Everyone enjoys going to see his or her favorite band in concert. There is such an energy there that can never be reached no matter how loud you listen to the CD. I have been to many concerts throughout my life and can tell many a story of things that have happened, but I think this time I will talk about the bands themselves and how they handled some situations at their shows.
Being at the concert with the crowd jumping or dancing can get kind of crazy. People bumping into one another as they try to get closer to the stage or the mosh pit getting a bit wild are just a few of the things that might get one a little aggravated. Usually a fight starts or fans get a little too caught up in the moment. Some bands just will not tolerate such behavior.
Let’s start with David Grohl, lead singer of the Foo Fighters. At a show in Washington, a guy started punching an- other fan during the show. David stopped in the middle of the song and yelled at the guy to break it up. Using some rather col– orful language, Grohl tells the man along with the rest of the fans, “No one fights at my show. You can get the (expletive deleted) out of here. Go on! Get out!” This remark was answered with a roar of approval from the rest of the fans.
Famous country singer Tim McGraw took his stand one step further. At one of his concerts, McGraw noticed a “gentle- man” in the front row abusing a lady beside him. Tim, being the hero, reached down, grabbed the guy, and held him until security arrived. He then helped pull the guy up on stage, and in front of the whole crowd, he told the guy, “Real men don’t hit women. Get the hell out of my show.”
However, do not think that it is al- ways fans. Up and coming country singer, Eric Church, actually had a security guard thrown out. A young lady tried to make her way down to the stage to get her boot au- tographed when a security guard stopped her. She threw the boot on stage while the security kept pushing her back. Church saw this happening, and after several failed at- tempts to get the guards attention, he threw the boot at him. Once he had the attention of both the girl and the guard, he told the young lady to bring her boot back to him. On the way back to the stage, the security guard once again began manhandling her and stopping her from reaching the edge. Church then had his own personal security seize and remove him from the show. Need- less to say, he then invited the young lady up onto the stage and signed her boot.
All three of these performers agree that it is important to them that their fans have a good time, and they have the right to throw people out if they make a fool of themselves by causing a scene.
So here is the thing: if you attend a show, go to enjoy it and not to start a prob– lem. If you get bumped or shoved, see if it was an accident before you go on a ram- gage. Don’t just turn around and jump on someone. And a word to the wise, you don’t get your money back if you are thrown out; that just means you dropped $60+ down the drain. Be safe and enjoy the show.
