Well, back in December of last year, I experienced "concert rage" and had to leave as soon as possible (which happened to be during the break) in case I started to harangue (jmdm. eine Standpauke halten) the two women sitting directly in front of me.
It was like this. I had finally got to go to a concert that I thought I was going to an entire year before. I was a bit down in the dumps in December 2023 and saw a Christmas concert given by local singer Tom Gabel being advertised in an e-mail. "Oh," I thought. "That might cheer me up." I'd seen him on stage before and knew how good he was. When the ticket came through the post, I realised that I wouldn't have to wait just two weeks for the concert, but 54 weeks instead. Doh!
Anyway, I was really looking forward to the Christmas concert to put me in a good mood and, I have to say, the Savoy Theatre was packed out. It was heartwarming to see; it seemed that the social-distancing of the pandemic was now a thing of the past.
However, as soon as he and his band came on stage, some women (I didn't see any man do this, so I'm not being sexist), some women whipped out their mobile phones, held them up and started filming. Including the two women sitting right in front of me.
Don't people realise how incredibly distracting it is to have lights coming on and off in the darkness of the auditorium? Apparently not. Growing up in the UK and having studied in Manchester and having worked in London, a single woman has to be vigilant and on constant guard. A sound over there, a light over here - they draw your attention and make you check what's happening. Is there someone hiding in the shadow of a doorway? Don't go too close to a van or large car in case a door opens and you are dragged into the vehicle. I am not kidding. This is the level of vigilance we female students at Manchester got used to during our studies.
However, the distraction of the light from the phones was not the stupidest thing about the situation. No, what was really stupid was the fact that the women were holding up their phones to film the concert, and watching the concert on the phone - to make sure they were filming properly. I wanted to scream at them, "Women, put the bloody phone down. He's standing 15 metres in front of you. Live and in the flesh. And you want to watch the concert on a small screen. ARE YOU MAD?"
That made me so angry that as soon as it was possible to do so without disturbing the others, I left. It was a shame as Tom Gabel really is a good singer - in the style of Frank Sinatra. In fact, if you close your eyes, you can persuade yourself that you're listening to Ol' Blue Eyes in the flesh.
I have another ticket to see the Rat Pack (obviously not the originals) in May. Let's hope that there's a classier audience in that concert hall.
In the meantime, here's a video of Tom Gabel singing. Enjoy!
Start with the second song here:
No comments:
Post a Comment