Obviously I love concerts and I always have a good time no matter what, but I can’t deny that there are some things that I frequently see or experience at concerts that drive me crazy. Most of them have to do with people in the audience rather than the show itself. An annoying audience can distract from a good concert.

People who stay sitting during the main act get on my nerves. I know sometimes it might be due to a medical issue so I never say anything, but there are some cases that make me mad. Like when I’m in the third row and the girls in front of me are sitting down, ON THEIR PHONES, clearly not paying attention in the middle of the concert. Why bother paying for close seats if you don’t even care about the concert?

I know it can depend on the act and the genre of music but people sitting down during a show is weird to me. When I sat alone at a concert for the first time, the people in front of me and in back of me were all sitting down for the whole show. I felt like everyone was watching me because I was the only one standing and dancing throughout the concert. This has never happened to me personally, but my cousins went to see Charlie Puth in concert and the people behind them who were sitting actually asked them to sit down so they could see. I’m sorry, but if you’re planning to go to a concert and sit, you need to be prepared to have your view blocked.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, another one of my pet peeves is little kids who stand on chairs. Some of the acts that I’ve seen like Big Time Rush and 5 Seconds of Summer have young fans so I’ve had to deal with this multiple times. I support bringing your kids to a concert, but just because they are kids doesn’t mean they should get special treatment. I have spoken up politely about this at concerts because both times the child was directly in front of me standing on their chair and blocking my entire view. Parents, please don’t let your kids do this.

This next one may not happen often but I’ve seen it before. People who take other people’s seats to try and get closer shouldn’t be allowed at concerts. When I went to see Halsey with my sister and her friend, there was a boy who was alone sitting next to me during the opening act. He left at some point during the break between the opener and Halsey. During Halsey’s first couple songs, there were suddenly two girls next to me. We were all feeling very squished in the row so we knew something was up. This was annoying because we had to deal with it when we were trying to enjoy the concert. I asked them over the music if these were their seats and they didn’t answer. We then caught a glimpse of the boy from earlier on the other side of them. My sister’s friend called them out and said “This is our friend’s seat, you have to leave.” It was clear they weren’t supposed to be in this row and they left with only a few dirty looks. Don’t try to pull stuff like that because it makes you highly unlikable and chances are you’ll get caught. 

My last pet peeve doesn’t have to do with the audience and their behavior, it has to do with opening acts. I usually don’t mind opening acts. Sometimes I have gone to concerts mainly for the opening act like when Little Mix opened up for Demi Lovato, or when Ed Sheeran opened up for Taylor Swift. Even if I don’t know the opening act, I still try to be a respectful audience member during their set. However, if there is more than one opener, that’s when I get annoyed. When I went to see Jake Miller, he had three openers and it drove me crazy. When he finally came on stage, almost two hours had passed since the concert had started. Personally, I think if you’re paying to see someone in concert, the opener shouldn’t outnumber the main act. 

While I never let these occurrences ruin my concert experience, they are things that happen too often for my liking. What are your concert pet peeves?