STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

I know I have been on a tear with these rants lately, but just want to see what some other people's thoughts are on people at concerts that are loud and annoying - people who sing along loudly, talk really loudly, dance in an obnoxious and invasive fashion, etc.

I am thinking about it because last night I was at a concert at Wolf Trap, a national park for the performing arts here near DC (http://www.wolf-trap.org). It is one of my favorite venues, not just because I have attended various concerts and performances there my whole life (Johnny Cash when I was 5!) but because it is truly peaceful, beautiful, and unique. You can see where this is going, can't you? The thing there is to get a ticket on the lawn and picnic during the concert - wine, cheese, fruit, the whole bit. It's - I hate to use the word, but it fits - "classy." SO we settle in for a quiet night of acoustic music - Bela Fleck, Jean-Luc Ponty, and Stanley Clarke performing as a trio. Not something you're likely to see often. There are these two groups of college kids, I assume (heck, maybe recent HS grads) sitting on either side of us, who at first seemed enthusiastic, but not terribly annoying. I was them once, so it's not like I don't remember. I remember going to concerts and trying to buy beer and lolling around on the lawn with my friends and getting drunk and all that. But these kids got more and more annoying as the night went on, basically regarding the concert as background music for their conversations (and yes, they gabbed on their cell phones) and shouting to one another and running back and forth between the two groups. Every now and then, one of them who seemed to regard himself as the "funny one" would shout something at the band, supposedly as a show of ribald appreciation, but it was just annoying and rude (like "Give it to me, Bela!" "I love you Jean Luc!"). He'd also get up - everyone else on the lawn was sitting or reclining, mind you - and dance this hurky-lerky little dance I recall doing at Dead shows 15 years ago... but it was more like he was trying to show what a "hippy" he was than that he felt the music. Needless to say he was completely off rhythm. The older couple behind him asked him to please move (eventually, they actually got up and LEFT). Anyway, we had to ask them to please be quiet or keep it down several times during the night, to which they responded in one snarky way or another. They were smoking cigarettes, which you're not allowed to do except in designated areas because the venue once burned down, in massive quantities.. just what I want to inhale on a nice summer night. They were also smoking pot, which I didn't mind so much, except that it seemd to contribute to their oblivious behavior. The girls giggled and ran back and forth between groups. I HATED THEM. The security guards stood around and did nothing. You have to understand, this is a quiet, family place, where people lie back on the grass or their blankets, listen to the music, and look at the stars. Those kids completely ruined my evening - not only was I having trouble hearing what the performers were saying between songs, but their voices often overpowered the music and their smoke smelled up the air (one thing if you're in a public palce where it's permitted, quite another when you KNOW it's not allowed). They were just completely immature and inconsiderate. I ended out sitting there not being able to think of anything except how annoying they were, which only made it worse. Another older couple next to us - who had also been complaining - got up and left. We left a little early as well, both because we were tired and because we'd had it.

How do the rest of you feel in these situations? Are you able to brush it off? What's your biggest concert pet-peeve? Does it even bother you?