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CBC Radio 3 Exclusive: Fans Ruin Feist Show (for me)

CBC Radio 3 Exclusive: Fans Ruin Feist Show (for me)

Posted by Pedro Mendes on May 28, 2007
I went to the Feist show last Saturday night at Massey Hall in Toronto. She was fantastic. The band was fantastic. Gonzales (who opened for her) was fantastic. But all that was ruined for me and my wife Marijke thanks to the loud and obnoxious fans seated right behind us.

These yokels insisted on singing along - loudly - to every single song. Feist would move into a beautiful, melodic moment, taking her time with the lyrics, but the girls behind us would start singing the next line before she did. The dude even whistled during guitar parts. Whistled! Who whistles at a concert?

After the first song, Marijke turned around and politely asked them to not make so much noise. They looked at her like she was crazy. A few songs later, Marijke turned around and told them we paid 50 bucks to listen to Feist, not them. They only got worse.

Now let me say this: at a festival or a club, whatever, it's a free-for-all. But in a big soft seater, shut up and let us hear the artist.

We ended up leaving before the show was even done. Thanks for ruining it for us, jerks.
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  1. royston
    01

    Re: CBC Radio 3 Exclusive: Fans Ruin Feist Show (for me)

    Posted on May 28, 2007 by royston
    Next time just punch the jerk in the balls it works every time
  2. Brock Rothschild
    02

    you ain't whistling dixie...

    Posted on May 28, 2007 by Brock Rothschild
    I agree 100000 times over... My wife and I went to see Amy Millan in Edmonton and people were talking about cheese, phoning each other (as a joke they were side by side) and not even looking at the stage; which is annoying since they were right in the middle near the front... go to the back or hang out at Chilli's or wherever the hell you people like to congregate before stumbling upon this neat little club you want to see... ARGGGH is right. People pay money to see the band not hear your voice AND for God's sake turn off or leave the cell phones at home... it's a concert and you're not important!!!!
  3. Lauren Burrows
    03

    Re: CBC Radio 3 Exclusive: Fans Ruin Feist Show (for me)

    Posted on May 28, 2007 by Lauren Burrows
    I agree, to a degree. When the audience is seated things are generally more subdued.

    But, I must admit that if there is an opportunity to sing along, any opportunity, I'm there.

    BTW, did anybody rush the stage to get up close?
  4. neuromancer
    04

    Re: CBC Radio 3 Exclusive: Fans Ruin Feist Show (for me)

    Posted on May 28, 2007 by neuromancer
    I was at that show, and I guess I lucked out. Aside from a few juveniles antics, the people around me were quite good. It really was the kind of show which demanded (perhaps to Feist's protests) complete and total silence, because the music was just that damn good.

    Maybe it's my age, but I'm increasingly annoyed with the 'kids' at most shows I go to. At a Decemberists show a few years ago, these people behind me didn't like the quiet, acoustic set that Colin was playing, so decided to chat about other concerts instead. I didn't quite turn and punch the jerks in the balls, but I was prepared to, and I gave them an ear-full.

    I never felt older or less hip.
  5. Colin Medley
    05

    same thing happened to me...

    Posted on May 28, 2007 by Colin Medley
    when i saw arcade fire a few week's back, also at massey hall, four people who were in the row in front of me pretty much ruined the show for me. they not only sang along LOUDLY to every song, but they would talk during the quiet parts ABOUT THE SONGS ("this is such a good song!"). oh, and they would act all dramatic as if they were the lead singer in an opera, arms outstretched and everything. and their average age was probably 25 years old. i couldn't believe they would have such disrespect for the people around them.
  6. JoeGinClark
    06

    Intervention

    Posted on May 28, 2007 by JoeGinClark
    OK, I'd be pissed if the tone deaf dude next to me was loader than Feist, but you can't bitch about people singing along to Arcade Fire - they're called anthemic for a reason.
  7. Grant Lawrence
    07

    let's actually use the damn seats!

    Posted on May 28, 2007 by Grant Lawrence
    I agree that there is nothing wrong with youthful enthusiasm at gigs, but I also have a completely different take when we get the rare chance to see a band in a soft-seater.

