I'm six foot five and weigh in at about 16 stone and generally think that means I should stand at the back.
Am I wrong?

Do you mean to say that people are expected to *stand* at Concerts by popular beat combos these days? Oh dear, that won't do. That won't do at ALL.

I'm six foot five and I prefer a "mid-gig" position at standing gigs, near enough to get a good view, not so close that I'm like yankeeragu standing at the front - I'd feel like a bit of a bastard if I did that. One thing I have noticed is that if the gig's a kind of nostalgia gig (ie. band been going for more than 20 years), I am taller than everyone else at the gig, and especially the women, who all seem to be the shortest women ever born, and all appear to be standing just behind me. But, if it's a contemporary band, there are way more people just as tall as me.

I'm 6ft 5 and am getting a bit tired of people pushing me in the back at gigs and asking me to move. And it's happening more and more. Here's the deal - if they ask nicely, I'll move. If they lean into my back and push me, I'm going nowhere.

I mean, what are tall folk supposed to do? I know everyone says it must be great to be tall and to see everything at a concert. Well, maybe it is but think of what it's like the rest of the time.. There are venues in Dublin (the Olympia and the National Stadium are two that come to mind) where i am (literally) unable to sit. There just isn't room for my legs behind the seat in front. And what about buses and airplanes? Next time any of you feel compelled to ask a tall bloke to move out of their way at a gig, think about what it's like for him to fly to America or Australia and have no room to move his legs.

If tall people aren't going to be catered for by venues and travel companies, don't expect us to move when you show up later than us at a gig and start bleating on about us being in your way..

I think the tall people rather overestimate the direct relationship between viewing position and time of arrival. We short arses invariably find that if we are in any position other than squashed up against the barrier, some beanpole will get between us and the stage with just minutes to go.

This has been an issue all my gig going life, I'm tall over 6 ft tall (only shorties obsess about every inch!) the original poster is frankly obnoxious. I m consistantly aware I might be blocking someone's view and am happy to step aside for shorter types (within in reasons). I am always amazed that my gig companion for over 20 years still bothers as when I duck to his height not only you can't see but the sounds muffled. I would be up for an area at front for the short, wheel chair users etc I would enjoy the gig more knowing everyone else is.
My only caveat is as always that the obnoxious student who tapped me on the shoulder to move in front, the other day at british sea power gig and then proceeded to talk and texted should grow up(i took the opportunity during the "mosh" to reclaim my postion, petty i know but well).
So let's be nice at gig,

Part of the tall/fat cabal, I find it intensely irritating ot be treated as some sort of freak by diminutive gig-goers who think my size means i should stand at the back - or possibly even outside the venue. I'm fed up of being poked, pushed and prodded bcause I like to stand near the front.

And as for plane flights....I've recently returned from a trip to the US aboard (spit) Virgin, where I had to fork out 50 quid extra to have a seat which didn;t cut off the circulation to my diabetes-knackered feet, or give my some strain of DVT. Bleeding typical of grubbing capitaist scumbags that they wish to make moolah from my height. Have a pop at me for being fat, but. bleeding heck, I can scarcely help how tall I am. String up Richard!

Nope - David. Airlines across the globe seem to have settled on a 'one size fits all' policy on economy travellers. Fine for the rest of you but it sucks for us tall guys. But hey, don't think twice about it- the risk of us gettng DVT pales in comparison with the chance that you won't see the lead singer's every move!

This is all down to perception, isan't it? We ALWAYS feel under pressure to get out of the way of shorter people at gigs, The rest of you ALWAYS end up with a tall person in front of you at a gig. I reckon we're all right and we're all wrong. If we could all just try to be nicer about it at the time, wouldn't it make the experience more enjoyable?

What is so all-fired wonderful about standing?
I can understand it when you're a teenager and you wish to be part of the swarming mosh but I can't think of many of the thousands of gigs I've been to where the experience was made better - or, somehow, more authentic - by the fact that I was on my feet.
I don't agree about the older venues. The best ones are not purpose built for pop music. The Lyceum, the Hammersmith Odeon, the Shepherd's Bush Empire, the Tower in Philadelphia, the Pantages in Los Angeles and thousands more - most of these places are comfortable, warm and have decent sight lines. They were built years before pop music was even thought of and they work really well, provided the seating is sorted out OK.
Unlike the metal boxes of today.

