"‘Forgotten how to behave’: comics say audiences more abusive post-lockdown"

[BritishHobo]

This is a Guardian article today, discussing whether audiences have become ruder in the wake of COVID:

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2022/apr/21/forgotten-how-to-behave-comics-say-audiences-more-abusive-post-lockdown

I've not been to many comedy gigs since the pandemic started, although I've found audiences at the cinema seem to have gotten worse, fully not giving a shit about anyone else. The few comedy gigs I've been to, I have seen occurrences of people doing that infuriating thing of not even heckling, but just engaging with and responding to the comic as if they're  in a one-on-one conversation. It does my fucking head in, disrupts the flow of the set, and throws the comedian off, but it's not new. It seemed to be becoming a regular thing back before the pandemic. I remember it ruining the atmosphere at quite a few gigs at the Machynlleth Comedy Festival in 2018 and 2019. As much as I'm excited to go back to Mach next weekend, I'm slightly dreading that. And if audiences genuinely have got worse, more obnoxious, less bothered about social etiquette, then I'm doubly dreading it.

What do people think? Rather than derailing the new stand-up thread with this, I thought it deserved its own topic; have any of you found audiences to have gotten worse since COVID?

[Thomas]

As a performer meself, gigging at least once a week since the beginning of 2022, I've found that giddy drunkenness seems a bit more commonplace now. Couples thrilled to be back out, drinking loads in the first half and then trying to join in with the headline act - not a marked increase in abusive heckling, but more attempts at banter and conversation, exactly as you put it.

I couldn't speak for Nish-level comics in much bigger clubs.

[Rizla]

It's not the pandemic, it's not just comedy - I've noticed over the past few years that punters, a huge percentage of them, either don't know or don't care about any sort of notional "etiquette" and will simply wander onstage and attempt to take over at the mic, or just stand in front of you trampling on your cables going "wahey", or shout requests  at you while you're singing (requests for S4C, every time, quite often for a song you've literally just played or in extreme cases are in the act of playing at that moment). People are, in general, and especially when pissed and at play, giant narcissistic attention seeking baby idiot cunts.

[Kankurette]

It's the same with musicals and plays. People being chucked out of musicals for getting wankered and singing along too loudly, fighting, talking through plays, etc. Doesn't help that a lot of jukebox musicals in particular seem to cater to the drunk hen party market.

[DrGreggles]

Not post-COVID, but audiences have definitely become more cunty in the last 10-15 years - music and comedy.

[Rizla]

Don't even get me started about dickheads filming with their phones, that is in the realms of pure insanity. Just imagine pulling out a camcorder at a gig in the pre-smartphone era, or standing in front of a singer in a pub or club and pointing a tape recorder mic or a camera at the stage with a soppy grin on your face like a fucking CUNT.

[sutin]

Don't even get me started about dickheads filming with their phones, that is in the realms of pure insanity. Just imagine pulling out a camcorder at a gig in the pre-smartphone era, or standing in front of a singer in a pub or club and pointing a tape recorder mic or a camera at the stage with a soppy grin on your face like a fucking CUNT.

You what mate?

[Pink Gregory]

Don't even get me started about dickheads filming with their phones, that is in the realms of pure insanity. Just imagine pulling out a camcorder at a gig in the pre-smartphone era, or standing in front of a singer in a pub or club and pointing a tape recorder mic or a camera at the stage with a soppy grin on your face like a fucking CUNT.

There was a gent at a few shows I went to five or six years ago that *did* do that.  Proper camcorder and everything.  He did have the decency not to have a backlit viewfinder though.  He didn't really seem to bother anyone, somehow.

[sutin]

Human beings I don't understand...

1. Those who are somehow bothered by the presence of camera phones in public places

[Kankurette]

Filming the odd bit of the gig, fine, but the whole thing? You're hardly going to get great quality on a phone.

[sutin]

Filming the odd bit of the gig, fine, but the whole thing? You're hardly going to get great quality on a phone.

Sure, but if people want to do it who gives a fuck.

[Kankurette]

I do give a fuck when they're blocking my view tbh. Or continuously shoving me out of the way.

[Poirots BigGarlickyCorpse]

Last standup gig I was at was The Dirtbirds in February. Audience well-behaved. I was at War of the Worlds in London on the 9th, all politely clapping at the end of each song and otherwise sitting quietly and watching the show.

[JaDanketies]

Spent a fortune to be miles away from Dua Lipa, looked to the side while something cool was happening on stage so I could have a communal feeling and noticed these other people who paid a fortune were scrolling and typing on their phones. Kept noticing it from then on.

Not as bad as the people behind me who were having some important conversation.

I didn't mind though, it didn't detract that much. It always does detract a little bit though, when others are deliberately forgoing an immersive experience. Was loud enough and well angled enough to ignore it, also the people near me left early so I could move about

[Rizla]

Sure, but if people want to do it who gives a fuck.

