So I just got back from a small concert and I am not sure I am doing concerts right

Oh well then I definitely did that

I don't hate people, just the drunk asshole that spilled his beer on my leg.

also wanted to mention: dont show up at doors unless you REALLY love the band. on a 3 band bill, i might skip the first band, catch the end of the second band, and watch all (or most) of the headliner. this way youre only on your feet for a couple hours.

The company I work for forces us to stand for 7-8 hours.

Yeah that is an on going issue for me, 6 hours seems to be my limit before the pain becomes too much.

I hate living in this capitalist death cult hell hole. Even the public thinks it's stupid we have to stand.

You may like an outdoor festival instead. You can get as close to or far from the stage as you like and you usually can bring your own seating. They last all day and can have multiple stages with food and vendors in between so if you get tired or overwhelmed you've got somewhere to go recover. You get exposed to a lot of bands in a short amount of time so you can get an idea of the different ways they perform and may discover music you enjoy.

Some 2 or 3 day festivals offer camping on-site and keep the music going from 12PM to 2AM. Being surrounded by music like that for days in a row lets it start to feel like a normal thing instead of the condensed experience of a concert.

I guess I feel guilty taking a spot

I do enjoy the live music at the local cafe and you bring up a lot of good points. This time I figured I would do it sober but edibles definitely improved things last time. I did play with wearing and not wearing the ear plugs and still had a hard time making out the words, though I was fairly close to the stage so that may have played a big part in that.

I'll have to take that into account next time, though the openers were pretty good this time around. Just wish I could make out the lyrics, lol. But like the original replier said, I might just need to stand near the sound booth.

Yeah it seems like cruelty for cruelty's sake. Though I have never been particularly fit so maybe more active people can handle that no problem.

yeah, the closer you are to the stage, youre getting more of the "stage sound" and less of the "room sound". many bands use in ear monitors(earphones) rather than wedge monitors(speakers on stage). so basically you have loud drums, and probably loud amps, but the vocals are coming from speakers further away from you.

Affordable tickets to a festival would be my main hurdle but it is definitely on my bucket list.

Talking at shows doesn't really work. If you're able to carry a conversation, chances are you are being rude to the people trying to listen.

There are many ways that a concert can go wrong outside of the performer's control. All of these have happened to me:

1. Bad audio engineers. Too loud. Poor EQ.

2. Venue sold too many tickets and it's too crowded to dance or even stand comfortably.

3. Incompetent management results in poor logistics. E.g. long lines making people miss the show.

4. Venue itself just has poor acoustics that can't be fixed.

5. Crowd has assholes. People putting their phones up to record the whole time blocking your view. People shoving their way to the front. People not understanding how to behave in a mosh pit and hurting someone. People doing so much DMT that you can't breathe without smelling it.

6. Venue failing to provide free water.

Don't let that sour you on concerts though. I've been to way more good shows than bad ones. Usually if you find a good venue, it will stay good. Some performers are even so professional that they eliminate all possibility of the aforementioned issues by having their own staff take care of everything.