    For those of us that have been to a million rock shows in gross venues painted black and reeking of booze, seeing an artist like Feist in a soft-seater is an extremely rare treat.

    I had that opportunity the other night at Vancouver's gorgeous Orpheum Theatre... but my issue isn't with the audience, but with FEIST!! About two thirds of the way through an amazing show, she said "ok everybody, time to get out of those comfy seats" as she ripped into the bluesy Bo Diddley rocker "Sea Lion Woman". Everybody got up, and a lot of people rushed the stage and started dancing. The song was amazing, as was the crowd energy. Everyone could get right up close to Feist which was great. The problem began when she finished "Sea Lion Woman". She then said "let's slow things down".

    For the duration of the show, we were forced to remain standing due to the domino effect of people standing at the front, causing every single row in the theatre to stand. Slow tune followed slow tune. Sitting, they would have been gorgeous tune after gorgeous tune, but my rapidly aching feet became a distraction and I became annoyed. My ass desperately wished it was actually using the soft, red velvet seat it so rarely gets to press against.

    No.

    For the rest of the night, every one was forced to stand, right through the encore.
  8. hornkins
    08

    What about clapping???

    Posted on May 28, 2007 by hornkins
    Forget singing along or standing up - the jerk next to me at Feist's show in Regina insisted on clapping loudly throughout the show - and he couldn't keep the beat!!!! I swear, he was clapping so loud he slowed the band down. Totally ruined the whole experience for me. Jerk. I already ranted once on community radio, but this post re-ignited my rage!
  9. Lisa Christiansen
    09

    Re: CBC Radio 3 Exclusive: Fans Ruin Feist Show (for me)

    Posted on May 28, 2007 by Lisa Christiansen
    Live shows are for live people. If you want quiet stay home and listen to a CD. Or save up your money and hire your fave artist for a private show. I don't mean to sound like I don't want to hear a show, but I expect that people will sing and clap and do things that are loud and maybe even disrupting. I can't imagine anything worse for an artist than to look out into a crowd and see people sitting as if they are at a lecture. Of course I'm usually the one doing all the bad stuff at shows. And at some point I will yell "play some Skynyrd." And no one was more suprised than me when Yo-Yo Ma launched into "Freebird."
  10. TheRadioHead
    10

    Pretty sure I'm done with soft-seat shows......

    Posted on May 28, 2007 by TheRadioHead
    I was as anxious to see Chad Van as I was Feist, but everyone just talked right through his set.
    Two women (who seemed more suited to a monster truck rally) sitting in front of us were screaming "Feist! Feist! Feist!" like they were Romans at the Colosseum. Oddly, thankfully, they left after she played a couple of songs. The people behind us complained all through the show that it sounded like Christmas music.
    I'm sticking to smelly clubs with 200 seats but where patrons take their music seriously....


  11. retinaburn
    11

    Annoying singers

    Posted on May 28, 2007 by retinaburn
    I was at Massey for the Bright Eyes show a while back and it was a huge dissapointment. Youngins talking to each other and singing along loudly combined with a horrible sound mix (first balcony, its frickin massey hall, spend some time to ensure the audio is setup properly!) ruined it for me.

    Feist on the other hand sounded amazing, there was a few girls sitting somwhere behind us (again first balcony) could be heard occasionally, but for the first half of the set I just thought it was an echo. The only downer of the concert was the lights for the disco ball, they shined directly into our eyes whenever the cranked those puppies up. Some serious lack of foresight on the part of the crew.

    If you go to a concert keep your singing to yourself, you have the cd to sing along too on the way to and from the concert. And clap along when other people clap, even if you can't keep a beat, otherwise sit on your hands or have someone else sit on them.

    Other than that it was amazing! :)
  12. Andrea Gin
    12

    Truer words...

