Fanboys and Fights at Concerts

Aggressiveness seems to be a concert staple 

by Chanel Thorpe

Graphic by Sarah Tocci

This fall, Boston has been lucky enough to be the stage for many popular artists, many of whom I am a fan of. During this semester, I saw Cigarettes After Sex, Clairo, and Chase Atlantic, all of which are pretty up there on my list of favorite artists. I also missed out on other concerts I would’ve loved to go to, like Beabadoobee, Charli XCX, and Troye Sivan. 

However, this season was not only the season of concerts but also the season for fights at concerts.

Concerts seem to be getting increasingly aggressive, particularly at those where the artists are widely popular. At various Clairo concerts, fans talked about how people started arguments over trying to push their way through the crowd to get to the front. Trying to get to the front of a favorite artist’s performance isn’t necessarily anything new, but it is aggravating when many of the people in the front waited in line for a while to get that spot in the first place. 

Fans online also talked about how others shouted at Clairo to play “Sofia,” a song she hadn’t played in years. Instead, she said she is promoting her new album, Charm — and I think it could be as simple as having more songs now that she may be more proud of, and want to share more. 

At Billie Eilish’s Madison Square Garden night three concert, when she asked for everyone to get silent for an acoustic performance, a man yelled, “Billie, give me a blow***!,” which is beyond abhorrent, and one could only hope that she didn’t hear it at the moment. 

I saw a fight break out firsthand at a Pink Pantheress concert back in the spring—which is shocking because you’d think that fans of Pink Pantheress would reflect her chill music. The fight all started because a girl had hair accessories that kept poking another girl. The argument escalated when one of the girls’ boyfriends joined and some of their friends also started arguing. It was a mess and they had to be escorted out before Pink Pantheress even came on stage. 

At the same concert, I had to keep switching spots with my sister because a guy in front of us jumped up and down the entire time and kept bumping into people around him. The guy was with his girlfriend, who stood in front of him, and she looked uncomfortable. Another person even asked her if she was ok and she just nodded.

What could be attributed to this seeming increase in aggressiveness and inconsiderate behavior, towards both the artists and fellow fans, at concerts? Maybe it’s because concerts are so high energy already, or perhaps the overconsumption of alcohol. 

While I’m not sure what could be done to make concerts a more enjoyable experience with fewer fights and aggression, sometimes you just have to go with a good friend and make the most of it.