2002-11-02 - 3:25

Lucy

Okay, I need to ask a question. It may be semi-familiar to Liam, since he recently emailed me about the same topic; but it is on my mind because of tonight.

Why do you fucking pushy chicks at concerts believe that I should consider you more important than me?

Don't get me wrong. It's not that you shouldn't have the opinion that you're more important than me. Hell, I think I'm more important than everyone in the world. However, I don't expect anyone else to share my opinion. You, for some reason, do expect that I'll agree with you.

Otherwise, you wouldn't think that by paying the same seventeen dollars that I did, you're entitled to demand that I move out of your way because you deserve to be at the front of the floor. Well, demand that after acting on the theory that five minutes of elbowing me in my back would magically transport you to the front, before you stooped low enough to speak to me.

Guess what? If again we cross paths and again you petulantly tell me that you want to be in the front, again I'll tell you that you should have shown up four hours ago, like I did.

Oh, and those of you who want to move to the front because you have friends there? Tell your friends that next time they should by the VIP tickets that come with twenty-five square feet of reserved floor space. The rest of us are stuck buying tickets that entitle us to the ground we stand on and, depending on the generosity of those around us, slight elbow room.

My next request is for those of you who are at the front and who decide that you just can't stand still between acts, so you say "I'll be back" to your boyfriend and disappear until the music starts again. Please do not say "sorry" as you attempt to elbow past me on your return path. Considering that you are following your stated plan, it is obvious that you are not "sorry." This disingenuousness is even more evident when you repeat the trick during the next break.

Amazingly enough, it is a very fair system. When you bought a ticket like I did, it had a number on it. 9:30. That wasn't a set of random chicken scratchings. That was the time that the club doors were to open. You know, that time when I was lined up outside and you were sitting on your ass at home.

Guess what else? The floor was empty when I came through the door. Anyone who wanted could have stood directly in front of the centre mic. In fact, if you wanted to be at the front as much as you claimed, that is where you could have been. To be very safe, you could have even stayed there from 9:30 PM until the show ended, sometime after 2:00 AM.

Now, given those facts, it's obvious that I am standing in front of you because I put in more effort and made the decisions that would put me in that spot. Kindly bear that in mind when deciding what you are entitled to and how you should interact with those around you.

Having said that, the Atmosphere concert tonight was absolutely amazing. Local openers Applied Science started off solidly and ended very fierce. Sixtoo was somewhat aloof in his businesslike instrumental set, but he dropped some unique sounds that I really enjoyed. Brother Ali displayed great versatility and a tremendous ability to engage the crowd. Finally, Slug, Blueprint, Murs, and Mr. Dibbs combined for an incredibly intense set. I'll have a glowing review added to my web site, soon.

As an added bonus, despite the unusually high proportion of pushy chicks, the crowd was one of the best that I have ever seen at an Ottawa club. The energy level was top-notch all night, although not all were able to keep up when Dibbs broke out a little Sabbath and the mosh commenced.

Oh, and I did step back near the end of the night to let some short girls by me, so that they could see the finish better. Oddly enough, though, their move wasn't preceded by repeated elbows and attempts to shove by me.

Cause and effect, folks.

J.