I was section 105 in Oakland and thought it was pretty raucus. No one told me to sit down, as I had been told on B2B and other tours.

LOL JAZZBASS...That guy is straight zombie-ing behind you. I was very close to you in the TP. (assuming that was the 12/15)

I was in the group of ~6 in front of Keef. Waving scarves all night.


As for my original assessment, I may have been a bit harsh. Would like to restate that "select audience members suck" and should have just watched the PPV.

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jazzbass

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swiss
Sononastone -- where were you? Sounds like we were close to each other? were you on the Keith side or the backup singers side?

As for lackluster energy....I turned around at one point to see how things looked -- and spotted this gloomy trio -- so just for the feck of it I turned around when Tom Waits walked out and this is how they looked - I thought it was hilarious! Most people in Oakland seemed to be having a brilliant time, but I really didn't look behind me all that much -- but the Pit was rocking and people across the stage from me.

Here's some video I shot in the

jazzbass - that's hilarious!

I wonder if those corporate comp tickets were offered at the last minute to help fill the arena. They might be folks with Golden State Warriors season tickets, since it's common for corporations to have season ticket relationships with teams and arenas. They use their tickets to entertain clients or to reward employees. If ticket sales had been better, they may not have gotten those seats. Perhaps they were offered at very reduced prices or for free, and given out to whichever customers or employees were interested (barely interested, by the looks of it), just to help fill the arena. It might explain the lack of empty seats for the first three gigs, since all three arenas have sports teams in residence.

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mgshorr
If you were to condense an audience at a Rolling Stones arena concert down to 100 people, this is what you might notice.

2 -- Overwhelmed. Crying at the very front of the TP. (Saw this.)

8 -- Moving, Dancing, Singing along, Clapping Hands.

90 -- Zombies with smart phones. Flat footed. Occasional clap when prompted by MJ.


Its a buzzkill to look around and see everyone standing motionless like they are at some kind of board meeting.

Anyone agree?



Credibility for Analysis:
1. TP on 12/15
2. Lower Level @ Staples

I've never understood the smartphone thing at shows.

90 -- Zombies... who spend the entire show chit-chattign with peson next to them : "so how much did you spend on your ticket...? Me I bought mine in advance and I spent 600 on it? And you.............?"

No time to care for the music!

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mgshorr

90 -- Zombies with smart phones. Flat footed. Occasional clap when prompted by MJ.

keep in mind that some of them deliver the stuff for our DVDs

It's the age of a Stones crowd.
But more than that IMO it is the over-exposure to rock and pop music; the Net and I-Culture that tells us virtually everything at all times about anyone, that has taken any mystic and surprise out of the equation; made the crowds jaded. It has rendered the crowd comatose, when each audience member has seen the band 50 times, knows their life story and shoe-size; has valet parking, and arrives equipped with 'rockshow-fold-out-chair', I-phones; when the band and audience member is over 55; when there is no more smoking, drinking, doping.
I say go rock in South America - they still know what is what.

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sonomastone

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Stoneage
You can wonder though why some people pay a lot of money to watch a band they aren't that interested in. Maybe they are just companions to those who are (fans)?

Because they didn't - they were given the tickets for free at the last minute through some corporate affiliation.

We had incredible seats at the Oakland show and I would say 1/2 of the people near us claimed to have gotten comp'd tickets, including many of those sitting down through most of the show.

The ticket prices were crazy for fans, but corporations could afford to buy them and give them away to business partners and customers... and also write off the cost of the tickets.

I think we've figured it out. The people most likely to get off on the band stay home because of the prices or other logistical impediments (or the perception thereof) and what's left are people with the connects to get a seat but aren't the least bit passionate about live music and are expecting a high gloss production event. This is the result of the band losing touch with it's core constituency of rock n roll fans in pursuit of gross ticket sales.

Someone who's worked hard all week and wants to let loose with a few drinks and some rock n roll will bring way more energy than someone who's showing up because "it's something to do".

maybe it´s because everyone is stone cold sober - iorr sobriety thread

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angee
i think the general crowd reaction makes a difference to the band, and thus, to other people there.

people are such sheep. sheeple.