Sherly Montes – Special to Southern News
Being front row at a concert and standing at the barricades, right where the performer or band can see you, to the point where you can make eye contact with them… That’s ideally where every concert-goer wants to be, said Siti Liyana, an interdisciplinary studies major.
“For most concerts I’ve been to, I’m usually standing up in the middle or near the back. It’s rare to go to a sit-down concert,” said Liyana. “I remember I went to a sit-down KPOP (Korean Pop Music) concert and it was so cool, you could see everything.”
25 percent of college students have attended a music festival in the past year, according to Eventbrite and Mashwork’s 2014 Harris Poll Interactive Survey.
“I’ve gone to two EZOO (electronic dance music) festivals and a ‘Fall Out Boy’ concert in the past few months,” said Erica Casinelli, sophomore and English education.
“I went to EDC (Electric Daisy Carnival) and it was a lot better than what I was expecting, considering I am not a huge fan of this type of music,” said Meredith Bayona, a junior pre-dental major. “Before going for the first time, I always thought ‘how can people have the energy to jump and dance and eat and all without using any drugs?’ It is possible. It was an amazing experience.”
The festivals the students visited present different crowd interactions.
“I like concerts because they’re always loud, colorful and upbeat. It’s usually really crowded, but it’s not an ‘I hate everyone’ crowded, it’s just a fun crowd to be with.” said Casinelli.
Liyana said that there could be a lot of physical interaction at shows, that sometimes can’t be avoided.
The average age of concert attendees in 2012 was 42.4, but approximately 35 percent of ticket sales and attendance for live concerts and performances came from people ages 18 through 34, according to TicketMaster’s Live Nation 2012 Fan Meter Concert Trends survey.
“An audience who heard and loved a song on the radio naturally wanted to hear that same song at the club or the concert hall.” said David Byrne (of “Talking Heads” fame) about live performances in his book, “How Music Works.”
“As for the quality of the performance, it really just depends on the artist,” said Liyana. “You have be aware of the fact that some performers are dancing while they sing and moving all around the different stages so you can hear their panting and breathing, but we know they’re trying, so it’s okay.”
Photo Credit: Incase
