Let us take a moment to discuss a very important topic, one that is all too frequently ignored: concert etiquette.
I love rock shows. Concerts are often a major factor in determining whether I like a band or not. However, only as much fun can be had at concerts as is allowed by the masses in attendance. A great crowd can make a show, and a bad crowd can break one. It doesn’t take much for a crowd to be considered good, as long as people follow a few basic rules. Tonight, I attended a Kills show, and was faced with one of the worst crowds I have ever encountered. If you were to name a few rules for standard concert etiquette, it’s likely that you’d hit on these two guidelines:
- Don’t throw things.
- Don’t push your way to the front.
Before The Kills even took the stage tonight, both of these rules had already been broken. Just moments after I was knocked in the dome by a beer can, I felt that all-too-familiar shove on the back, usually signaling that a person (or group) considers themselves more important than those around them. Still angry from the earlier headshot, I didn’t let them pass. We were about three rows from the front of the stage, close enough to see everything, and my friend and I weren’t about to give up our spots that we waited for outside in a Chicago snowstorm.
That’s when the lecture started. Unfortunately, this was not the first time that an inebriated person has framed me as inconsiderate for not letting them take my place at a show.
A little more went down, including the questioning of my familiarity with the workings of concerts. Apparently, it’s acceptable in whatever backwards city in Continental Europe that these people are from to push your way to the front at a concert. Welcome to Amuricah, that mess ain’t gon’ fly here.
But then The Kills came out, and put on a pretty good show. They played a bunch of songs from Blood Pressures, their most recent record, but weren’t afraid to dip into their back catalogue. There were plenty of tracks from No Wow, my personal favorite of their albums. Obnoxious fans or no, this record (that I really did listen to for the first time today) gives you a pretty good taste of the band I saw tonight, showcasing The Kills at their finest, simplest, and heaviest.
Swole Ear 
You know, you’re funny when you’re angry. Glad you stood up to them furreners. BTW, how much beer was in the can?
He’s right. Pretty funny. I agree wholeheartedly, but I will say that I run into the same stupid behavior with non-European red-blooded Americans. Can’t I stand with my friend (who came by his space at the front rail of the balcony through prior misbehavior) for a few songs? Sure you can. Tell him to move back. Come on.