It's not about the standing experience - I'm getting to an age [ nearly 40 ] where to be honest I'd really prefer to have a nice sit down. The problem is that many of the bands I want to see perform at stading only shows. Now, when I go see a band I want to be at the front - but thats just me. My question was really is that desire/wish a crime just because I happen to accupy a lot of space? AND does the fact that I feel I have "paid" for the front row experience by queuing for serveral hours before hand count for nowt? I have in my time been loudly called a pervert at a Tegan & Sarah show [ teenage lesbians can be quite cruel...sniff] accused of "drooling" over Amee Mann and in general of being too tall for my own good. I'm not going to apologise to anyone for drinking all my milk @ school and having a passion for live music.

BTW if anyone should wish to "experence" being at a gig with [ or behind ] me then look no further than here - that's me, front row, balding, taking the odd picture and again getting abuse for being front row centre from the height restricted - despite having arrived @ midday after a 4 hour drive...now thats commitment dahlins

It's not a crime being tall, but standing there in front of everybody with your mobile phone in the air is a crime for which you should be thrown out in the street, flogged and trampled on by the audience on their way out.

Moaning because you are tall! I go to some gigs with a mate who is in a wheelchair, try and get a decent view when you are that low down!

Some places to try and cater for the wheelchair user with special areas for them, with platforms that lift him up a bit higher but there should be a lot more of them.

Stop whinging and imagine being less fortunate then you are.

Ian

Not content with blocking everyone's view, you then distract/obscure it further by hoisting your camera in the air. If I want to watch music through a poxy little screen, I can sit in a pub and stick my ipod on a table.

I have an inkling that the discussion didn't go quite the way the original poster intended. Nevertheless, as a fellow over six footer, if not as far over as our friend and someone with a fiancee who has uncharitably been described as a munchkin it is incredibly irritating to essentially have someone demand you move.

It's frustrating for me on two counts - you want to stand with the person you've come to the show with, and if they can only see if you're at the front, that's where you end up standing, even if you personally could see further back.

And it's particularly irritating when you haven't pushed in front of them, you were there when the person arrived, so it's a bit much to be told - it's almost never asked politely - to move. It's not like I was invisible when you took up your position behind me.

Now if a tall person pushed in front of you, I'm all for you doing what you like by way of retribution, but if they were there in the first place, I'm far less sympathetic.

(On the subject of people pusing in, for about an 18 month period of my gig going life, it seemed like fat people were beamed into the second or third row from the mothership just moments before the headliner came on, from which position they would then spend the evening dry humping you. I know that's not relevant to the conversation, but I do feel better for having shared with the rest of the class)

Part of the problem is indeed the venues, which often have poor sight-lines at the best of times, and most of which don't seem to have raked floors.

Anyway, sod all this talk of tall people, it's the people who talk through the bloody thing I have issue with. Call me a Guardian reading lefty liberal fairy do-gooder, but I feel that we should take them outside and shoot them in the face for the good of society.

that IS exactly the point I was trying to make.

re the "dry hump" there is a Fountains of Wayne gig that I would rather forget...urrgh!
And as for Eviltalkypeople, as another GRLLFDG, your suggestion of punishment is totally just, fair and reasonable and I have often said the very same.

..."You will be in the same room as the band, what they do and how they sound is up to them and their employees. There will be other people there. Oh, and life isn't fair and/or cuddly". And I'd like to add at some point some people who have been at the bar all night will rush through to the front when their favourite song comes on. My advice is to kick them in the arse on their way through, hope they fall over and then get trampled in the throng.

I'm about 6foot so that's actually a decent middle ground, in terms of sometimes I can see without problems, sometimes not. Of course in badly designed halls, if everyone in the audience was the same height the majority would not be able to see past the heads in front. The only good venue for floor design in Manchester is the Apollo, it slopes in a way not to feel off-balance, but so that everyone can see easily.

Fair play to the tall guy starting this post, I just wouldn't stand behind him, no bother.

There are so many rows-worth of people behind you at a gig, it's impossible to be considerate to eveyone. The bottom line is, this is what happens in standing areas. I know it's not always an option, but if it's a big problem then always go for seated tickets were available. If someone is blocking my view, I don't complain, I just move a few inches one way or another. You can't expect the audience to stay still if it's any good!

