Music and growing older... • Page 2

I'm 32 now and I keep waiting/expecting to get jaded on music but each year I find my passion for it is actually growing. It's probably true that albums aren't hitting me or lasting with me like they did when I was in my late teens/early 20s, but I find I'm enjoying more music now than I ever used to.

However, I definitely find myself going to fewer shows these days - I can't handle standing around for hours, enduring late nights, shitty openers and lame crowds, being bumped and having beer spilled on me etc. It also makes it difficult as many of the shows here have the headliner not going on stage until 10:30 or sometimes even 11pm, and I just can't stay awake that late anymore (especially not if I have work the next day). It might be different if I was going with friends, but I've always gone to shows alone so there's just not that pull anymore. One of the reasons I hope we see more bands livestreaming shows in the future.

 

yeah i mean the scene or whatever that im a part of is definitely older i think it just matters what type of shows u know

 

the local DIY/punk scene here skews really young, most of the people who actively go to shows are 19-21. most of the band members are only a couple years older max. this is good for me but sometimes i wonder how folks in their mid-twenties feel about it.

that being said i already feel old at shows even though i'm usually one of the younger people there. i don't mind anything else (standing, late nights, beer everywhere, etc.) but i have a history of head trauma and getting kicked in the head is a big deal for me and that sucks most of the joy out of being in the front / ~getting rowdy~ / whatever

i hope i still go to shows when i'm 25. i hope i play shows when i'm 25.

 

Turning 32 next week and I recently realized how different music and concert going is for me now. I hardly went to any shows last year and, more often than not, I ended up selling tickets because I was too tired. This year I have about 8 shows lined up, but my new policy is sticking to acts I absolutely love and/or must see. It might make a difference if I had more friends nearby that went to shows and/or liked the same stuff I did.

Re: finding and listening to new music, I just have way less time, but I always manage to find new bands/artists/records each year -- just doesn't seem like it's nearly as much as when I was younger. I don't know if it's because I'm getting older, but it seems like it's harder for new music to resonate with or impress me now.

 

LOVE a solo show but all my friends from college I would go to shows with have stopped. now there's just about 4 of us who go to shows regularly and it's actually really nice to keep the group small. I guess I'm also lucky to live in Brooklyn where any given day there is something going on, with most shows being 18+.

 

I have no plans to stop seeing my favorite bands live. I approach it differently now that I'm older, though. I used to love "going to shows," and having that whole experience. Now, I just want to see some bands play. I care more about my hearing. I don't want to stand for a bunch of openers when I only want to see the closer. I used to show up to venues an hour before the doors opened, now I prefer to get there shortly before the act I want to see goes on.

As others have stated, being seated is totally appealing now. Standing stationary puts strain on your legs. I've been more sore after shows than after hours of walking. I haven't been to a venue with a balcony lately, but I look forward to it one of these days.


People who think it's juvenile or time consuming to be a music fan are obviously close-minded. I've had people with kids tell me that they don't have time to check out new bands/songs because they have families. Yeah, but you still have time to play video games, right? Fuck outta' here.

 

I'm 27...just bought tickets for Taste of Chaos in Philly. I've definitely become more selective of who I see live, and when I do go to a show, I'm found near the bar catching the show from afar. Not into the mosh pit grit anymore.

 

Over the past few years I have been going to concert a lot more frequently. I've been to 2 shows this year so far, but like 6 more lined up from now until the end of the summer. I see it as a way of treating myself. Also, I have friends that have somewhat similar music tastes so Its nice to always have at least 1 person to go with.

 

I think I vastly prefer live music on my own, but it's always fun to be with a friend in a concert/venue setting. I guess I'm biased because my close friends and I often have differing tastes. But it's still a very personal, internal event for me

I tend to zone out at shows and really get absorbed

 

This is honestly one of my biggest fears as I grow older.

Edit: Whoa, like, THE Jared Kaufman?

 

31 years old. Listened to 465 releases in 2016. Attended 8 shows in the last 12 months. Got into the pit/mosh area for all shows, crowdsurfed at least once at 4 shows.

I will never stop loving music.

 

not to one-up or anything (not that i could, you've listened to over ten times as many releases as i have so far this year) but 8 shows in 12 months seems really really infrequent. a lot of people i know in my age group irl average one or two a week.

 

question. how much do those shows on average cost?

 

from my experience, non-house shows are usually $5, sometimes $8 when a touring band plays or when the lineup is really stacked. all house shows are free. once every couple months there'll be a cool show at like a bigger venue and then it's usually $10-$15

not an expensive habit if you forgo other stuff

 

I'm 26, but just graduating undergrad. I'm really looking forward to going to more shows now that I am done with school. It always seemed like the shows I wanted to see came around right when finals were happening.

