The Ethics of Crowd Etiquette

Owen N

Until last month, I had never heard the words “concert crowd etiquette” being used to describe anything more than simply respecting the performers onstage. Now, some are defining it as the expectations for how audiences are meant to react to the music they’re hearing. 

On August 30th, the ‘Sco had its first show of the year, played by a perfectly on-brand act for Oberlin, Wishy, who are an up and coming shoegaze band from Indianapolis. Being the first show in ‘Sco programming, and the first that the class of 2028 would see, I assumed it would be packed. What I didn’t expect was how energized the crowd was by a more low-key indie rock band.

 ‘Sco shows are known for variable crowd response for less well-known acts, yet this band had the entire venue dancing to mid-paced, hazy tunes with fuzzed out guitars and airy vocal parts. So, when it was announced that renowned slowcore outfit Horse Jumper of Love would be playing, I assumed the crowd response would be even more jubilant. 

I couldn’t have been more incorrect.

Horse Jumper took the stage after Austin indie rock band Teethe, who played to an almost motionless audience. I figured the crowd’s low energy was natural: people were coming to see Horse Jumper of Love, and there was a line out the door for the duration of Teethe’s set. By the time they started playing the lulling, beautiful opening chords of “Snow Angel”, the room had filled up completely. The band played through solid renditions of their new material, which deviated very little from the studio recordings. The band hardly ever bantered with the audience apart from the occasional “thank you.” 

Standing by the foot of the stage with my friends, I turned back to see people making unsuccessful attempts to get the crowd to move. This band had a line out the door for them, but were performing for a crowd that was standing completely still. As Horse Jumper of Love concluded their performance with their ethereal new song “Lip Reader,” the crowd seemed slightly more enthusiastic, yet remained completely motionless. I left the concert satisfied, but confused about how the crowd had responded. Who expected people to dance to a slowcore band?

The following morning, I heard glowing praise for the band’s performance in tandem with complaints about the crowd and people having a lack of “concert etiquette” for not dancing during the show. These were relatively new complaints - previous indie acts who gigged at the ‘Sco such as Radiator Hospital and Sidney Gish elicited similar crowd reactions, and it wasn’t until now that standing still during an indie rock performance was considered abhorrently disrespectful. Indie bands that stop in Oberlin on tour get large amounts of hype, but that doesn’t always have to translate into an energetic live show. More often than not, the most attended concerts at Oberlin (that I’ve seen) were more laid-back rock bands and singer-songwriters. Is the “concert etiquette” discourse simply a product of a new wave of students coming here? 

Whatever the root of it is, the concept of “concert etiquette” as an unchanging standard for how to treat live performers isn’t productive. The energy and charisma of the people performing is naturally reciprocated by the audience, and having one common standard for what a “good concertgoer” looks like would only exist if every live act were identical. Part of the beauty of what makes Oberlin concerts worth going to isn’t just the diversity of the acts, but also the massive array of different energies at each live show (part of the reason why the Cat in the Cream/’Sco events foil each other so well). Bands of critical renown and student hype inevitably draw the largest crowds, but the reason for Oberlin’s massive diversity of live shows in the first place is to satisfy the tastes of some 3,000 people. The ‘Sco’s roster of artists performing is notably full for so early in the semester, and with concert programming beginning at the Cat, there will undoubtedly be more incredible artists for people to dance to and stand still and listen to alike.