My friends and I have wondered this same thing, over and over and over, especially when the concert tickets get into the pricey range. Why would someone pay that much money to go to a show, to pay too much for bad beer and get trashed and not remember the performance at all the next day. Oddly enough, one of the best crowds I've ever experienced was at a Pearl Jam show. I had ten club tickets, which means sitting with real fans. Still club shows are always the best, and that's where you have to deal with the talkers, texters and super drunks.

Jenny Lewis has such a pretty voice. Thanks for the clips!

I'm glad you had a good time despite the talkers ... and the last time I went to the bowl it was the same thing!! From my LJ post back then:
Last night was the Police/Elvis Costello concert at the Hollywood Bowl. I had much the same experience as Wil Wheaton had the night before. The two couples in front of us talked loudly through the whole concert. They got there late and one of the women complained that they'd missed Elvis doing "Every Day I Write the Book." Granted, the concert was supposed to start at 7:30 and Elvis actually started a few minutes EARLY. But get over it. What was lame about her talking -- the one woman was the biggest and loudest offender -- was that she was mostly talking about how much she liked this or that song. DURING said songs, for long periods, so that she couldn't HEAR the songs she liked so much for her own talking. I know she has a baby named Bradford, and that Carissa owes her for watching Riley and Chelsea, so Carissa will watch Bradford another time. And the two guys had a conversation about maybe doing a once-a-month guys' night out where one of the guys would pick a random concert and everyone would go. Woman says that they can't do it once a month; that would be too much as everyone's so busy. Because they'd want to do it on a weekend, right? The guys explain that no, they were thinking about weeknights, because everyone's already busy on the weekend. THIS WENT ON AND ON AND ON, all this talking. And you just knew there was no point in asking them to keep it down.

Don't get me started! I had the same experience at the last few shows I've attended. Ben Folds was most notable example of this. The guy next to me was texting his friend who was sitting on the other side of the venue, the first few times just to see the guy's insane phone light up like a flashlight. There was lots of loud talking over the music, which no one in earshot was able to appreciate fully. It irritated me, yes, but what was worse? I felt really, really, really old when I thought to myself, "Why are all of these young people here if they're not going to appreciate the show? Why won't they just shut up?" I think it's the multi-tasking generation's way of just...living. They are texting, Facebook updating, and blog posting while they have dinner with you and carry on a shallow conversation. I'm old school, I guess. I think answering your cell phone if it rings while you're out to dinner/hanging out with someone is just plain rude. Besides, that's why voicemail was invented.

Obviously I don't understand. Going to a concert is this little bio-dome of people studying - from people there for other people's benefit i.e. the girl in front of us who was obviously at the concert to impress a boy (the one she invited, but that canceled so her friend "got" to come - I know this because it was discussed...at length). All the people letting everyone else know how awesome their night is going...to the detriment of the awesome night their apparently in the middle of. And just the talkers. It's insane. Like I said last night, you're not Cuba Gooding, Jr. accepting your Oscar - Ray LaMontagne is not your swelling background music.

---Liza

Ray's voice gives me chills. I adore him. I really, really wanna see him in person.

You're the second person I know who went to that show and both of you said it was fantastic. So I'm jealous!

I was talking about it in yoga last night and they put forth the theory that it was an LA based phenomenon: talking during concerts. I've only seen concerts in LA so I wouldn't know - is this true??

---Liza