General Admission Grumbles

It always amazes me when there are children and families on the General Admission floor for concerts that have the option to buy seated tickets. The parents seem to think that it is safe on the floor and that everyone will keep at least a one-foot bubble around them (yeah right). Once the bands start, they figure out that is not the case.

I can't count the times I've heard "we were here first" or "you're crushing my son/daughter." If it's me they are talking to (because I've already been pushed up against the people in front of me), I tell them if they don't want to get squished then they shouldn't be on the floor. If it is someone else they are talking to, I usually roll my eyes and say to the people I'm with, "have they ever been to a concert before?" I just don't get it. I realize Nickelback and Shinedown have big radio hits, but honestly, have you heard the rest of the songs on the album that aren't on the radio? Nickelback is really not an all-ages show.

Sure enough the kids get squished and eventually move to the back or leave the floor altogether. The parents always put up a fight until they figure out that they are the minority. It doesn't matter that you paid the same, were there first, or saved that spot. If you are on the floor at a rock show, you're going to get squished. Period.

Another thing I love to see at shows (because it makes me laugh), are the pretty girls who insist on wearing high-heels or flip flops. Really? Again, have you ever been to a show before? I can see wearing high heels at a bar show or even a 21+ show in an intimate venue (a totally different dynamic when people are trying to hold drinks in their hand), but a rock show at the Tacoma Dome is just not the right time or place.

Basically, I have no problem with people who want to wear high-heels, flip flops or bring their kids to see a show (that's how more concert addicts are born), but just make sure your attire and audience fit the show. And if they don't, then by all means get off the floor. The view is still good from the seats.

Don't even get me started on mosh pit etiquette. Let's save that subject for a different day.

Now, go rock your socks off by listening to an up and coming indie band called the Local Natives. Their album Gorilla Manor is excellent. Their live show is even better.

Introducing the Mouse and the Music

Hi there! I know you have all read the book "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" when you were little. If you haven't, the gist is that the mouse starts off getting a cookie. Once he has the cookie, he wants a glass of milk and then a napkin and then a bunch of other things all because he had the cookie. In the end, something triggers him to think about having a glass of milk, so of course he wants a cookie to go with it. In turn, the cycle starts all over again. In fact, the author Laura Numeroff went through a similar cycle herself. After "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" hit the shelves, she went on to write "If You Give a Pig a Pancake," "If You Give a Moose a Muffin" and other books along the same story line.

I have discovered lately (or been told rather), I am the mouse. Instead of cookies starting this whole cycle of events, for me, it's music. I listen to music, fall in love with a song and then a whole slew of other events follow such as: buying the music, impatiently waiting for tour dates to be announced, getting tickets for the show and buying merchandise at the show. Also, while I'm at a concert, I usually hear a new band I like and the process starts all over again. Not only does the cycle start over with a new band or artist but my obsession continues with the original artist. This results in me seeing way too many shows for the same artist and being introduced to more bands that start the sequence again.

So you see, I am the epitome of "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie".