Gigs, and why I hate them.

Music is a pretty defining quality in friendship.
Almost all of the close friends I have like the same music (more or less) as I do. Some are a bit more indie than others, some are a bit more metal, but basically we are all "rock" type people.

Even at uni, most of the friends I made (and there were some exceptions) were rock people.

I wonder if this is a common experience?
My friends and I tend to have many different interests outide of music. Some love football, some couldn't care less. Some are great photographers and artists, and others like dinosaurs and rocks.

And I'm not saying that we all like the exactly the same music. Some of my friends like dubstep, some like jazz, some like chart stuff, but we find common ground at rock music.
Put it this way; we are all more Reading Festival than Creamfields. We are more likely to pay attention to Kerrang Awards than MOBOs or BRITs.

Last night Funeral for a Friend played at o2 Shepherds Bush Empire in London.
I am a big FFAF fan, and perhaps unsurprisingly, so are most of my friends. They all went, and I didn't.
And I didn't go because I do not like gigs. I especially don't like gigs where I have to struggle to get home afterwards. It just stresses me out and I hate it.

I love listening to live music, don't get me wrong, but being a fan of rock music, mean it's always likely that at any given gig I am likely to find myself standing next to some 6'6'' 30 stone tank who heightens his enjoyment of the music by flailing his arms around and smashing into people.
Unfortunately, whilst his enjoyment is heightened, mine is vastly diminished. Not because I'm worried about getting hit or anything, but because instead of enjoying the band my mind is constantly thinking about whether I need to move out of the way of the behemoth in the XXXXL t-shirt.
I quite like a mosh pit if I don't give a crap about the band and I'm not wearing glasses. Unfortunately because of my dislike of gigs, this is a rare occasion.

I don't like the standing around before the gig starts with a bunch of dickheads trying to barge through me and get three inches closer to the stage. I don't like the crowd squeezing together so that you're basically standing on one leg. That isn't how I like to listen to music.