    Posted on May 28, 2007 by Andrea Gin
    This discussion makes me think of the classic Sloan lyric from Coax Me:
    It's not the band I hate, it's their fans.
  13. Mark MacArthur
    13

    I'm sorry I was so moved

    Posted on May 28, 2007 by Mark MacArthur
    Some times supressing the urge to dance, clap, or sing-along is damn near impossible.
    I know some people out there get frustrated by us for being so moved by music we forget our social graces, but really - forcing people to sit on their hands (or remain sitting in general) at a live music show borders on cruelty.
    However, If I start discussing cheese - or if I answer my cellphone during the set - by all means, give my sack a hearty punch.
  14. Zoom
    14

    cbcradiold3

    Posted on May 28, 2007 by Zoom
    complaining about concerts...yikes...
    People are excited! Did Feist complain?
  15. MAK
    15

    Review of the show

    Posted on May 28, 2007 by MAK
    http://www.chartattack.com/DAMN/2007/05/2805.cfm

  16. Timedend
    16

    50/50 and the art of zen

    Posted on May 28, 2007 by Timedend
    I agree. I disagree. I have no opinion.

    I just went to Arcade Fire on my birthday in Burnaby at an outdoor venue where I almost lost my voice I was singing so loud. That is probly the best way to see a show--outdoors. I danced, jumped, moshed, screamed, sang, laughed and clapped hanging off every moment as if the end of the world was imminent (HA). But for sit down theatre shows i understand i wouldnt be doing all these things it just makes sense. Yet I went to see Bob Dylan at a sit down show and i felt like a caged animal. There were a lot of middle agers looking at each other, every time i tryed to show some enthusiasm, with disgust. I held myself back out of respect but as another mentioned it felt so cruel like the whole point of seeing these amazing artists is defeated by in way of keeping up with social ettiquettes in which we, or i, turn to the arts to get a breath of fresh air and a break from this mundane system of caste and iron. But i did respect the other and remained quiet until the encore where 'rolling stone' and 'all along the watchtower' curtailed my conformity.

    A sidenote i felt i should mention is about modern day culture here, where our ego's are overinflating toward a unsafe degree. With the internet's and other forms of multi-media having the ability to make our opinions and sense of self grow perhaps irresponsibly, even bigger then ever, a lot of people in a concert setting will feel as though they are quite important forgetting the concept that selflessness can be very enrichening. All in all we, especially in N. America, we may feel like we are each celebrities and such, and we stretch our sense of ourselves beyond reason in which we forget about one another as if we are the same thing going through the same things. It's like a sense of natural affection toward one another is negated by our modern day ways.. This is separation..

    me vs. u
    us vs. them

    we are all ironically one..

    Peace in the hearts of us all and..
    LOve uNDer WILL
  17. Craig Norris
    17

    The Venue Dictates...

    Posted on May 28, 2007 by Craig Norris
    As much as it pains me, I have to agree with Pedro and disagree with Lisa. But it's a venue-specific disagreement. I saw Feist at The Hillside Festival in Guelph a while back and, in a festival atmosphere, singing along was encouraged.
    But, when Feist chooses to play soft seat theatres where the acoustics dictate that the audience is relatively quiet, then that is what is expected of them.
    It's a tough row to hoe. My band has played its share of soft seaters in the past couple of years and the main complaint from diehards is that "it's not conducive to dancing, etc." While I agree, There are plenty of places for you to catch a band while they lay down that vibe.
    Would you sing along loudly to a Tony Bennett show at Massey or the Orpheum?
    All I know is that I suffered through Pedro's excitement for weeks (literally) during the run-up to this show. I feel badly for he and Marijke. Even thought I've never met her and am not sure she even exists.
  18. Timedend
    18

    WWIII

    Posted on May 28, 2007 by Timedend
    Or perhaps we need bombs to calm us all down..

    Truly I say to you---I am sorry for us the dinosaurs roam the earth..
  19. Grant Lawrence
    19

    Dear Lisa: Sit down and SHUT UP!

    Posted on May 28, 2007 by Grant Lawrence
    Something tells me Lisa would not be yelling out requests and acting like Deaner from FUBAR at the Feist show!

