Earlier this month, an incident occurred at a Sabrina Carpenter concert where a fan in the general admission section squatted down and peed on the floor. If you are hearing about this for the first time, I am just as appalled as you are.
However, even MORE surprisingly, this was not the first time I had heard of this occurring at a show in the last few months. In July, another fan urinated in the crowd at a festival (outdoors, but still not really any better). Both instances were filmed and posted to social media, and both fans had to be escorted out of their respective concerts.
This speaks to a larger issue regarding a shift in concert culture. Fans come to shows very early, waiting for their favorite artist hours in advance. Or, in some cases, to get as close to the stage as they can to get the best video or picture, and will also not put their phones down for the entire show.
Once someone has their spot, they can not leave; otherwise, they’ll lose it. The hours of waiting with no water, food and sometimes, the involvement of alcohol and drugs can make people feel sick. In the recent shows I have been to, artists have had to stop their performances multiple times to direct security’s attention to a fan in need. This has happened more frequently in the last few years than in my entire concert-going experience. It begs the question: are venues understaffed in security and emergency services, or are these situations happening much more frequently?
While one of the aforementioned incidents happened in the United States and another in the U.K., it seems there is still a difference in concert culture across the pond, especially according to Ella Warner. Ella saw Gracie Abrams in Dublin in September of 2023 and was shocked by the nature of the crowd: “It was the most respectful concert I had ever been to.
My friend and I planned on getting merch before the opening act, but all the Irish people attending got merch before the opener so they could be seated and attentively listening during their performance. During the actual concert, there was little dancing/ hardly any loud singing, and you could tell they wanted to respect Gracie as much as possible.”
However, her experience was vastly different when she saw Abrams again in Boston in October 2024, a year after her previous concert. Ella shared, “My friend and I are both fans of the opening act, so we were dancing to his music. The girls behind us yelled at us for being too energetic and continued to make rude remarks about us.” Warner saw a noticeable difference between the Boston and Dublin crowds, stating, “When Gracie went on, the audience was so loud we could hardly hear her sing. It was a completely different dynamic to Dublin with completely different levels of respect.”
Ellee Tomaru had a similarly negative experience at a beabadobee concert a few months ago, where the entire concert was General Admission. She explained, “I went to a beabadobee concert at the SummerStage in Central Park. Most of the crowd comprised younger, college-aged and high school girls. The majority were under 5’4” with a few taller people.
So many girls pushed their way through the crowd, their reasoning being that they ‘couldn’t see,’ even though everyone was basically the same height.” She also noticed a trend of filming for the large majority of the show. Ellee lamented, “For every song, every person had their phones above their heads filming, and at times, the only thing I could see were phones, which was crazy. I understand filming your favorite songs, but it seemed like every person filmed the entire concert, which was bizarre.”
Much of what has changed about the mentality of concertgoers has evolved the experience of concerts themselves. While lining up and waiting for shows has long been a practice, many general admission shows’ first come, first serve mentality has become highly toxic. It’s unfortunate for the people who need medical attention during shows, as they lose a spot they probably waited hours for and have to miss the concert experience.
However, squatting on the ground and peeing on the floor because you won’t leave your spot to go to the bathroom is not only incredibly, horrifyingly rude but a literal biohazard as well, and it creates an unsafe space for the rest of the fans. But, the mentality that produces these behaviors is evident: other people in the crowd do not let people return to their spot once they leave it.
Concerts are a place for people to unite, regardless of differences, in a shared love of music. We need to return to a place, as concertgoers, where being present in the experience of the show is emphasized, not how close to the stage you are. Additionally, concert crowds should be a community where people look out for each other, not pee on each other’s shoes. Changing the culture takes a collective shift in mindset, but it can be done.