On the Scene #2

By: Dangerous Doug Harper

 

I recently attended a Weezer and Blink 182 concert in Kansas City, and I was shocked at how un-friendly the crowd of people was there. I have been to a lot of major concerts in my day and even though you are jam packed together everyone has always managed to still have fun and enjoy the show. This was not the case at my recent outing. The two bands have such a different fan base that fans of one band were different than fans of another, and it made for fights, blood, angry young girls, and dumbfound adolescent boys. The Weezer fans including the twenty-four thousand others, and myself were typically older and mellower, unlike the Blink fans. The Blinksters as I will call them after being subjected to the forty-four thousand “I love Travis” t-shirt wearing hoodlums that surrounded me near the stage with the less than expectable concert etiquette that dictated the mood of things that night. Don’t get me wrong they were not actually all like that, but there was a mass majority that were really disrespectful. During Weezers set the band actually stopped the show to help security move the crowd back so they could help someone from getting trampled on, and then near the third song during Blink, I saw a young man fight his way while bleeding from the face and forehead out of the crowd. I have been to Rancid, Korn, Metallica, and Soundgarden concerts in the past, bands known for wild fans, and none were like this. Blink is a happy punk band, not an angry heavy metal band. So with all this said I am going to talk today about how to be a respectful fan at not just the big shows, but at the small ones as well. Its fun to have a crowd of people at an event, but if you see someone trying to get out of the crowd do your best to make way for them. Often times a fan could be overheating from all the body heat or could possibly be hurt or injured and if the fans around each other don’t help one another no one can. Always remember we are all there to have fun, so help one another have fun. Don’t get too upset if someone spills beer on you, it could happen to anyone when lots of people are bumping each other and there is no room to walk. These are all pretty common things that one should try and help to do at events, especially the big events with thousands of people attending. This same attitude can be trickled down to the more common smaller events in our area too, as the dance floor is often times also used as a walkway for the waitress, or the entrance to the restroom, and the pool tables are near the patio doors. Small spaces fill up quickly when a band shows up to perform at area venues, the patrons, and music fans are forced to co-exist in the same fashion as conflicting concert fans were at the event described above. It is my hope that we can all just relax and have fun, if your finishing your meal when the band arrives for sound check, just give them a break and don’t complain that it is too loud, relax it’s only for a minute, and your ears will be relieved. Another scenario is when the jukebox is on, if you are a musician waiting for sound check, just hang tight the song will be over in a few short minutes, and you can get down to business with out disrupting the flow of things. Finally, if you are standing on the dance floor area talking and a couple is dancing have a little respect to move aside and allow them to move freely. These are just a few things that I have encountered, there are many more, but I just wanted to pass them along to help folks be more aware, we all forget to do these things some times, but try and remember next time if you encounter one of these or another similar situation when you are out and about.

 

This week I would like to introduce you to another area band. Worba is an original area metal and rock band that has recently recorded some music and made a video on Youtube. The band includes: from Nevada, on dark vocals and guitar from Aaron Rorabaugh, Jason Hinds on drums, and David Moses Byerly on the lead guitar. The band also includes Clinton Houseman from Springfield, Missouri on bass. They have performed at Capone’s in El Dorado Springs, the Surge in Joplin, Shooters in Nevada, and at various venues in Springfield. Their music can be compared to Type-O Negative, Berlin Drop, Misfits, and Black Sabbath. To find out more about Worba check out Youtube, myspace. Watch for area music events in the weekly Nevada News paper, and check here each week as we go on the scene.