    All I am saying is I wanted to sit in the damn red velvet chair and Feist denied me of that rare rock luxury due to the strange pacing of her set list!! That is my only issue. If Lisa wants to stand and sing along and clap like Forrest Gump at a peace rally, that is her business. Just get a seat in the balcony!!

    Sure, I had three dorks behind me wondering if Feist was dateable, but I managed to ignore them because yeah, it was, in theory a rock show and I knew there would be some chatter.

    Hell, I mean sure, I was sending text-messages but ONLY when Feist said "everyone hold up their cell phones! Whoo!"
  20. Mark MacArthur
    20

    Dear Bands

    Posted on May 28, 2007 by Mark MacArthur
    Dear Bands,

    Please consider the addition of a queue-card girl to your shows. This will help us know when to get excited and when to listen intently. Perhaps you could lead by example and sit on the stage when you would like us to “settle down”.

    Or perhaps you could have some programs printed up prior to the show. They could highlight what songs may be good for us to get into and which are best to quietly meditate upon.

    I, for one, am getting tired of the antiquated idea of spontaneous audience reaction in rock and roll.

    Yours,
    The die-hard fans.
  21. michael.tyas
    21

    water

    Posted on May 28, 2007 by michael.tyas
    I'd have drenched them with water and started a riot, then slipped away just like Jesus did.
  22. Pedro Mendes
    22

    Last time I open my big mouth

    Posted on May 28, 2007 by Pedro Mendes
    my first post, and see what happens? maybe I should have gone with my Israel/Palestine rant instead.

    one more thought, to all those who speak of freedom and expression: do you smoke in theatres? in airplanes? at Massey Hall? No. because we have all agreed that your "freedom" infringes on my health.

    and like I said at the beginning of all of this: we paid $100 to listen to Feist, not to her fans. if she chooses to play these kinds of venues, at these kinds of prices, the freedom to hear her perform is what most of us demand in return.
  23. michael.tyas
    23

    Poor Pedro

    Posted on May 28, 2007 by michael.tyas
    I agree with you Pedro, don't be sad.
  24. Lisa Christiansen
    24

    Deaner here...

    Posted on May 28, 2007 by Lisa Christiansen
    True, I wouldn't be competing with the act with my audience feedback, but my expectation at a show is to have some fun. And I'm sorry Pedro and Craig, but my idea of fun is not sitting quietly in a theatre showing how respectful I can be to my fellow patrons.
    I saw Queens of the Stone Age at the Orpheum and did not sit in my seat past the second song. I stood up front and quite possibly - I now see - may have ruined people's big night out. But I'm not sorry. I had an amazing time standing and singing...and being a live music fan! And I don't think the band was the least bit upset either.
    But then maybe Mark is on to something, and a list of rules can be clearly posted. And I'll try to abide...
  25. Silvorgold
    25

    Re: CBC Radio 3 Exclusive: Fans Ruin Feist Show (for me)

    Posted on May 29, 2007 by Silvorgold
    Wow.. that's not fun... I've said "wooo!!!!" in between songs or whatnot, but I've never been that bad... not that I think of.

    The only real problem I ever had was when I saw Alice Cooper (bug me all you want), and I was sitting 4th row on floors.. and this jack **** who wasnt even sitting infront of us.. he was from wayh behind us decided to walk up to a row infront of us and stand.. ON THE CHAIRS infront of us... I paid $40 for those tickets and this guy and his girlfriend were infront of us.. ouch... I was mad... but thankfully it wasnt long.. security asked them to step down from the chairs (he was easily 6 feet tall or more... taller than me..) but this happened a few times through the concert.. he got back on the chairs later in the concert.. but it was a good concert.. I've had friends/family meet him at random places (golf courses/etc) and said hes one of the nicest people you ever meet.. so it all makes up for it, and heck alot cheaper than my $200 "The Who" concert I paid for where I had lousy seats plus my friends who paid half what I paid got better seats than I did... but ugh..
  26. tb3
    26

    there's a few simple truisms here to learn folks…

    Posted on May 29, 2007 by tb3
    1. Red, crushed velour seats = be quiet and respectful… in fact pretend you are at a library or play "adulty" type games like "Shut Up".

