Concert Etiquette - or Why Puking in Public is Bad Form.

image from topnews.in

After 2 weeks at the beach, and 4.5 hours in the car driving back from the beach, I was not totally psyched to head to Saratoga for a show last night.  But, I've never seen John Mayer perform and I was looking forward to getting away from the boys for a few hours, so, off I went.  I was a little surprised that a lawn ticket was going to set me back $42, however, I guess that's what things cost these days and there were two first rate bands playing - it averaged out to about the same amount per hour that I pay our babysitter, and Tom was home with the guys at no additional expense.  Bonus.

Now, the ticket price I was expecting, the crowd, however, was a different story in many ways.  My favorite secret parking lot was full, so I had to park inside of the park, which I hate.  It seems that every time I've been forced to park (for an additional $10) within the park's boundaries I get stuck in traffic after the show.  Or I get lost within the park somehow.  Or, they close the exit that I'm heading towards and I have to turn around and go completely through the park at a snail-like pace.  After backing into a spot (to facilitate getting out, of course), we walked to the gate to get tickets.  This fairly short walk was a mere preview of the overwhelmingly female composition of the crowd.  As a woman who considers herself more of a "guy's girl," I have always had limited patience with under-clad, over-served girls - they simply annoy me, and the brief walk to the ticket office made me question my decision to attend the show.  I couldn't believe how many young, drunk girls there were flopping all over the place.  I understand that I'm probably not the typical demographic for a John Mayer show, but is it really necessary to get totally loaded to "enjoy" a concert?  And why do I seem to see this consistently at SPAC?  I've gone to other outdoor venues in the area (Tanglewood, Bethel Woods) and I have never witnessed the same degree of public drunkenness that I have come to recognize as the norm for SPAC.  What is the deal?  

image from whyisdaddycrying.com

Train opened and they sounded great.  I must admit that I did not see any of their performance because I was working up the nerve to go near the lawn - I basically spent much of the evening sitting on the back lawn beyond the concession area, because I was repulsed by the vomiting, face plants and staggering around that I witnessed.  I twittered the early part of the show and was completely appalled by the uncountable number of people, who I personally saw, throwing up. This is not what I want in a show experience.  Nor did I enjoy witnessing the numerous trips between the crowd and the medical facility in that little emergency vehicle.  Their beyond-buzz really put a dampener on my show and by 10:30 or so, I knew I wanted to be out of there and off the road before these kids got to their cars.

For the record - I was really impressed by John Mayer.  Yes, he talked a lot but that guy can seriously play guitar.  His cover of Voodoo Chile smoked and I thought he played with humor, skill and enthusiasm.  I only wish I had gotten tuned in to him earlier - before his personal (ha!) life became larger than his musical talent, because I would have loved to have seen him at a small venue where the drinking age was enforced and the audience enjoyed music more than alcohol.