Music and growing older... • Page 3

I'm 26 now and I can relate with so many of these posts. When I was younger, I'd be one of those guys who would get to the front of the line at like 8AM and wait around all day for the show so I could get a good spot. Even though I'd go to a lot of shows alone because I didn't know anyone else who liked the same kind of music, I'd end up meeting a lot of cool people in line (people I'm still friends with) and the experiences ended up being some of the best in my life.

Then I started to get really jaded. I'd get to shows right as the band I wanted to see went on stage and left right after. My legs and back hurt from standing around. I'd have to be high to have fun. I antagonized everyone else in the audience -- annoying fan girls, douches with backpacks, people who didn't know the lyrics as much as I did, people on AP, whoever -- in the same way that I antagonized the bands I didn't like. Even worse, I found myself doing the same with the bands I used to like who were now coming out with "boring" and "shitty" albums that I didn't like. Over time, I realized the problem wasn't with everyone else, but myself: I had stopped growing. I had stopped feeling.

I've gone through a lot over the past year and a lot of that pushed me to see what drew me to music in the first place: a sense of belonging to something bigger than myself. Knowing that someone out there felt the same way I did. I noticed that one thing had become common in every element of my life: I was focusing on petty difference instead of the similarities we all share: the fact that we all just want someone to pay attention to us, to understand us, to love us. That's what it means to be human, right?

I've started going to shows early and talking to people. Talking to bands. Making friends. Poking fun at myself and how seriously I took everything before. Watching bands I never thought I would care about. Listening to music my grandma likes. Listening to music my nu-metal loving friends like. Local shows, college shows, orchestras, Weird Al, or The Chieftains. Japanese music, surf, reggae, whatever. And you know what? I genuinely love it all. It's effortless (unlike the first few times I tried to force myself to listen to Neutral Milk Hotel even though I hated it -- I like them a lot now). It's the feeling, man. There are certain bands that still speak to me in a really intimate way (Say Anything, Pinegrove, The Sidekicks) but I realize that the Shinedowns, Nickelbacks, Luke Bryans, Kanyes, Taylor Swifts, Into It Over Its, Drakes, and Biebers are all just different roads to the same place and that there's something to like in them all.

People judge. Music doesn't.

 

Everyone sees the world through a lens that their reality creates. If you're hanging out with adults who think that going to shows is juvenile, it's because they associate going to shows with youth culture (in other words, not part of their reality). People who observe and respect different lifestyles should simply be indifferent and admit the obvious -- "attending live events" is a hobby that takes time and energy, so opting out is a conscious choice to use that time and energy for other things. Mutual respect is a two-way street.

 

I love going to shows. I'm only 22 but I've never been interested in the pit or crowdsurfing. I just hang out on the side and get into the music. 2016 is set to be a great year for shows.

 

I'm 27 and I still go to shows. I mainly hangout by the sound board since that's where the best sound is. I'm not one for moshing anymore or crowd surfing. I just watch the art. I can't go to warped tour though. I feel way too old there and I'm not paying $5 for water all day just to live. It's too hot.

That being said - I'm also a musician and I get a kick out of people moshing and crowd surfing at our shows. I also play in the crowd sometimes to really connect since I love it when bands do that.

 

I'm 25 and go to shows all the time, whether with friends or alone(usually run into someone I know though). Also wasn't allowed to go to non-stadium shows when I was a teen, but I've definitely made up for that in the past 5 year. I feel like it may be a little different since I'm in the LI/NYC area, but unless it's a "new-school" pop punk show, the crowd is usually like 21-28 age group. I saw Movielife last week and the older crowd was very present and very active. Unless it's a financial issue, I don't see any reason to stop being involved with something you love.

 

Despite my age being the one that would enjoy being in the pit, I really enjoy watching from a secure space to just bask in the moment. Because of that, I think I'll continue to go to shows even with age, as I won't lose the source of enjoyment that I "would" in my youth like moshing.

 

the older i get the more i love music

 

Just to add to this, It's also important to go to shows because you never know when the bands that we grew up on are going to call it quits. MCS and FOB have def. pointed that out to me. I hate the regret of not going.
To echo what others were saying, I am short, so I always tend to stay around the fringe. NJ venues tend to have crowd surfers even on songs you wouldn't expect, then the next thing you know someone is falling on your head or kicking you in the face. Totally not my thing.

