I’m not a person who can really afford to attend events that distinguish between general admission (standing room) and paid seats. The kind of shows I go to are in grungy DIY spaces that probably lack proper plumbing and definitely don’t have air conditioning. But I’d imagine there’s a plus to purchasing seats. As someone whose joints are definitely aging, being able to recline while you enjoy your favorite artists is probably nice. But what if you want to dance in your paid seat? Is that a no-no? Thanks to a recent thread in Reddit’s r/AmItheAsshole subreddit, we now know that in some places, it is.
Redditor u/DommeSinclair recently took to the AITA community wondering if they had behaved poorly at a Beyonce concert. OP explained that while they are a Houston, Texas native, they’ve been living between the states and Sweden. Apparently, during one of their stints in Sweden, they decided to purchase tickets to a Beyonce show – tickets for the seated zone closest to the general admission area. The crowd, they said, was unlively, but OP decided to stand, dance their butt off and enjoy the show. This behavior led to a couple asking if they could sit down so they could see.
The request, at least from where I’m standing (ba-dum-ching), is more than reasonable. There are certainly medical reasons to purchase seats to a concert, and standing (or dancing) can be disruptive to their experience. Though OP initially complied with their requests, they eventually went back to dancing and ended up being publicly shamed for it by the same people. The experience led them to turn to the Reddit community, who (mostly) proclaimed they were, in fact, in the wrong, and that they should have been more considerate given the vibes around them.
While we can understand both sides, we do find it interesting that the story led to a greater discussion about adapting and respecting other cultures, as well as general concert etiquette.