 

Let's just say I live in a terrible area if you like to go to shows. Norfolk/Virginia Beach, VA are an hour away from me. Raleigh, NC is 2 hours away. Greensboro/Wilmington, NC and Richmond, VA are 3 hours away. Myrtle Beach, SC is 4 hours away. Charlotte, NC is 5 hours away.

The closest areas (Norfolk/VABeach/Raleigh) are some of the smallest markets for shows I would want to attend. Factor in a 2 hour drive AFTER a show ends... yeah, at 31 I'm not doing that very much.

The 3 hours and farther locations are completely out of the question if I can't get 2 days off in a row.

When I lived in Greenville, NC there was a DIY venue and a few bars that fostered a small scene. THEN I attended/played shows every week, easy. I'm not going to shows every week anymore but I'll still never stop loving music and attending as many shows as I can.

 

this thread speaks to me. Almost gonna be 29 soon.

 

I still go to shows but I try to avoid the pit. Also, going to shows with my girlfriend has led to me standing in the back the entire time. It's a different vibe watching a show and not having to worry about being bumped into. I think I've grown to appreciate stage production and performance more than I ever had when I was just upfront dealing with all the madness. I also used to crowd surf and stage dive but I realize how annoying that is to people so I don't do it anymore. I'm a small guy but I've grown to be pretty annoyed with that behavior at shows, so I don't want to contribute to it.

I think the catalyst to the change was when my friend pushed me onstage from behind during a Menzingers show, and not thinking about how I could just simply walk off the stage, I dove and got thrown out. My friend got me back in, but I missed Burn After Writing :/

 

Haha, yep, it's me.

 

I'm 29 and I still go to shows all of the time, whether locally or further afield. They're pretty much the milestone moments in my years and I won't be stopping any time soon. The crowds vary quite a lot at the shows I tend to go to so it's not something I pay much mind to.

 

24 years old an no plans to stop going to or playing shows any time soon. Glancing at the spreadsheet I keep, I've averaged 70+ shows per year over the last four years, and I'm on pace for 80 in 2016.

There are certainly things I don't like about shows, which I guess are a side effect of getting older, but none of them are dealbreakers if it's a band I really like. Most shows are simply too loud, for example, to the point where it's impossible for any band to sound good, but I bought a pair of really nice, custom-molded musician's earplugs a few years ago that have largely solved that problem for me. They seem pricey up front (mine were $180) but they've exceeded their value many times over. I don't mind the standing or the crowds, but I do tend to avoid pits these days, and I haven't crowd-surfed in years and probably never will again. Most of the shows I go to are in professional venues, in part because there are so many in Chicago, but also because so many of the houses and DIY spaces I've been to (more in my hometown and on tour than in Chicago itself) just aren't very enjoyable places to hang out. They're dark and stuffy and not well kept, they set off my allergies, and often just don't sound good. I don't want to be too harsh on DIY shows as a concept, since I've had many great experiences at them, but the last couple years have soured me on the idea a bit.

The last thing, and I think the biggest thing that would make shows more enjoyable for me, is about planning and efficiency. Advertise set times, start on time, keep to the schedule, have as little time between bands as possible, and end at a reasonable hour. It's much easier for me to plan on going to a show if I have a decent idea of when I'll be able to get home, or how late I can show up if I have to work late that day. I've always felt like that's one simple courtesy that venues/spaces can show to fans.

 

This so much. I get why they don't post set times, but it's brutal on weekdays when you have to get up for work.

 

One of my favorite venues in the city usually has a DJ that starts at 10:00, so shows have to end by 9:45. It's easy to go over there and see whoever's playing even on a weeknight because I know I'll be home by 10:30.

 

34 here, and i couldn't imagine not going to shows. I've been doing it ever since i was 16, so almost half my life, which is crazy to think about! I haven't really thought about it that much i guess. I see that a band i like is playing, so i go to the show. There will probably be a point where i'll feel like "the old guy" at a show, but i don't really care. That being said, i, like others have said in here, also can't stay up late like i used to. If i get to bed too late, it really fucks me up the next morning. One of the shitty things about growing up i guess. AJJ were right.

Also, a lot of shows i've been going to lately have had a pretty good mix of ages. The Smith Street Band shows always do, and The Gaslight Anthem's last Australian tour had a shitload of older people. Because of their growing popularity, i guess. I saw them in 2008 on their first Australian tour when they were nowhere near as well known, and it was mostly people in their 20's, as i was at the time.

Has anyone else noticed an increase in age at shows in the last 10 years?

 

Usually if you call the venue they can give you set times, at least on the day of. I'm actually trying to do a better job of knowing set times so I can check out the opening bands. Being in a band myself has made me appreciate the openers more and more each year. I went to the Foxing show the other night and came out an O'brother fan because of that. I always knew I would like them but never took the time to listen.