It’s not big, it’s not clever: a plea to stop musicians from making us crouch down at gigs
When you are in a crowd watching someone on stage, it feels like you’re a million miles away from each other. Not literally, but figuratively in regards to how you perceive the world. The idea that this person, who has people cheering for their music, screaming their name, asking for autographs and photos, has anything in common with us, your average run-of-the-mill people, seems ludicrous, but they do.
One of the things that I’ve learnt since working in music journalism is that the difference between a rock star and a rock fan isn’t that big, especially in the modern age of music. Unless people take over the world, the exclusivity that used to come with being a musician doesn’t exist as much as it once appeared. They can often be found wandering the streets, eating and drinking in the same places as us, talking about the same things. They aren’t geniuses either; far from it, many of them are stupid, again, just like us.
My point is that the performer and the consumer are connected. The performer has to be in touch with what people who listen to their music like to keep delivering that kind of music. They’re aware of that, and so they have genuine empathy with their audience. They listen to crowd reactions and feedback to improve their work (without sacrificing artistic integrity), and this shows in the way that many musicians progress.
When all of this is taken into account, the closeness between the fan and the artist, the newfound self-awareness of musicians, and the connection they share with their audience, it genuinely baffles me that all of them still persist in making crowds crouch to the ground despite the fact that it’s clear that none of them enjoys doing it.
Packed in a sweaty room, songs sung word for word, euphoria filling every single molecule occupying the space, the artist is locked in “the zone”. Here is where they deliver their best work, eyes possessed by their own magnitude lock onto the crowd, a look that makes you unsure whether they want to kiss or kill you. The beauty of the gig is personified in full flow. Nothing can ruin the moment… until they put their lips to their microphone and utter the disgrace that is, “Everybody, get down low.” The moans are audible at this point.
The performer begins their slow descent into a squat, and the crowd does the same. There are sighs everywhere, and people joke about how they don’t want to do it but have to. It is the worst thing that a crowd can be asked to do, and when the performer eventually gets everyone to come back up for what they presume will be an “epic” moment, all that happens is people stand up and are less enthusiastic than before.
This is my genuine plea to artists: Please stop doing this. Nobody likes it, and I really don’t understand how you can’t tell yet that your audience hates the fact that you make them do it. We have paid a lot for the drinks we end up spilling, and we are not in the business of being told how to react to the music you’re playing.
Not to mention, the average age of audiences is going up. A lot of festivals are now attracting crowds with people over 50 in attendance. Lisa Edgar, the chief customer officer at Saga, said in an interview with the Guardian that this enthusiasm is because of a changing perception surrounding getting older.
“There has been a societal shift in behaviour,” she said, “Demographics and attitudes to ageing. People over 50 represent a larger proportion of the population, and their approach to ageing has moved to an optimistic expectation of the ‘freedom years’ in which they can travel, learn new skills, and gain new experiences – such as attending festivals.”
This is a great thing to read. It means the older generation is keen to engage in new activities after they retire, and you are heartless enough to reward them by making them crouch down against their will. Shame. As a man approaching his 30s, I can confirm that your knees are one of the first things to go, and this unnecessary crouching for the sake of losing enthusiasm is cruel to all of us.
It’s important that creatives consider the reaction to their work but don’t let it interfere with their creative integrity. However, this is one piece of criticism that we, the people of music, wholeheartedly stand by. Stop making us do it. Sincerely, everyone.