 

I go to less and less shows, but still some. The fact is, I've seen 99 percent of everyone I want to see, possibly multiple/too many times. Diminishing returns are starting to kick in for bands that don't change their setlist enough (most bands).

I travel far less to see a show, and I don't go in pits anymore, but still try to get as close as I can without getting fucked with too much.

I'm picky about venue, too. Buffalo has 1 really incredible venue, town ballroom, and shows there are infinitely more enjoyable than at any other venue. I'm way more likely to attend a show at ballroom than anywhere else.

Some of my favorite shows the past couple years have been The Wonder Years, CHVRCHES, Fleetwood Mac.

 

I do wish bands changed their setlist more often. I know it's crucial to have the singles and fan favorites for fans coming to see them for the first time, and new songs for new album cycles, but once you have a large discography, the "must haves" from each record take up such a large space in the setlist and it starts to make sets more or less the same every tour.

 

I'm 31 and I still like to go to shows. I think it's seen as juvenile in terms of going to hole in the wall venues to see certain bands. But I don't think discovering new bands and being involved is seen as such. It depends on the type of music too. I went to a Killswitch Engage show a few months back and it seemed like a good mix of age groups. In Reno, there is seemingly nothing but mainstream country music fans so maybe I've always expected/embraced the notion of being voluntarily ostracized from such with age having no impact.

 

I'm 27 and I definitely don't go to as many shows as I was going to at 16-21. I think what has changed is that I would go see so many bands (disposable income partially) and see stuff that I did not even know. Now, I will only see bands I know and obviously do not have as much free time to consistently be taking trips to Philly to see bands.

I hope to continue to go to shows, seeing Courtney Barnett this month and Father John Misty next month.

As for younger fans, my girlfriend when she goes to shows with me is bothered by obnoxious teenagers videoing the show on their phone and screaming at the "hot" lead singer. I think back to when I was that age and think that while I was not doing that exactly, I am sure older concert goers looked down at me. I am alright with younger people at shows.

 

So no The 1975 concerts in her future unless they fall on a school night lol. That's certainly a downside.

 

What's a good pair of ear plugs I can pick up today, probably at Guitar Center? I bought a cheap pair of the ones that you roll and put into your ear, but they were too good and I couldn't hear the band very well. I mainly want to reduce some of the volume so my ears aren't ringing anymore than they already are.

 

Earasers

 

Not sure anything you can get at GC today will really do the trick. You want something with filters like these to reduce volume without messing with the sound too much (IE, filtering too much high frequency so it's just a mess of bass that you hear). I went to an audiologist to have molds made for mine.

 

I like Earloves: Earlove Hi-Fi Earplugs

 

Thanks for the recs. I only mentioned Guitar Center because I'd like to have them ASAP and that's the only place out here I can think of that would carry such a thing. A lot of those look like they're online only.

 

The one I suggested I picked up at GC

 

27 here. I don't go to near the amount of show I once did and It's not that I have lost interest, I still go to at least a half dozen club shows and a few amphitheaters/festivals a year. but I also feel like the quality of tours has also take a turn for the worse or maybe it's just the bands....

In high school and early college days, it seemed like every tour had at least 2 bands that could headline, sometimes 3-4. Now things seem more structured in terms of having a true headliner, midband and opener. When I had money to burn it felt like we were getting a better bang for our buck. Now that I have more responsibility and less disposable income I feel like i'm getting less of an experience. That and everyone else is going soft, listening to 100% EDM and poppin' Molly...

"I guess this is growing up"

 

Saw that just now. A little pricey, but as long as I don't lose them, it seems worth it haha.

 

I'm 26 coming up fast on 27, and I go to more shows now than I ever do. I certainly feel out of place most of the time, especially since the fanbases of some of my favorite bands are younger. I never thought I'd feel old at a Fall Out Boy show...but there was a definite shift. Crowds at the first post-hiatus show and Wintour were night and day.

 

Amen.

 

30 and I still go to shows, but only for bands that I love at this point. I've found my music tastes have distilled down to a few bands in any given genre, and it takes a lot for a new band to break in.

 

Yup.. its more a time issue now, just not enough with a full-time job/responsibilities to research for new bands like i could in my early 20's and prior.