No more gigs for me

I hope all my stories have been funny or had a bit of humour to them till now. Something has really bugged me for a while now and I thought I’d write about it. Considering nearly all my readers would be young dudes, it’s appropriate that I bring up this topic here maybe, as it may help to change some views (if you have them).

I’ve always prided myself on being against any “isms”. Sexism, racism, homophobia, etc etc.

Well, now I face some new shit!

Fkn “agism”, and one part of it really gets me.

I’ve always loved me live music and have been to heaps of gigs over the years. Used to see INXS when they were unknown and free to see. Saw Black Sabbath supported by a new unknown band called AC/DC, (which was an awesome double) Alice Cooper etc etc. Tons of gigs.
More recently, my boy Alex is a hot drummer and I spent five years or so going to all his gigs, including his rock school gigs, summer school gigs, statewide rock challenges, youth events etc, heaps of them. So I’ve been in touch with a zillion other young guys and their bands because of that involvement eh.

I had a whole bunch of things happen to me suddenly, and it seemed to happen one gig after an other and it has put me off my music, which really, really cuts me.

I’m at a big gig in Launceston, been all day gig and it’s getting dark, I’m just standing there getting into the music when a young chick about 17 or so comes up to me, gives me a little rub on the arm and says “enjoying the music are you”?, and gives me a little smile. I just look at her and say “yeah”.
In between bands it’s gone quiet, another chick bout the same age comes up to me. Again, the same condescending little rub on the shoulder and “having fun are you?”. She said it in a bit of a yell, really loud cause maybe at my age I can’t hear properly. “yeah” I say.

While later I’m at the next gig, same thing, (always the condescending pat or rub on the arm), “having fun are you”. Then another chick, little rub, “its good to see an old person having fun”.

WTF? FK OFF!!

I’m just at a gig the same as you, getting into music the same as you, dammit!!

Been listening to triple j ever since it started and it was just a sydney station called double j. It’s the ONLY radio station I’ve listened to for 30 fkn years cos it’s awesome, plays cool music, and supports and promotes aussie bands like no other radio station.
One day on the morning show when it was “Miff, J, and The Doctor” on, they are talking bout music and gigs and music festivals etc. Suddenly the Doctor says, “what is that when you go to a gig or festival, there’s youth everywhere raging to music, and suddenly you see some 50 year old there?. What is that? What is some 50yr old doing there? Its creepy! They should’nt be there!”

WHY THE FK NOT??

Alex’s band made the rock challenge final and I went to it of course. Kids pouring into the venue, heaps of older mums and dads as well of course to see their kids perform. When I go to go in the doorman pulls me aside and asks me to wait cos he has to talk to me. I wait till he’s free and then I get a barrage of questions. Why am I there? Do I have a kid in a band or what? Do I know any of the band names? I answer his stuff and he lets me in. I walked in thinking “that was weird, what was that about”? After a while I go out later on for a smoke. As I’m about to go in, the same doorman says “I have to ask you some more questions”. He asked me what my sons band name was, could I name the other band members, could I name some other bands there, could I name my sons school, etc etc. After I answered all his stuff he let me in again.

As I’m walking in approaching the crowd and stage it hits me. He’s asking me all this stuff cos maybe I’m a predator, maybe I’m a pedo trying to score!

Dudes, I stood there staring blankly at the band playing, I genuinely felt numb, I felt like kids would be lookin at me wondering why I was there, I couldn’t even hear the music, I felt like shit, I felt like I shouldn’t be there, I just wanted to leave and disappear. I felt really horrible and dirty, and had no right to be there. It was weird, all these experiences happened within a couple of weeks. Up to and just before these nasty events I had seen,

Grinspoon
The Herd
Behind Crimson Eyes
End Of Fashion
The Living End (awesome live)
The Hilltops
True Live (cool as)
The Uprising
Bliss n Esso
Girling
Kid Kenobe
Antiskeptic
Shihad

Can’t remember a bunch more, plus a shitload of young unknown bands.

How many have I seen since the last rock challenge?

Fkn none!

How come?

Cos society won’t let me!

