The Struts with Barns Courtney

This was one of the strangest concerts I have been to in a long time.  It didn’t have much to do with the bands but the audience.  My friend, M., and I get to the House of Blues, Anaheim, only a few minutes before Barns Courtney went on.  Apparently, it was a sold-out show, and it was packed.  We find a spot towards the back to stand. 

Moments after we park it, an older woman comes by and starts pushing me out of the way.  I’m in my 40s so someone could say I’m an older woman, but she had to be in her 60s.  She pushes me and goes to stand behind me.   I was shocked and so was M. I don’t remember what I said, something basic like, “Don’t push me.” M. turned around and immediately got in her face, calling her a bitch.  The older woman goes to grab my friend’s face.  Now, I hop in asking how fucking old she is, telling her we are not on the playground, and to keep her hands to herself.  A large man, D., standing next to us, saw what was happening and jumped in.  This woman was there with her husband/partner/date for the night.  He tries to grab her around the waist to pull her back to prevent her from pushing or maybe hitting us.  D. starts yelling at the husband to take care of her and to get her out of there. 

The couple stays a little longer, where the woman proceeds to tell me I can’t stand where I’m standing.  After talking to a few other people around us later that night, she told all of them they couldn’t stand where they were standing.  I guess she continued to push up against M., who then threw an elbow back at her.  Soon after the couple left.  I don’t know if they left the show or just found a new place to stand.

Some young chick, standing next to me, had one of the stories about that woman.  We chatted for a bit.  One of the things I told her was that I was not about to get thrown out of the show for starting a fight with someone.  It’s just not worth it.  Another guy, A., behind us was observing everything and watching how it all escalated.  He was yet another that was told he couldn’t be where he was.  He commented that watching what was going on was the show; screw the music.

The large guy, D., was quite funny, and I started talking to him.  Quickly, I could tell that he was into me.  I have my lover in Tulum, so I had to diffuse that situation as nicely as possible.  We continued to talk a bit throughout the show but not the same vibe as before I mentioned my Tulum lover.  At one point in the night, he was standing slightly behind me, and grabbed my hair.  It wasn’t rough, but it was weird, to say the least.  A. even noticed and asked if he pulled my hair.  We were talking to that guy in between bands, and he had some funny stories.

I don’t really like Barns Courtney and didn’t really like him at the show.  There have been a few times, that the artist just has such a great show, that I change my mind about them.  It didn’t happen this night.  He was good in that he crowd-surfed and really got in the audience.

The Struts were a lot of fun and had a great performance.  The lead singer was talking, telling stories, and they all around rocked.

Another strange thing about this show, was that both singers went out in the crowd with the microphone; however, the microphone was corded.  The grips and other stagehands were feeding the wire out into the crowd and reeling the singer back in like a fish.  It is 2024—they do make wireless mics.  What year were we in with the technology?