Call me old fashioned but I do object to being filmed without permission, whether I am on a stage giving a performance or not. I find it incredibly rude and annoying. Just because everyone has the means to do this doesn't make it alright. I realise that at a big event there's not much you can do to stop it, but in a small venue it's cuntish, entitled behaviour. You're here to see a live show, not take a permanent record of it.

[IsavedLatin]

Sure, but if people want to do it who gives a fuck.

I do, as a fellow audience member. It's distracting in the best of circumstances and takes me out of the moment (and often it's not the best of circumstances and people are behaving like wallies).

[Kankurette]

I might film the odd song, but that's it. I just try not to get too much in people's way because nobody likes having some dickhead shove their arm in their face while they're trying to watch a band.

[Wayman C. McCreery]

Filming the odd bit of the gig, fine, but the whole thing? You're hardly going to get great quality on a phone.

At a music gig, fine. But there's no reason anyone in the audience should be filming a comedian at a show.

It should always be phones off at a comedy gig. Use the interval(s) to check your messages. Easy!

[evilcommiedictator]

Human beings I don't understand...

1. Those who are somehow bothered by the presence of camera phones in public places

You try and film a movie these days, and put it up on PirateBay and see how far you get.
It's paid admission mate, you know, how artists get paid? For doing their act they've spent time on? And someone is trying to steal that and put it on youtube and give youtube the money instead?

[Replies From View]

Human beings I don't understand...

1. Those who are somehow bothered by the presence of camera phones in public places

There's footage of you on strangers' Instagram and Facebook feeds:  "Check out this loser 😂" (no further explanation, 487 likes, 126 shares)

[Replies From View]

Sure, but if people want to do it who gives a fuck.

Because I am there to see somebody perform, not a random person's phone screen illuminating another part of the space, or - especially annoyingly - held up in front of my eyes blocking my view.

It says, "Didn't you hear?  I am the only person in here who matters."  You certainly can see why that would be annoying so why pretend otherwise?

[JaDanketies]

when you're on 300ug LSD and crying at Explosions in the Sky, it absolutely matters if the person next to you starts fucking around with a bright LED display. To say it takes you out of the moment is a massive understatement and if I was hard I would slap that shit outta your hands, but I'm not, so consider yourself lucky

[Phoenix Lazarus]

when you're on 300ug LSD and crying at Explosions in the Sky

My granddad did that. He was lucky to survive the Battle of Britain.

[Replies From View]

And everybody is right about the piracy issue and the entitlement that some people have to film audio record concerts or gigs.

Their attitude is that they paid to attend a live gig so they are entitled to keep it for free.  But these have always been separate and everyone knows it.

[grainger]

Human beings I don't understand...

1. Those who somehow think they're entitled to film everything, often at the expense of other peoples' enjoyment

[jobotic]

when you're on 300ug LSD and crying at Explosions in the Sky, it absolutely matters if the person next to you starts fucking around with a bright LED display. To say it takes you out of the moment is a massive understatement and if I was hard I would slap that shit outta your hands, but I'm not, so consider yourself lucky

Remember when someone on here reckoned they did do that? That was funny.

I never film anything. Wished I had sometimes.

[The Dog]

Dance like everyone is watching, and it'll be recorded forever and is searchable and it'll never be forgotten.

Sing like everybody is listening and its being recorded and stored and can be reviewed later by anyone, even people who you haven't met yet.

Live like you're in a totalitarian surveillance state.

[Replies From View]

I was at a Stewart Lee work-in-progress where somebody whipped out their mobile phone and started filming him; he noticed immediately and told them to stop.  He explicitly said that if they didn't stop filming he would walk offstage and that would be it.  Quite right too.

On another occasion, I think it wasn't a work-in-progress, someone was filming his show so he told them to hand their phone forward.  It was passed down to the front, whereupon he unbuckled his belt, loosening his trousers, took the phone and placed it between his buttocks where it stayed for the entire rest of the show.  He simply said it would appear after the show at the front of the stage in a plastic ziplock bag to be collected.


Daniel Kitson is similarly aggressive towards people filming his shows but he hasn't taken that route.  He just singles people out and through a conversation makes them look like a dick in front of their friends and the entire audience.

[The Ombudsman]

I went to see Jon Ronson recently, first time out in a long while. There was a chap at the front row who had obviously had a skinful who was pestering Jon, trying to get involved with the show. At one point Jon was calling out his Things Fell Apart team for audience recognition and this chap was acting like he was their boss, stood up with them etc. Very odd.

The people sat behind were more of an annoyance. Talking throughout the first 20 mins and eating crisps! Cruncy crackly crisps and crinkling bags the whole time. I did look over my should at one point to give a good glare, as you do.

I find it very hard to hear things (although by no means deaf) so anything like that or chatter just drowns out what I've paid to go and hear. Very annoying indeed.

[Kankurette]

I wouldn't want to film a comedian for the simple reason that they might notice it and start heckling me.