Don't wear the t-shirt:
Personally I don't care what you wear, but sometimes people will laugh at you if you are wearing a T-shirt of the band you are going to see. Someone told me that people wearing the bands T-shirt at their concerts are only trying to be cool, and trying to be cool is not cool When you wear your band merch in public that is to promote and support your favorite artists, and that is okay, but just showing up at the concert you have already shown your support. It's like two positives give a negative... It's the same as if a band member is wearing his own band merch (which personally don't mind either, but it is also frowned upon).
Don't jump or dance out of control:
No one wants to be stepped on or hit at, even though you don't do it on purpose. Be aware of your surroundings. You are probably hundreds or even thousands of kids crammed together in a small place, so you just imagine what happens to the people standing next to you if you start dancing like there is tomorrow. If the bands says jump, you bounce! Otherwise the person behind you will feel just how many burgers contributed to you weight... If the band says dance, you could always just put your hands in the air and move around a bit.Headbanging? Sure, why not? BUT if you are wearing a crazy hair-do like a mow-hawk, just be extra careful. Yes, I have tried to stand behind a girl who had the biggest mow-hawk ever, and who were headbanging like she wanted to shake her brain out. Let's just say that her hair went places in my face, that I didn't want it to go...
Don't push, but don't panic:
Pushing happens, it can't be helped, so don't panic if you sometimes feel like you are losing you balance. People will catch you. But to those fuckers who think that they can show up 10 minutes before the concert starts and push their way to the front, you need to leave! Nobody likes you. How would you feel if you have been holding a spot for 6 hours straight and some mother fucker comes and pushes you out of you spot only because he's bigger than you, and you can't do anything about it? No! Stay in the back, you are not welcome!
Don't talk:
Sure it's okay to talk between songs when the band is getting some water or talking to each other, but don't fucking talk during a song. People haven't payed to hear you blabbering with you friend, so shut up.
Be considerate:
If you are a tall guy or girl and you see a smaller person behind you, please offer them your spot. The person behind you will have their night ruined, just because you ate your carrots as a child. It's not your fault, but try to put yourself in that persons perspective. Who knows, maybe you'll end up with a new friend.
If you are up front, don't hold an umbrella or sign:
People behind you can't see shit, so don't do it.
Don't smoke:
I know that for some of you, this can be hard - especially if you wanna keep you spot at the same time, but come on. There are people around you who don't smoke, or are maybe even allergic to smoke, so be considerate and light you cigarette an other place.
Don't pee:
Of cause you can go to the toilets during a concert, but I'm talking about those nasty ones who pisses in their cans and bottles. This happened to me at a danish rap concert. Three guys (clearly stoned all three of them) were drinking beer and peeing in their cans instead of going to the toilets. They put the cans on the ground, and when people tried to walk past them, naturally the cans tipped over. Yes, pee on the ground we are standing on. That is just disgusting guys!
Sing along:
And if you don't know the lyrics, at least just pretend. It can be such a bad experience if you are standing next to someone who is just 'too cool to like this band'.
Keep your voice down:
Don't sing too high. People have come to listen to the band, not you. Sing along in a moderate volume. When the microphone is turned to the audience you can scream your lungs out, if that is what you want, but otherwise keep it leveled.
Don't touch my butt:
There is nothing worse than suddenly being felled up by some pervert, and you can't even see who it is. Just because I'm a girl and we are standing close you can't just grind up against my ass. This happened to me at my very first concert, and it just made me so angry. I didn't feel violated, but some might, so don't do it. If you think that you are flirting, stop! Just stop your self. Talk to the person instead.
Don't duck for crowd-surfers:
Crowd-surfing is a very important part of any concert. Everyone wants to be able to reach the band member who is crow-surfing, that's for sure. But when someone from the audience is doing it, they need to get out of the crowd. Crowd-surfing is used to get people who are getting sick out of the crowd in a fast way. Security guards usually encourage this. So if you realize that someone is suddenly on top of your head, don't duck, but help the person out. If you don't help there might be a risk for that person to fall and you don't want that. The person could be on the verge of vomiting, have claustrophobia, have a panic attack and so on. So don't slow the process.
You move from your spot, it's not your spot anymore:
If you leave your spot, you can't expect to get it back.
Drink:
Some people think that by drinking alcohol before a concert give you a better experience, and that's fine. But stay hydrated. Drink water, so you won't pass out.
Don't film the whole concert:
If you want to, I won't stop you, but for your own sake, I advise you to put down the camera and enjoy the concert. You don't wanna come home and realize that you missed the whole concert, because you had to focus on your camera. I get that you might want some pictures and some videos, and that's fine, I do that as well, but don't record every number. Enjoy the magic that is happening in front of you, and that you have payed good money to see.
These are just some of the many "unwritten" rules that I think needed to be cleared out. So if you read this think about it the next time you go to a concert, so you can avoid being 'that guy'.
If you have any good/bad/funny concert memories, I would like to hear about them. Please leave a comment :)
