American Crowds at Bon Jovi shows
 

I'm based in Singapore so no bias, just curiosity.

I don't quite know how to phrase this but why is it that the American crowds at Bon Jovi shows seem to be absolute trash but not at other concerts? By trash I mean standing/sitting around, beer holding, looking disinterested, no waving hands in the air etc.

Like I've never been to a Bon Jovi show in the USA but based on this forum and YouTube videos they seem to be reaally boring and are apparently the reason Jon puts less effort into US shows (does he really or is this is just bias from Europeans?).

I've seen Train numerous times in the US and in Singapore and the crowds at those concerts didn't suck. Is it just a Bon Jovi thing? If so, why?

This topic had been discussed many many times before so I won't bother going into it again, but one thing..

In some ways it might actually be Bon Jovi thing, or at least an issue with an artist with a similar fanbase such as one Bon Jovi have (a large casual one, only after the hits and a night out).

A band like Iron Maiden, who very rarely bother with singles, chart placements etc, can play multiple new tracks or obscure album tracks live and the rabid fanbase will lap it up. A fanbase like that consists of more diehard fans.
A rock/pop orientated singles band such as Bon Jovi with a lot of simple, catchy and generic songs will also tend to attract similar 'fans', and these type of fans will vastly outnumber the diehard fans..which is the case in some territories that the band play.

I do not want to go into nationality and which countries have better crowds and why etc, as that's been done before and never ends well on here...



Andi

How many times do we need to discuss this?!

IT'S NO SECRET THAT AMERICAN CROWDS AREN'T AS GOOD AS EUROPEAN, SOUTH AMERICAN, OR ANY OTHER FOREIGN CROWDS!

/thread.

it seems more casual fans than die hards attend as has been said,i've seen them numerous times in the states and it's more like a night out than a gig,the women especially getting dressed to the nines,mind you i was at the Milwaukee show last tour and the crowd was excellent,loud and more like a european type.

It's been discussed a lot, but the basic bullet points:
1. There are a lot of casual fans at US Jovi shows, who go for a "night out" experience than for a concert. Though that's not a Jovi-specific thing. Most "classic" acts draw those kind of crowds in the US, even Bruce to an extent.
2. Age. I don't know if crowds are skewed younger in Europe or the social norms of concerts are different, but the older a crowd is, the more sedate they tend to be in the States.
3. Seats. Most American arena shows have seats on the floor (in fact in a lot of places they legally have to)*
4. Musical culture clash. Jumping up and down, signing along, standing, being generally energetic are stereotypically associated with (for lack of a better term) young punk kids. In fact, that type of behavior can draw shouts of "sit down and enjoy the show" in my experience. And I don't mean over the top annoying stuff either, just normal concert behavior. Bamboozle last year was a perfect example of said culture clash last year.


Basically, you have a lot of people (not all obviously) who go for the experience of a night out with drinks, dinner, and Livin' On A Prayer as opposed to more die hard music fans.

*I don't think the seats issue is as big as some people make it out to be. I've seen other bands play seated arenas and the crowds have been absolutely apeshit.

Brian outlined it perfectly. Also, men and women in the US, tend to be more reserved as far as showing their emotions at a concert outwardly, but that doesn't mean they are not into the show.

The answer is soooooooooooooo obvious....we get drunk more in the uk...and drunk = dancing around like an idiot :drinking:

Thanks for the detailed responses. Crushgen24/88, thanks for providing that fantastic summary of points. Same to Andi. who picked up on another important point.

To summarise, there are a variety of reasons that crowds at US shows are different from others. The whole concert is treated as a different experience, more of a "night out" than a specific rock concert that us die-hards would expect.

The floor seating doesn't help I guess. I have tickets for Soldier Field and was surprised to be assigned a seat and row whilst booking tickets for the floor section. I hope this doesn't mean that I get told to sit down repeatedly by people behind who can't be bothered to stand,

Furthermore I'd like to think 8 rows from the front is pretty close to the die-heards and where all the standing/fist pumping/jumping will be. As Crushgen24/88.mentioned I hope I don't end up in a Bamboozle like situation where I'm the only energetic kid (18 now) around and being told by others to sit down.

As you guys can tell i'm more nervous than excited for my first Bon Jovi show!

A LOT of it has to do with the euro's self entitlement as better fans and crowds in general. I have been to a ton of shows in the USA, and the seating structure definitely doesn't help the cause, but from the second the lights go off everyone stands/dances/shouts at the top of their lungs until the show is over. I remember a video from last tour in europe where jon and richie were playing never say goodbye on the circle, and the video was just everyone around them yapping and you could barely even hear jon and richie. Those "disinterested" fans are everywhere.

Also, you wont be told to sit down, unless you stand on your chair screaming at the top of your lungs like my mother does.