CONCERT CULTURE IS LITERALLY COLLAPSING RN đđ¶
Letâs be real for a sec. You spent your life savings on floor tickets. You waited in the queue for three hours just to refresh a website that crashed anyway. You fought Ticketmaster like it was a final boss. And then you finally got in. The lights dim. The bass drops. The crowd screams.
And then⊠someoneâs phone is in your face. For the entire song. Blocking your view. Filming a vertical video that will never be watched again. đ
We need to talk about concert culture because it is broken. Broken. Like, actually on life support. And no one is saying it. But I will. Because Iâm a Gen-Z TikToker and we air out the tea before brunch. â
First offâwhy are we paying $500 to watch a concert through someone elseâs cracked iPhone screen? You paid for a ticket, not a cameraman job. You are not the official tour photographer. Put the phone down. The artist is 20 feet away and youâre watching them on a 5-inch screen like itâs 2012 YouTube quality. Make it make sense.
And donât even get me started on the âIâm the main characterâ behavior. You know exactly who Iâm talking about. The person who screams the lyrics louder than the artist. The person who brings a full sign that blocks three rows behind them. The person who treats the mosh pit like a therapy session. I get it, youâre feeling the music. So is everyone else. But we didnât pay to hear your vocal warm-ups. đąâ
Alsoâcan we talk about ticket prices in this economy? I saw a resale ticket for a mid-tier pop star go for $900. NINE HUNDRED. For a concert. Thatâs two months of rent. Thatâs a car payment. Thatâs a whole wardrobe refresh. And for what? To stand in a sweaty crowd and fight for elbow room? Ticketmaster is out here acting like itâs a luxury brand. You are not HermĂšs. You are a website that crashes. Calm down. đž
But waitâthereâs more. The venue vibes are off too. You ever been to a concert where the opener is completely unknown and the crowd treats them like theyâre invisible? Like, bro. Theyâre literally performing their heart out and youâre scrolling TikTok right in front of them. Thatâs not cool. Thatâs giving main character syndrome with zero self-awareness. The opener might be your next favorite artist. Show some respect. đ
And the encore? We gotta talk about the encore. It used to be a moment. A surprise. A gift. Now itâs just part of the setlist. Everyone knows theyâre coming back. Youâre not fooling anyone. Just play the song and let us go home before the parking lot turns into a Hunger Games arena. đïž
Letâs also acknowledge the sheer chaos of concert exits. You just had the best night of your life. Youâre floating. And then you step outside and itâs a human traffic jam. Everyone is on their phones trying to find their Uber. The Wi-Fi is dead. Your phone is at 2%. And youâre just standing there like a lost NPC in a video game. The vibe is annihilated. đ¶ââïžđ¶ââïž
And donât even get me started on the people who wear full designer fits to a GA floor pit. You spent $2,000 on an outfit for a show where youâre gonna get splashed with someoneâs drink and stepped on by a crowd surfer. Thatâs not fashion. Thatâs a cry for help. Wear sneakers you donât care about. Wear clothes you can sweat in. This is not a runway. Itâs a concert. đžđ
But hereâs the thingâIâm not just here to complain. Iâm here to fix it. Because concerts can still be magical. Iâve had moments at shows where I forgot my phone existed. Where I was just in the moment. Where the crowd became a single organism and everyone was singing together like it was a religious experience. Thatâs the good stuff. Thatâs why we go. đ«¶
So hereâs my manifesto. My call to action. If youâre going to a concert, put the phone in your bag for at least three songs. Just three. Feel the bass in your chest. Look at the artist with your actual eyes. Hug a stranger. Scream until your throat hurts. And thenâmaybe, just maybeârecord one 15-second clip for the memories. But thatâs it. No full songs. No vertical videos. No blocking views. Just vibes. đ
Because concert culture doesnât have to collapse. We can save it. One show at a time. One moment at a time. One less phone at a time.
Now go forth and rage responsibly. đžđ„
P.S. If youâre the person who holds up a sign during a slow song, delete it. Immediately.
Final Thoughts
After decades covering live music, I've come to see that the true value of a concert isn't in the flawless playback or the light show, but in the volatile, electric contract between performer and crowdâa shared suspension of disbelief that can shatter or soar in a single, unscripted moment. The article rightly captures how this experience is increasingly mediated by phones and VIP tiers, yet it misses the essential truth: even a cacophonous, half-deafening night in a sticky-floored club can feel more alive than the most polished livestream. Ultimately, we don't go to concerts to hear the album; we go to prove, together, that the music is still breathing.