Fluorescent lights flick on, illuminating the venue as the audience roars with excitement. The singer begins her song, her powerful voice resonating through the crowd.
But this powerful moment ends in an instant as a phone thrown from the audience hits her face.
This was the case of Bebe Rexha’s concert on June 19 in New York City. Rexha’s incident isn’t the only recent occurrence of this issue. More and more videos are circulating online of performers targeted during live shows by fans. This not only makes concerts a dangerous environment for performers, it also ruins the experience for fans.
Coppell High School junior Anna Rodriguez is a frequent concert-goer. For her, concerts are a fun way to get out with friends.
“It’s all about the experience, right?” Rodriguez said. “Concerts are a great place to listen to artists you enjoy in the moment. There’s nothing quite like a concert experience.”
But social media can play a huge factor in the way people behave. Rude behavior during concerts ruins the experience for everybody. Rodriguez thinks the rise of violent concert videos can encourage rowdy fans with likes and views.
“In those TikToks and videos and things, and even at concerts, when people throw stuff on stage it kind of distracts the singer or artist from performing,” Rodriguez said. “It’s not appropriate for the time.”
It can be especially disruptive when rude behavior ruins other fans’ times at a concert they paid a lot of money for. For sophomore Priti Bhandari, this issue is especially prevalent at K-pop concerts.
“Some people from specific fandoms are meaner than others,” Bhandari said “They felt they had a dominance over people because their ticket was higher, like a VIP ticket.”
For performers, the atmosphere of their shows is really important for them. A positive concert experience can definitely be determined by the mood of the audience. Local singer Aaron Burton enjoys when people are upbeat at his shows.
“When people are positive and they have a positive response, they’re dancing, that always makes it more fun,” Burton said. “It’s not nice to be rude and if you do enjoy something, then let the performer know because that’s something that they’ll want to know.”
Generally, good concert etiquette is pretty obvious. Respect the artist and don’t be afraid to show your appreciation for them.
“If it’s a big show, then just cheer and clap, even if it’s a smaller show and you’re embarrassed to clap because nobody’s clapping, that’s fine,” Burton said. “If you have the chance, say hi and tell them you enjoyed it, maybe drop a tip in the tip jar. Anything to show love is a great rule that should be followed.”
It is easy to get swept up in reckless behavior at concerts when you are enjoying yourself. Cheering and having a good time is what you’re expected to do at a concert, but when that behavior turns to violence, it can ruin everyone’s experience.
Sometimes, it’s better to just sit back and enjoy the show.
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