Dancing at shows

[kosmo vinyl]

Seeing as the complaint that people aren't "dancing" at shows is continually voiced, I would like to know the point of view behind it.
 
 What kind of dancing is expected from the audience?  Are they suppose to be doing The Shag, Electric Slide, Charleston, Ack-Breaky Heart, or The Robot, etc at the show? Or perhaps something choreographed by Twayla Thrope?
 
 Are people attending the same show in a different city more likely to be seen "dancing"?
 
 In the past did more people dance at shows?
 
 Personally at soldout 9:30 shows it's hard enough to move  just enough to see around the people in front of me to even consider "dancing" without stepping on toes or bumping into those near me.
 
 So why does this complaint always surface....  This Boy Wonders.

[sonickteam2]

Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
 
 Are people attending the same show in a different city more likely to be seen "dancing"?
 

probably. esp in cities where drinks are cheaper....

[Frank Gallagher]

Dancing is fine as long as they're not dancing right in front of me!  :mad:  
 
 Seriously, I don't think a sold out 930 lends itself to dancing. Swaying side to side, or gently bopping is about all someone could do without pissing someone off. Besides, a lot depends on the artist. If I go to a Shane MacGowan show for example I'm expecting be be shoved around a bit by some drunk, or worse, some moron pretending to be drunk, so I just get in that abuse accepting mode. But at David Gray or somebody else a little more sedate it's going to piss me off.
 
 Merriweather, Nissan (God forbid) or even Nation for that matter generally have spaces for the 'dancers' to accumalate, but the 930 is so intimate it's hard to accomodate that really.

[lionforce5]

I think the complaint lends itself specifically to specific genres of music where dancing is not only acceptable but expected.  Very few people were dancing at Kraftwerk, and while you're right about the room thing when the show is sold out, you can still do something.  People at LCD/M.I.A. were dancing. jumping, etc.
 
 There's some situations where I'd rather not see dancing.  At the pixies show last year there was this large woman two rows away who moved into the aisle to do some type of weird hybrid hippie/50's dance.  No.  
 
 On the whole I think the dancing comment is meant to imply "doing more than just standing there, arms crossed, staring at the band," which seems to be the pose of choice for the D.C. elite.

[bearman🐻]

I just saw an Inspiral Carpets DVD from the Manchester GMEX from like 1990...people were totally rocking out and basically jumping up and down frantically. It's kind of interesting to see shows like that from that time period. The entire floor was just a throbbing mass of people pogoing and it looked pretty cool. Same deal with a Charlatans UK show from that era from their DVD too. The fact is that I'd MUCH rather have a crowd stand around than mosh. I don't want to have to fend for my life in a massive crowd surge. It's cool to have room enough to dance, like I was able to do at the last Orbital show. I'll never forget this one girl at the Beastie Boys' Lollapalooza gig in Chicago who was a hoot to watch...she just did her thing as if she was up on stage with them, but the nice thing was that she wasn't bugging anyone or being obnoxious about it. I think it's nice when the audience is into the show and the band can feed off that energy, but sometimes that's just not how it works. Have to say that the audiences in Philly are pretty great that way, at least what I've seen. Us folks in the DC area work too damn hard and by the end of the day sometimes we just need to chill out a bit.

[kosmo vinyl]

standing with one's arms crossed is comfortable, especially if you have to stand in one place for any length period time.
 
 someone comes to the club it's been a long day and the headline band hits the stage at 10pm, why is so wrong for them to stand there and enjoy the show?  can't someone just show up hang go home and tell their friends about the great show they went to?
 
 isn't it possible that the elite ones are the ones moaning about the people just there to experience the concert in their own way?
 
 why does the way the audience react lessen the concert going experience for others... and don't say it's because the bands performance is going to lessened otherwise thats one lame excuse for a band to offer.  kinda like blaming your drummer for playing the wrong backing track..

[ledererk]

I think it might be the hostile glaring that often accompanies the standing that people are objecting to.  Personally, I don't literally jump up and down while watching a band, but I usually will do at least some head-bobbing and/or dancing in place.  I don't care if people want to just stand there, but don't look at me like I just killed your puppy because I choose to move around a little.  Although in the grand scheme of concert behavior, standing and glaring is definitely less bothersome than loud chattering and constant picture-taking, so I'll take it.

