Concert Etiquette

[Xallanthia]

12.  Follow the rules regarding applause.  These may vary by venue or composer.

The *general rule* for this is that you applaud between pieces, but NOT between movements of the same piece.  I heard Holst's The Planets this past weekend and maybe 1/3 of the audience clapped after movements 1-5 (the end of movement 6 is ambiguous; the conducter was able to move on well enough).  It was very jarring.  The Planets has 7 movements; it is ONLY appropriate to applaud at the end of the 7th.

[Venus193]

Certain arias at the opera always get applauded, but for Wagner it is considered proper form to wait until the end of the act.

[Xallanthia]

Certain arias at the opera always get applauded, but for Wagner it is considered proper form to wait until the end of the act.

Yes, I was more talking about the symphony than opera; that is where it really gets to me.  Although in general once you're experienced you can often tell by the attitude of the conductor.  However, I'd say that one should err on the side of not applauding unless it's the end of a piece/act.

[Flora Louise]

Certain arias at the opera always get applauded,  . . .

And certain singers.

[Flora Louise]

And what about booing?  I know opera fans who insist it is their right to boo poor performances. Certainly, they will boo the set or the director.

[snowdragon]

14. Avoid foot jiggling. Seats are often connected, so a vigorous foot shaking can annoy a lot of people

a good many concerts that I go to - it's expected that folks will not only foot jiggle but dance and keep time with the artists ~ and actively encouraged by those artists. It's known in those circles that this is expected, if you are considering going to a show where it's expected  and it's going to annoy you, either don't go or keep your annoyance in check. ( In fact I go to concerts where dancing along either in your seats or the aisle is encouraged. )

[Venus193]

It's against the rules, but whenever I've attended salsa concerts in Madison Square Garden people dance on the promenades and the floor areas.  There is a huge positive energy and nobody has a bad time.

People like to boogey to the Gipsy Kings, but that can be very risky in a balcony or mezzanine.   The one time I had mezzanine seats in Radio City Music Hall I felt it shake!  I decided that from then on I would insist on front orchestra seats for this band.

[Mopsy428]

If there is no smoking in the arena, DO NOT SMOKE! If the substance is illegal to smoke, it should go without saying that you should not be smoking it.

I went to see a rock group, and people were smoking pot right in front of me. I had hives on my skin from it. My friend asked them to stop, as I was having an allergic reaction. They told him what to do, and then we got security who escorted them out.

[Angel B.]

I wanted to add to the Concert Etiquette, hope that's ok!

21. Don't do your homework/work during a concert. If you MUST do your German homework or read your novel, go home or to the library. You are being extremely disrespectful to the performer(s).

[Ruelz]

22.  Try very hard not to fall asleep.  Or snore.

[snowdragon]

I wanted to add to the Concert Etiquette, hope that's ok!

21. Don't do your homework/work during a concert. If you MUST do your German homework or read your novel, go home or to the library. You are being extremely disrespectful to the performer(s).

When the band tells the audience to "sing, dance and join it" don't get upset with the folks who do because they are disturbing your reading. seriously? Well your reading is disrupting their enjoyment of the show - which is what everyone around you wants to do - so turn off the reading light!

[567Kate]

Taking a quick picture of the band is fine (assuming the venue doesn't have rules against it). Holding your camera above your head to take video of an entire song is rude since you are blocking the view of everyone behind you!

[Solanna Dryden]

Sorry if I'm resurrecting a dormant thread; I'm on my phone. But I just heard about this and I had to share.

I actually heard about this second hand; and it happened probably about 6 or 7 years ago. Friends were at a concert of a band we both like. This band doesn't really do requests that often, and if they do it has to be arranged in advance. Once the setlist is set, it's final.

Apparently, some other fans (Nutsos, I'll call them) didn't know that. When intermission came, the band left their instruments on the stage, as usually. Well, Nutsos, it turned out, wanted to request a song. So the wrote their request on a piece of paper, got up on stage, and WEAVED IT BETWEEN THE BASS STRINGS!

Whaaaaaaat?!?!? Can you even believe it?

First of all, you do not touch something that isn't yours, period.

Second of all, what if they'd damaged the bass?? Popped a string or knocked it over? The show would be shot, and the band would be out the money to have it repaired. It's not a cheapo little bass, either, its fairly high end.

Even still, just the nerve! What goes through some people's heads?

And no, the band did not honour the request.

[Venus193]

How did they get past security guards to do that?  The band has every right not only not to honor the request but to demand that the venue investigate how this happened.

[Solanna Dryden]

They're a pretty small, low-key band playing mostly in small, fairly informal theatres. There are no security guards; it may even have been a free festival type thing where the stage was very small and wasn't raised.