it happened in a school playground. Thankfully, it occurred late enough in the gig as not to spoil the experience for myself or, hopefully, the young woman who was the target for the abuse.

In short, I hope those men enjoyed their night. Spending £20 on a ticket, ignoring the band for the majority of the gig, shouting out inane request and indulging in sexist, bullying antics. You make me very proud to be a man. Feckin' idiots.

Thankfully, this sort of behaviour is extremely rare at gigs I've been to over the past 18 years and I hope it continues to be the exception rather than the norm. It may seem pedantic, but gig etiquette does matter - especially if it ensures that people are allowed to feel comfortable in their surroundings.