[you be betty]

right.
 i'm only a little bit of a dancer, but sometimes, as previously said, if the music lends itself to it and i'm really into the show i'll move around a little more.
 most people don't dance, though, and the friends that i usually attend shows with are way conservative with that kinda stuff.  except for the kings of leon black cat show last fall--we were dancing like no others.  that was a fun show.
 
 but it can be obnoxious.  
 example # 1:
 soft complex opening for ratatat, last february.  two VERY slutted-up girls (looking very out of place as well) in tons of makeup and low cut tops came into the show--which was pretty empty for soft comlpex--and stood right in front of me and started dancing around with each other.  as if they were in a dance club trying to attract guys.  they kept turning around and smiling at me and going "woo!" and everyone was kind of annoyed, and i death stared them down for quite some time.  then they started flailing around and going "omigod!  the singer is SOHOT...he's kinda liek vince VAUGHN!!!!111oneeleven"  he was glaring at them too, and they just kept cheering as if he was checking them out.  
 it wasn't the DANCING per se that was terrible; it was the obnoxious factor they added to it.
 so, folks.  if 'yer gonna dance...keep it kleen.

[kosmo vinyl]

the audiences at the UK shows were also probably fueled by something more than alcohol...
 
 and does a band really adjust it's performance based on the energy of the crowd? most bands do the same setlist nightly, say the same things only with the locality changed, if the audience isn't reacting it either means the band isn't doing it's job and should only work harder.

[Charlie Nakatestes, Japanese Golfer]

I've found that as I approach 40, it helps to sort of dance in place just a little bit to help keep the legs from getting too stiff from standing in place for 4 hours. I think the key here is to respect the space of others.

[you be betty]

maybe, but it DOES really depend on the crowd.
 a lot of the little sceneies around here are too worried about looking stupid to venture anything close to a sway.
 
 but i wish bands promoted it more...
 i mean the brunettes, openers for rilo kiley a couple of weeks ago, had a dance contest for christs sake!

[brennser]

couple of thoughts
 
 going to shows in ireland in my teens and early 20s was completely different from going to shows here for the last 10 years - as bearman described in his post, lots of jumping around/pogoing even in small venues (there was one Therapy? gig in a small club in McGonagles that was particuarly insane)
 
 I don't know if the difference in crowd response is Europe V US or age-based - most bands I go to I like to just stand there and listen but some music is meant to be jumped around to - I was particuarly dissapointed noone really moved at the Mclusky show last year - then again the Hives and Undertones were great fun with lots of jumping and jostling up front
 
 then there the other extreme which I have only encountered here in the US - "the pit" or whatever its called - when I went to see Ministry a few years ago I was amazed at the level of aggression and violence
 
 jumping around is one thing but trying to piledrive someone into the ground is another
 
 my 2c
 
 
 

Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
  the audiences at the UK shows were also probably fueled by something more than alcohol...
 
 and does a band really adjust it's performance based on the energy of the crowd? most bands do the same setlist nightly, say the same things only with the locality changed, if the audience isn't reacting it either means the band isn't doing it's job and should only work harder.

[kosmo vinyl]

well one thing has changed for the better is what shows people choose to crowd surf at... at one point in the 90s it didn't matter what show you were at people felt the need to crowd surf.  the people crowd surfing at one Detroit Charlatans show was just doing it for the sake of doing it.  then again most of the crowd surfing i've seen lately is at shows which attract high schoolers, so it's become a rite of passage..

[kcjones119]

My favorite dance was the gent in front of me at the Bob Dylan surprise 930 show last year.  He seemed to be perfectly happy sitting on the floor, rocking back and forth, wearing headphones and scribbling aimlessly on the inside of his Rand McNally atlas.  
 
 I naturally kept my arms crossed and glared at him (that's my dance, it's called "the scorn").  I was happy that he was sitting down though since he was pretty tall.  Kudos to him and his undiagnosed mental illness.
 
 I haven't seen much dancing at concerts recently, my general rule is that you are only allowed to spazz out as much as the actual people playing the music and some acts set that bar pretty high.

[HoyaSaxa03]

Originally posted by kcjones119:
  My favorite dance was the gent in front of me at the Bob Dylan surprise 930 show last year.  He seemed to be perfectly happy sitting on the floor, rocking back and forth, wearing headphones and scribbling aimlessly on the inside of his Rand McNally atlas.  
 

that's really funny.  maybe he just took a couple-too-many microdots?
 
 i think i've already told this story on here, but at a stones show in 98 i saw this 50-60 yr old guy strip naked in the opposite end zone in the orange bowl and writhe around on the ground, screaming the lyrics to "can't always get what you want" ... security finally showed up and had a really tough time getting him to put his clothes back on ... absolutely hilarious