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Seeing my favourite artists perform live is one of the awesomest things ever. I can never get enough of the sheer thrill and excitement of live performances.
Just being surrounded by an artist's presence and watching them sing and dance on a brightly lit stage with loud, thumping music filling the atmosphere as well as the screams of thousands of music lovers is quite addictive. There’s nothing like it.
One concert that totally rocked my world was Chris Brown's Carpe Diem concert, which came to SA in December 2012. I so badly wanted to jump onto the stage and start dancing with Chris and his dancers so that I could be part of the explosions of energy that I was seeing and feeling from the stands. I'm a hip hop dancer, hence my temptation to jump on stage which didn’t quite work out, so as an alternative, I managed to copy every single dance move that Chris and his dancers did on stage, and by the time the concert was over, I was dripping with sweat and I felt as though I had finished a hyper-active class of zumba.
But, as life would have it, there are some things that annoy me to bits about concerts, which I do try to ignore, but sometimes these annoyances seriously drive me up the wall.
I won't even talk about traffic jams around the concert area and how the side of my car was dented by a foolish driver who failed to adequately check their blind spot while trying to jump the queue of cars. The thought of it might trigger memories of blood-red anger, curse words and drama with insurance followed by some intense weeping.
But I'm strong enough to talk about five other things that annoy me to bits about concerts.
1. Late appearances by artists
I hate it when artists come on stage late and give us what seems like a 2-minute performance. It’s quite disrespectful because the audience pays money to see an artist live, and also we give up our time to see their show. So when they appear late for their own concert, it screams unprofessional diva. I understand that sometimes it’s not the artist’s fault that they are late (blame it on unforeseen circumstances) but the least they can do is send out a tweet informing their fans of their lateness.
2. Technical glitches
Nothing is more irritating than bad sound, lighting and microphones that go on and off in the middle of a performance. It screams unprofessional on the part of the sound team and it makes artists look terrible. Please sound teams, get your act together and make sure that things work!
3. Artists that can't sing live
I promise you that autotune will be the death of all that is good vocal ability in singers! Most artists’ vocal abilities are fully exposed when they are on stage because there are no computerised gadgets that improve their voices. And an artist who can’t sing live is the worst thing ever. I’d rather listen to myself sing in the shower. I feel cheated whenever I go to a concert and the artist sounds like a goat running in a marathon. Vocal training is available to all who can sing so dear artists, please train your voice before you get on stage! Thanks!
4. Crying or screaming girls and guys
This seems silly because people are meant to lose themselves at concerts, but when people start weeping as if they were paid to mourn at a funeral, then enjoying the live music becomes a tad bit dramatic. And if you’re screaming at the top of your lungs while throwing yourself around as if you’re the main character in an exorcism story, then that’s a problem as well. There’s no need for drama people! Let’s all scream in a civilised manner.
5. Drunk people in the audience
I strongly believe that drinking inside the main arena should be prohibited because when drunken individuals scream and cry for an artist in a wave of excitement, they spill their drinks everywhere. Who wants to go home smelling like a freshly brewed gallon of beer? It’s totally disgusting! And then, when you tell the reveller to calm down after they’ve drenched you with beer, they want to start a fight, and all it takes for that to happen is one violent push. This is quite barbaric and unnecessary, and it totally takes out the fun of being at the concert.
These five things are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to things that annoy me about concerts. However, they won’t deter me from seeing my favourite artist perform live. I strongly suggest that a petition be signed to prohibit drinking from the main arena because I’m tired of going home after a rocking concert smelling like a brewery.
Just being surrounded by an artist's presence and watching them sing and dance on a brightly lit stage with loud, thumping music filling the atmosphere as well as the screams of thousands of music lovers is quite addictive. There’s nothing like it.
One concert that totally rocked my world was Chris Brown's Carpe Diem concert, which came to SA in December 2012. I so badly wanted to jump onto the stage and start dancing with Chris and his dancers so that I could be part of the explosions of energy that I was seeing and feeling from the stands. I'm a hip hop dancer, hence my temptation to jump on stage which didn’t quite work out, so as an alternative, I managed to copy every single dance move that Chris and his dancers did on stage, and by the time the concert was over, I was dripping with sweat and I felt as though I had finished a hyper-active class of zumba.
But, as life would have it, there are some things that annoy me to bits about concerts, which I do try to ignore, but sometimes these annoyances seriously drive me up the wall.
I won't even talk about traffic jams around the concert area and how the side of my car was dented by a foolish driver who failed to adequately check their blind spot while trying to jump the queue of cars. The thought of it might trigger memories of blood-red anger, curse words and drama with insurance followed by some intense weeping.
But I'm strong enough to talk about five other things that annoy me to bits about concerts.
1. Late appearances by artists
I hate it when artists come on stage late and give us what seems like a 2-minute performance. It’s quite disrespectful because the audience pays money to see an artist live, and also we give up our time to see their show. So when they appear late for their own concert, it screams unprofessional diva. I understand that sometimes it’s not the artist’s fault that they are late (blame it on unforeseen circumstances) but the least they can do is send out a tweet informing their fans of their lateness.
2. Technical glitches
Nothing is more irritating than bad sound, lighting and microphones that go on and off in the middle of a performance. It screams unprofessional on the part of the sound team and it makes artists look terrible. Please sound teams, get your act together and make sure that things work!
3. Artists that can't sing live
I promise you that autotune will be the death of all that is good vocal ability in singers! Most artists’ vocal abilities are fully exposed when they are on stage because there are no computerised gadgets that improve their voices. And an artist who can’t sing live is the worst thing ever. I’d rather listen to myself sing in the shower. I feel cheated whenever I go to a concert and the artist sounds like a goat running in a marathon. Vocal training is available to all who can sing so dear artists, please train your voice before you get on stage! Thanks!
4. Crying or screaming girls and guys
This seems silly because people are meant to lose themselves at concerts, but when people start weeping as if they were paid to mourn at a funeral, then enjoying the live music becomes a tad bit dramatic. And if you’re screaming at the top of your lungs while throwing yourself around as if you’re the main character in an exorcism story, then that’s a problem as well. There’s no need for drama people! Let’s all scream in a civilised manner.
5. Drunk people in the audience
I strongly believe that drinking inside the main arena should be prohibited because when drunken individuals scream and cry for an artist in a wave of excitement, they spill their drinks everywhere. Who wants to go home smelling like a freshly brewed gallon of beer? It’s totally disgusting! And then, when you tell the reveller to calm down after they’ve drenched you with beer, they want to start a fight, and all it takes for that to happen is one violent push. This is quite barbaric and unnecessary, and it totally takes out the fun of being at the concert.
These five things are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to things that annoy me about concerts. However, they won’t deter me from seeing my favourite artist perform live. I strongly suggest that a petition be signed to prohibit drinking from the main arena because I’m tired of going home after a rocking concert smelling like a brewery.
