Built to Spill, Good; Audience Members, Not So Good

Gothamist is getting old: At the Built to Spill concert last night, we were irked beyond belief by the white-hat type frat boys flailing around and yelling "Slayer!" or "Black Sabbath!" in the poorest ironic way possible (maybe irony should be dead), while their idiot girlfriends decided to emit ear-piercing screams for the hell of it. Gothamist is contemplating a cranky old man style letter to Irving Plaza ("In my day...") but we know this is just the natural passage of time. This is why we worry about our nation's youth.

Other than the fools, a solid concert as always by our boys from Idaho.

Built to Spill's encore cover: The Clash's White Man in Hammersmith Palais.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in Arts & Entertainment on September 27, 2003 1:23 PM

Comments [rss]

Coolfer

Yes, there are certainly drawbacks to a band becoming more and more popular. I tend to see bands that have not yet attracted the cheeseball frat-boy element, so (thankfully) I'm a bit sheltered from those experiences. Otherwise going out would be such a drag. The BRMC show did have a character or two, though. One guy in front of me acted like he hadn't been out of the house in six or seven months. Between every-five-minute trips to the bar, the guy would raise his hands and scream and pump his fists. I thought I was seeing Motley Crue in 1986. On the other hand, it's hard to argue with a guy like that. He was excited to be there, and he wasn't going out of his way to be obnoxious or rude to people. No cell phone chatting or yelling out stupid song requests. He was just a little...umm...celebratory.

janelle

i, too, often wonder if it's my growing old and crochety... i notice more and more people behaving badly at shows: talking on cell phones during the headlining band, drunken dancing/flailing and air guitar (!), stepping on my toes, etc. unfortunately, i think it's really just because kids these days have no manners or sense of common decency.

joey

I wouldn't yell that, they'll actually play it. Last year in Boston, BTS did 3 shows at the Paradise, and closed with Freebird each night.

joe d.

I went to a built to spill concert this week as well and had roughly the same thoughts. Especially when compared to other concerts I've been to recently (grandaddy, eels), the frat factor is way up on BTS. Next time, rather than be bummed out about it, I'm going to buy a white hat, drinks lots of Natty Light, and yell Freebird during the encore.