Concerts are for Listening!

I went to a country music concert about a week ago and was quite a bit confused and disturbed by what I saw...the largest amount of stumbling drunk people that I've seen since being a college freshman (and I usually didn't see people this trashed, even in the dorms). I understood that I was disgusted by so many grown adults getting so drunk in public (and I'm no puritan either), but it seemed to go further than that.

Teaching my college class and instructing my students on how to listen to the sounds of music, nature, themselves, etc., gave me a chance to reflect on that concert experience. There are many different purposes of music. There is music for parties, music for working out, for meditating, for cooking, for cheering you up, for learning more about the world, and music just for itself. And you can choose what sort of "ears" you want to engage the music with! It's quite an interactive experience from my point of view.

Now, I understand people drinking a couple of beers to loosen up, or to cool down on a hot day. A couple of beers might even make the concert experience more enjoyable. But what I don't understand is people (several hundred people...thousands?) drinking several beers, getting stumbling drunk, violent, and belligerent while meanwhile, talented musicians who practice their craft several hours a day are onstage performing for them. As a musician, this just seems so disrespectful.

That's all for today, just a rant, letting out a little steam.....