My ear still rings

On Friday night, I put aside some of my prejudices and went to see a band called Fleetwood Back. Now i am not normally a fan of tribute bands and I am not convinced that my mind has been changed as a result of that experience.

One thing that the evening reinforced, was my increasing intolerance of the general public. Events like this tend to focus my mind on what is happening around me rather than what I am there for, and as always the audience was complete with its fair share of dick heads. I know that I am easily niggled but what is it about some people that gives them the right to be completely unaware of or uncaring about others. Every public event seems to me to be the same in this respect. There are always those that turn up late, and you can guarantee that their seats will be in the middle of a row, ensuring the disruption of as many people as possible. The same people will probably want to go to the toilet part way through as they didn't have time to go before, and yes, they are the last back after the interval. There are those who insist on keeping their smartphones on; ostentatiously reading their precious texts, oblivious to the bright glare that draws the eye of everyone within twenty metres. There are those that insist on singing along, out of tune and often with the wrong words. Some like to bob up and down in their seats in, or out of time to the beat, and those who leap to their feet at every available opportunity.
Why do I always end up sitting next to the guy who sits with his legs spread as wide as they will go, invading my space and forcing me to spend my time with my knees pressed together and straight in front of me?

The band on friday were of course living in a fantasy world where they make their living pretending to be someone else. They had made great efforts to dress like and even look like their heroes, and from a distance the appearance was pretty authentic, though I confess that when I first saw the faux Stevie Nicks, I thought it was the fat guy from Gavin and Stacey in drag.

Performancewise, they were competent. What they lacked in subtlety they made up for in enthusiasm and sheer volume, and they did get better as time passed. Such a pity though that they did insist on entering into dialogue, in which they stayed in character and a false American accent, badly done is enough to make anyone cringe.

Anyhow - the audience gave them a standing ovation, partly because the band had urged everyone to stand up for the final "Go Your Own Way", but on balance they probably deserved it.

I guess that I am just getting old.