Unruly Audiences: Disruptive Conduct at Live Music Events

Concerts are communal celebrations at their finest, bringing together the gathering audience in excitement. The audience as a whole, however, seldom feels the positive vibes. There are times when one’s activities lessen other people’s experiences.

Where there’s excitement and fun to be had, there may be overindulgence or a desire to make yourself even more comfortable. And this doesn’t only apply to music venues, but to casinos as well. There are certain policies regarding smoking in casinos in, for instance, Detroit, which must be abided by all visitors.

The CloudCover polled 1,000 music enthusiasts to find out which annoying acts they have seen at concerts and festivals and regarded to be the most upsetting. Continue reading for a close-up look at fun times and inappropriate conduct at live music events.

Offenses Committed by the Audience

Hard-partying is less offensive to music enthusiasts than interfering with others’ enjoyment of their favorite music when it comes to annoying habits. In fact, the research implies that very few concertgoers find it upsetting when drugs are used at live events: Just 22% of people said it worried them when people smoked during a performance, while 29% said it bothered them when the audience drank. Even more commonplace were public shows of love, which offended only 12% of respondents. Naturally, more complaints were raised with more passionate love engagement: 46% of the audience’s spectators expressed discomfort at seeing sexual activities. Let’s take a closer look at this part of concertgoers’ life.

Dating and Being Hit On

Concerts are exciting, people have fun, maybe drink and then some, and sometimes this leads to attraction. Fair enough, most people don’t go to concerts looking for a mate. Only 8% of women and 21% of men said they purposefully wanted to make love or sex connections at live music events. However, a third of men and nearly 15% of women stated they would welcome such an encounter if it happened naturally. In reality, these interactions during concerts often become romantic. More than one in five survey participants indicated they had previously dated someone they had met during a live music performance.

However, not everyone appreciates being hit on. In fact, more than a third of women found it upsetting to be approached during concerts. Although 15% of men also reported feeling irritated by it, they were less inclined to express their disapproval. These incidents might be a symptom of larger problems with assault and harassment during performances and music festivals. In fact, recent research indicated that over 90% of female concertgoers have encountered misbehavior or harassment of some kind, from verbal abuse to physical assault.

Offenses Connected to Music Venues

Certain venues appear to encourage certain dubious concert behaviors: A big outdoor event is more likely to encourage marijuana use than a small pub. Indeed, the research has discovered that various types of indiscretion tended to occur in particular scenarios. The most frequent observations made by respondents, for instance, were excessive drinking, public displays of love, and chatting during performances in bars. Meanwhile, the most popular places to yell at the performers and obstruct other people’s views with recording equipment were arenas or stadiums.