Are You Under the Influence of the Individual?

You?

Yes, you.

Until I saw the Dancing Guy YouTube clip, I’ve spent most of my time on Live Fix exploring and wondering about group concert behavoir as opposed to the individual fan impact on live concert culture. When it comes to assessing  fan behavior and determining whether or not drugs and alcohol is aiding their ability to express themselves, the assessing is usually best done case to case, and on a one-to-one basis. 

Getting to know the individual through one-on-one assessment is one of the main goals during individual counseling. It’s what trained psychologists do.  Professional psychologists have seen  hundred (or even thousands) of cases, so when they see person they usually know all the right questions to ask.

I’m always amazed at guys like Dr. Drew who can, in a matter of minutes, ask the right series of questions, thoughtfully and carefully,  to assess and understand what an indivual’s personality is like.  

And once you take the time to get to know an individual and their history, only then can you accurately gauge, whether or not, they’re likely to express themselves a certain way in a non-concert setting–with or without drugs or alcohol.   The benefit of getting to know the individual is that you’re able to better determine if what their expressing at a concert is aided or enhanced by drugs or alcohol, or if it’s just pure human emotion in all its glory.  

That said, I haven’t been able to ask these types of questions to Collin, or get to know what he’s like outside of the concert environment.  But if I was to take a guess, I would say he appears to be the kind of guy who obviously loves to respond to live music without restrictions.  And he’s not that interested in starting,  or being a part of swarms at concerts, either.  If you know Collin, or know how I can get in touch with him, please let me know.  I’d love to get to know him and his perspective, too.

Endless Summer of Expression

From Sasquatch to Pitchfork Music Festival, so far it’s been a busy summer filled with festivals that are teaming with interesting fan behavior.  After Collin’s swarm video, my radar has been up.   And believe me, I’ve seen several other displays of dancing fans that didn’t have the same swarming impact. But nonetheless those dancing fans didn’t care that they were the only ones jigging out. I’ve seen fans twirl hula hoops with abandon. But so far the one scene that’s stuck with me the most(for obvious reasons) has been the one during Matisyahu at Rothbury when I saw a naked couple prancing around in all their glory.

What types of interesting fan behavoir have influenced you this summer?