Recently a Launceston pub started doin hip hop nights once a week.
Was gonna be True Live and Bliss n Esso on the one night, WOOT!, fkn have to go to that was my first thought!!

Then, oh, better not, that would be REAL bad, a fkn 50yr old at a hip hop gig? What the fk is HE doin here??

You gotta be 50 to really understand of course.

It’s really fkn screwed that I cannot go to another gig ever, unless it’s some old school band with old dudes there. Unfortunately I don’t do old school, and old school gigs are not me, so that is the end of my live music scene. I really can’t do it, I feel like crap if I go.

you should come to melbourne, see my band. i can have a word to the bouncers to let them know you're coming

You might have missed something open, you can talk to the bouncers, but it wont change ppls attitudes eh. I want to go to a gig cos I'm into live music, I don't want to go and feel like shit. I don't want young dudes being condescending and patronising me, and seeing if the "old person" is having a good time eh. It's not the same as someone just saying, "good gig, or good band eh".

what if you get really really drunk, does that make it any better?

i think the point that you're missing is that you ARE going to see the music. who gives a f*ck what some young retards think. I'm young, and I don't care what I think. Music is about enjoyment. I've been to plenty of gigs where I quite obviously don't fit in with the rest of the crowd, doesn't mean you should just not go.

and yes, alcohol always helps

Mate, you cant begin to know how it cuts me to have the comments aimed at you that I wrote about. When you get to 50 or so you can move into "dirty old man" age, and that crap levelled at me at alex's rock challenge gutted me, as well as the comments on jjj. When I say I stood there feeling numb at alex's gig it was no exaggeration.
Just ignore ppl.....not that easy. I am only at a gig for one reason, cos I like the band I've gone to see. Really dont need patronising and condescending pratts rubbing the old guys arm eh. If ppl ignored ME, then that would be good. aaahhh

maybe if you go dressed as a dirty old man people will avoid you

I went

Found this and thought it relates to this thread!


you know your old when,,,, <
You’ve come to the annoying realization that your parents were right about almost everything.

The bag boy volunteers to help load groceries into your car—in the “ten items or less” lane.

You’ve stopped supporting your children, and started supporting your parents.

You’ve found yourself discussing rain gutters.

You remember your kid’s names, just not always the right one.

You have nightmares about forgetting to move the garbage cans to the street for the garbage collector.

Your high school yearbook is now home to three different species of mold.

You buy “age-defying” makeup and “antiwrinkle” creams and believe they work.

You’ve realized that all those geeky people in Bermuda shorts walking around Disney World include you.

You recognize Led Zeppelin songs that have been turned into elevator Muzak.

As a public service, you have agreed to never appear on the beach in a Speedo again.

You’ve had three opportunities to buy every single Disney Animated Classic—“for the last time in a generation”

You’d pay good money to be strip-searched.

Wal-Mart and target seem to share your fashion sense.

The only way you know to stop a virtual pet from beeping involves the patio and a sledgehammer.

You can pack two suits, Five shirts, five ties, five pairs of underwear, five pairs of socks, a pair of shoes, and half of your bathroom into a carry-on bag—in less than five minutes.

You know what Earth Shoes are.

You think if you hear “Stairway to Heaven” one more time your head will explode.

Your weight-lifting program seems to have no effect on your muscles, but the veins on the backs of your hands are bulking up quite nicely.

On Saturday night, when your wife mentions “hot oil, a little friction, and squealing,” you tell her you’ll have the car looked at first thing Monday morning.

Thats messed up Fodder. I don't think there is anything you can do about plenty of the ignorant people out there... so i guess if you want to keep going to gigs you need to put aside that crap feeling you get and just go. Don't worry about what others say - they're probably stuck inside their own little bubble and are unable to comprehend things from another person's perspective.

I can't exactly empathise with you because I've never been treated like that (mostly because im only 18 lol) but I sympathise. Being accused of crap like that is just wrong. Don't give up on music though mate.

Ha ha manx, funny as, you got a whole book of that shit or what, tons of that stuff lol.

Cheers Pacman, yeah, gay as eh.