    2. No seats, a small venue filled with douchebags you'd never want to go over to their house after school to see their Star Wars figure collection = Get up, stand up, shout dance and scream along (if you have trouble with this notion buy beer. By the pitcher. And after the first few gulps, it will be your dancing/jumping partner… which you can spill to 'lube up' the floor for the "moshing" (aka jumping around suburbanites occasionally grazing a fellow suburbanites… yah it's just like the kind of moshing that happened at a DRI show)

    3. Outdoors = Carte blanche! Feel free to strip down to your birthday suit and act like monkeys in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Note: someone else's VW camper van makes a good monolith… but do know that you will look like an escapee from the African Lion Safari.

    And this is the most important of all:
    4. A show that I buy tickets for = Don't go. Everyone. That means all of you. That would be great. When I go to a show, I don't want to see, touch, smell or hear any of you. You're all soylent green to me.


    Seriously though… to some extent, I agree the venue dictates to some extent what you can and should expect out of the fellow concert goers. But I gotta say Lisa makes a valid point in that as soon as you allow for other like and not like minded individuals congregating in a place, you have to allow that not everyone is going to act within the boundaries of what you deem appropriate. The only true way to enjoy anything exactly like you want to is to stay in your house and avoid people.

    Or download leaked movies on the internets.
  27. tb3
    27

    Pee Ess

    Posted on May 29, 2007 by tb3
    Is that Jason Mewes below the "Play Mushaboom" speach bubble?
  28. John Paolozzi
    28

    Re: CBC Radio 3 Exclusive: Fans Ruin Feist Show (for me)

    Posted on May 29, 2007 by John Paolozzi
    Jeez. I leave for a few days, and come back to a nigh riot.

    Seeing as Pedro works for a rock and roll station, I think it's safe to assume that he isn't suggesting that everyone sit politely throughout the show.

    Are you guys who are arguing that he drove in from Squaresville honestly saying that there is no limit to how one should behave at a sitdown show?
  29. reaching out and touching no one
    29

    bad breathe

    Posted on May 29, 2007 by reaching out and touching no one
    I hate it. The chubby, bearded hipster guy behind me in Regina had salami breath and insisted in getting all up in my collar space. He wouldn't stop talking about the delicate beauty of Emily Haines and how Broken Social Scene leaves him stoned and sobbing gently. If people are going to chat all throughout an expensive concert (i.e. more than $10), they should at least brush their mouths out with Crest.
  30. reaching out and touching no one
    30

    bad breathe, part deux

    Posted on May 29, 2007 by reaching out and touching no one
    P.S. Like a really bad pic rotation on your Flickr account, Feist's song selection was almost engineered to deny the emergence of any sort of continuity, momentum or excitement. Her band seemed repressed, too. Almost creepy. Like they'd been molested.
  31. Mark MacArthur
    31

    Reply to John

    Posted on May 29, 2007 by Mark MacArthur
    Of course there is a limit. For example, I now know bringing along my homemade cowbell is a touch over the line at a Rufus show.

    In honesty though, eveyone realizes there is a line - however, not everyone has agreed where that line is. Who gets to choose which line we use to measure bad manners? Are we really at the point where clubs needs to supply "shhhhh bouncers"?
  32. Grant Lawrence
    32

    OxyMORON!

    Posted on May 29, 2007 by Grant Lawrence
    Lisa - how dare you compare a mostly whisper-quiet Feist show with a Queens Of The Stonehenge Show?!? Go clean out that bong because you're delusional! Should I see you at a concert in the future I will tell the ushers I saw you peeing in the lobby, behaving like Rae Dong Chong in "A Quest For Fire".
  33. McDougal
    33

    Re: CBC Radio 3 Exclusive: Fans Ruin Feist Show (for me)

    Posted on May 29, 2007 by McDougal
    amen to that. should have been at the vancouver show where the crowd was civilized.
  34. John Paolozzi
    34

    Re: CBC Radio 3 Exclusive: Fans Ruin Feist Show (for me)

    Posted on May 29, 2007 by John Paolozzi
    I don't think anybody is suggesting that "shh bouncers" be hired.

