Concert Culture

A couple of weeks ago, I attended two concerts and noticed something significantly different from concerts in the U.S.

I don't know if it was the artists I saw, or if it was just the overall concert culture here, but let me just say, the general theme was politeness. I can't describe the experience with another word other than polite. 

Some of my friends mentioned going to some upcoming concerts in mid-September and I immediately knew it would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go to concerts in the Netherlands. Luckily, I listened to a lot of the artists coming to the Netherlands, and they were coming to local venues that my friends and I frequent. Some of the artists included COIN, Bon Iver, Kendrick Lamar, Kid Cudi, Gregory Alan Isakov, the Wallows, Still Woozy, Lizzy McAlpine, and many others. My friend Kersten and I bought tickets to see Bon Iver at the Ziggo Dome, and I bought tickets for Gregory Alan Isakov in Utrecht. 

We metroed to the Ziggo Dome on November 2 for Bon Iver. One of the first things we noticed was the manner in which we entered the stadium. At least where I go to concerts - Philly - we just enter in one entrance and then once we're inside we find our section and seats. At the Ziggo Dome, we didn't know we had to enter in different entrances corresponding to our tickets. It was pointless because all the entrances filtered into the same space. 

Bon Iver sign at the Ziggo Dome in Ams. and the Gregory Alan Isakov sign at Tivolivredenburg in Utrecht

Another thing that I noticed at both concerts are how the other concert-goers were so nice. Now, the artists I saw make sad and slow music, so they attracted an older crowd; regardless of this fact, the crowd here compared to the crowds I have experienced in the States were mellow, polite, and understood boundaries. Boundaries in the sense that no one was pushing or elbowing to get to the front. Again, these artists don't really require people to jump up and down and go crazy at their concerts, but seeing them in person would be motivation for people to push their way to the barricade. For Bon Iver, it was like any other stadium with seats surrounding the pit. I was sitting in the seats and everyone around me were so chill. At Gregory Alan Isakov, there was standing room only, but the people left space between each other instead of crowding and stepping over each other to get closer. It was fantastic. 

These two concerts were the quietest concerts of my life. Again, slower music, but the crowd between each song during both concerts were dead quiet you could hear a pin drop. Gregory Alan Isakov, who's from the States, even pointed this out when people started cheering and got shushed. He encouraged the crowd to make more noise, but they remained quiet. 

Gregory Alan Isakov and his band on stage

Additionally, no one sang. No one sang along so I felt weird singing my favorite songs from each artist. Along with this, no one used their phones to video tape. Maybe a dozen of so during the really popular songs, but no one pulled them out or used them between songs. I think it was really cool that everyone lived in the moment, but it amazed me because I think I was the only one with my phone out videotaping some of my favorite songs. 

Maybe about a dozen phones are out, none in the picture on the right, at the Bon Iver concert

Even while we were waiting for him to come out, barely anyone had their phones out

All in all, the concert culture is distinctively different than in the U.S., but it was really cool to go to concerts here, and I know I'll remember them for the rest of my life.