(First off, I feel like I should issue the disclaimer that this isnt a *proper* review, it's mostly just my meandering waffling about a gig I was at last night.)
Right. So. I went to see Iron & Wine and The Low Anthem last night in the marquee in Custom House Square as part of the Openhouse Festival. The marquee is gorgeous - draped in black fabric with fairy lights all over the ceiling, it really is like a night under the stars. Openhouse always seem to do a great job with this event, from what I've seen of it anyway. The stage looked great, the sound was perfect. So no complaints so far. The gig was seated, which is not my favourite thing in the world, for a few reasons. First of all, it means you're confined to one spot - you can't try to move really, if you can't see, and my being a short arse means I can rarely see. The venue was a lot more packed than I was expecting, though it's really my fault for not getting down early enough to get a good seat. Another reason that I don't like seated gigs is that I feel weirdly constrained. I can't move naturally to the music like I normally would, as pretentious and ridiculous as that sounds.
But the worst thing about being seated - at this gig, at least - is that I seemed to have the world's worst gig goers both in front of and behind me. In front of me were a middle aged couple intent on getting completely lit and talking and laughing ridiculously loudly the whole way through the gig. Literally, they didn't shut up. They were pissing off a few people around them, so it wasn't just me, and I really wanted to hug the girl who asked them to keep their voices down, though it didn't work. Then behind me I had another couple who didn't stop talking the whole way through the show. The girl had one of the more annoying laughs not to have been phased out by evolution, and they were talking to each other at full volume, not making any attempt at all to keep their voices down.
All of this would be annoying enough at any gig, but something like The Low Anthem and Iron & Wine, where it's a quiet, mellow, low key sort of evening - they just ruined it for everyone around them. It was a beautiful gig - soulful, touching, emotive songs performed by amazing - and acoustic - musicians. The sort of gig that you normally get complete silence at, which turns it into a wonderful experience - to be amongst a large crowd of people all mesmerized and reverent in the prescence of such artistry. Unfortunately for those of us near these idiots, we did not have such an experience. We had increased blood pressure, as we resisted the urge to visit intense and torturous violence upon these apes.
As for the actual music itself, as I've said, it was beautiful. I don't know The Low Anthem or Iron & Wine very well - I've heard a few albums, familiar with a few songs I've heard on the radio, that sort of thing, but I couldn't really call myself a proper fan. And often at gigs like this, I end up feeling a bit frustrated that I didn't get more into the music beforehand so that the songs would be more familiar. But it didn't seem to matter in this instance - the music just washed over you, bathing you in its serene yet melancholy folky charm. Well, when I could hear it over the buffoons around me, anyway.
Well, this was not meant to be such a rant on gig etiquette. I've vented and ranted about this subject many, many times before. I've lamented why it is that Belfast crowds are like that, as I've been to manys a show where people just cannot shut the hell up (Willy Mason at Mandela a few years back was the pinacle of ignorance in this regard), but I feel like I need to point out that none of the ignorant shitheads around me were Belfasties (Belfastians? Belfastittes?). That's not to say they don't live here, so I suppose it doesn't really make any difference, they were still annoying, but I felt some small modicum of pride that when I walked to and from the bar, everyone else seemed to be quiet enough, so the Belfast audience wasn't all that bad.
So to sum up: music=good, dickheads=bad.
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