    I think though that Pedro is hoping that a good shaming on the internet will serve to get people thinking that "hey... my way of enjoying the show appears to be invasive, and maybe I should knock it down a notch.
  35. Sunshine Dick
    35

    Relax

    Posted on May 29, 2007 by Sunshine Dick
    Sorry Pedro.
    That was my niece sitting behind you.
  36. sdrury01
    36

    Can I fart?

    Posted on May 30, 2007 by sdrury01
    I agree with you Pedro...and what's sad is when you point out to an asshole, that they are bothering you and acting like an asshole, they will act like you are being rude for pointing that out to them and then they will continue to act like assholes, but do it even louder...why...because they're assholes, that's what they do. So, if someone is singing loudly or talking and ruing a show for me...can I fart? I'm having fun, I'm enjoying the show, I don't want to hold it in, I wanna let it all out, I want to fart...I want to fart with the bass drum...if the smell bothers you, F**K YOU, it's a show and I'm having fun, tell me to stop farting and I'll fart even louder...I may even shart I'm having so much fun. Hey, I paid to see a show, you paid to see a show, but I do whatever the hell I want. Screw You!
    There's enjoying a show and having fun and then there's just plain obnoxious and stupid. That's pretty much why I don't go to shows...there's always...ALWAYS someone, and chances are, I wil be right next to them.
  37. Radio 3 Staff
    37

    Re: CBC Radio 3 Exclusive: Fans Ruin Feist Show (for me)

    Posted on May 30, 2007 by Radio 3 Staff
    You just made me blow waffles out of my nose.
  38. Timedend
    38

    2012

    Posted on May 30, 2007 by Timedend
    2010 RIOT Vancouver!

    Then 2012 RIOT World

    Then Husha Husha We All Fall Down!

    With My Lightning Bolts A-Glowing I Can See Where I Am G-Going!
    You Better Look Out Below!




    Okay, really in all honesty of anything that resides inside the truth... N. Americans debating audio levels of music fans at shows while the world is in this state (eg. the bees cannot find there ways home!) is like spinning plates...............just like spinning plates!
    And this just feels like....


    Sorry I ordinarily do this.
  39. Alise
    39

    Re: CBC Radio 3 Exclusive: Fans Ruin Feist Show (for me)

    Posted on Jun 04, 2007 by Alise
    I was at the Friday show, on the 25th. Yes, this was the more "subdued" night but still, there was nothing like as bad as what was mentioned. No-one were shouting out stuff, or singing inappropriatly, and after everyone danced on, and next to the stage, they sat down politely.
    Total respect for Feist.
  40. Alise
    40

    Re: CBC Radio 3 Exclusive: Fans Ruin Feist Show (for me)

    Posted on Jun 04, 2007 by Alise
    I was at the Friday show, on the 25th. Yes, this was the more "subdued" night but still, there was nothing like as bad as what was mentioned. No-one were shouting out stuff, or singing inappropriatly, and after everyone danced on, and next to the stage, they sat down politely.
    Total respect for Feist.
  41. Alise
    41

    Re: CBC Radio 3 Exclusive: Fans Ruin Feist Show (for me)

    Posted on Jun 04, 2007 by Alise
    I was at the Friday show, on the 25th. Yes, this was the more "subdued" night but still, there was nothing like as bad as what was mentioned. No-one were shouting out stuff, or singing inappropriatly, and after everyone danced on, and next to the stage, they sat down politely.
    Total respect for Feist.
  42. Alise
    42

    Re: CBC Radio 3 Exclusive: Fans Ruin Feist Show (for me)

    Posted on Jun 04, 2007 by Alise
    I was at the Friday show, on the 25th. Yes, this was the more "subdued" night but still, there was nothing like as bad as what was mentioned. No-one were shouting out stuff, or singing inappropriatly, and after everyone danced on, and next to the stage, they sat down politely.
    Total respect for Feist.
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