Play The Back

My concert priorities have changed as the years have gone by. In our younger days, we'd hit up any show we could. When we were there we'd make our way to the very front of the stage, toughing out the crushing pressure & wet dog smell from the swelling audience behind us to enjoy an up close & personal concert experience. Nowadays the concerts are few & far between, & when we're at those shows we stay in the back, enjoying our breathing/elbow space. I don't know if it's maturity or laziness, but the urgency to be in the front is all but gone. Last night we saw Atmosphere @ The Fillmore. We got there early enough that we were able to establish a pretty close spot on the open floor before the rest of the crowd showed up. We decided to stay there, & I was reminded why I started playing the back.

In a nutshell, we had to put up with drunken morons bumping everyone around them, spilling their drinks everywhere & trying to get a mosh pit going. I appreciate a mosh pit's energy; if I was a performer I'd love to see that shit but if you & one other person are the only ones doing it and everyone else isn't feeling it then knock it off. Hell even Slug called the dudes out & told them to chill. I myself had 2 confrontations: I shoved some guy after he almost floored the Bs w/ his bumping. The other time I just told another guy to shut the fuck up after he took exception to me talking crap about one of his stoner pals. He did shut the fuck up: about 10 minutes later his drunk ass collapsed on the floor and had to be carried away by his friends. I still enjoyed the show. Atmosphere's mix of live band/turntable instrumentals & old/new songs made for one of the best shows I've ever seen. It was definitely the best Atmosphere show I've seen. Even the elusive Ant has come out from the producer's shadows to work the turns onstage. As for any other hip hop shows I go to, I'll let the mass have itself & enjoy the show from a watchable distance.