Why are venues not equipped with gentle terracing? It seems the obvious answer as we had this in the venue I used to work in: the Royal Court in Liverpool. A slightly sloped floorspace and everyone's happy surely?

Former cinemas in Edmonton and (I think) Mile End.
Very high stage, very steeply sloping floor plus platforms (with seaside promenade-type barriers on them) for the people who didn't want to take their chances in the throng. Worked for me.

..but if I had the choice between standing behind a person taller than me (unlikely) and standing behind an out of tune singing, phone weilding, talking loud, whooping shreiking tourette's suffering attention junkie, give me the lanky one any day. You can always step to one side.
(This is why I generally stay at home and watch it on DVD..community is so overrated.)

Yes, wouldn't it be fabulous if all standing type venues were gently sloping? You'll note that the ones that already have this facility used to be cinemas, where cinema managers would have wanted everybody to have a decent view of the screen.

Interesting, isn't it, that this has not been carried through to purpose built live music venues, where you would think it was equally in the interests of both performers and venue chiefs to give everybody a good view?

Every live music venue in Birmingham is poor in this respect with the exception of Symphony Hall, where sound, acoustics and sightlines were the priorities when it was built.

Being rather a diminutive chap, I'm not particularly concerned by tall folk blocking my view at gigs, but rather more by the "world's biggest fan" who invariably stands right next to you, tells you all about the band, leaps gleefully around, and phones their friends, so that they can listen to the music too. Thank heaven for mobile phones hmm?

that the reason for the dearth of modern venues with sloping and certainly terraced floors is that there are problems with such designs from the perspectives of fire safety and accessibility (ie for ambulant disabled and wheelchair bound peeps). A high stage is the way to go IMO. Even at a distinctly average 5' 11 i feel pretty guilty when i've had to move around in a venue and am therefore inevitably standing in front of someone else who was there first. but i don't see the attraction of being front and centre - i like the feeling of being right in the middle of the crowd, the photos i take look better cos they're framed by the people in front of me (and i know i'm not disturbing the performers cos i'm far enough back and don't use flash), and i get through the whole evening without developing a huge crick in my neck. also saves the getting there four hours early. And what's this about support bands? ok some of them are poor but if you've got any musical taste, hopefully the peeps you're going to see have too - and therefore pick good support. It's a great way to find out about acts you hadn't heard of before, and i feel like i haven't got my money's worth if i miss the support.

Having avoided the Hammy Odeon for years because of it's general soullessness (Hmm... I didn't think that would get past the spell-checker!) I was very pleased to hear a few years back that they remove the seats for some gigs. Now, if you pick the right night you can stand hear the decent sized stage on a slight slope and enjoy a gig. I think the best seats in the house are the ones stacked up in the storage room where they belong!

I have two problems with seated venues, firstly at a rock gig some body movement is unavoidable and it's more comfortable to stand secondly, when I have to sit in rows I always feel more like I'm watching a performance than being involved in it.

One of the best venues I've ever been to was a converted cinema that had two standing levels in the stalls and seats in the circle. Best of all, half the gigs there seemed to be free because they were organised by the BBC - RIP the Hitchin Regal.

Worst venue - the "new" Wavenden Stables - it's just far too comfortable and despite the excellent accoustics, it totally lacks soul and is very sterile.

I have had a busy 2 weeks of gigs, all of which involved at least an hour & a half drive there, some a hotel & therefore great expense. I don''t mind tall people who arrive to get a good place, I can avoid them. What I do mind is the arrival of a complete wank*r just after the first bar of the first song pushing infront of me. It happens almost ever gig.

I hate the beer throwers
I hate the man with BO
I hate the loud singers at an accoustic/quiet moment
Most of all I hate girls who insist some poor sod carries them on their shoulders to get attention from the band - they aren't interested pet, they have a gig to do!

Lack of respect for your fellow gig goers is. If some one tall is in front of you -get there earlier in future or move. Simple. Thatcher taught us all to look after number one. Bitch. Sorry got off the point. However if the person next to you insists on a running commentary or - as i witnessed at the Jazz cafe recently - insists on showing and describing the features on his new phone to his girlfriend actually during the gig. Then death or waterboarding (topical , eh?) is the only acceptable way forward. I didn't go to a recent gig because i reckoned that the chatter during songs would just wind me up so much that it would ruin the whole event. Clips i have seen on you tube have not convinced me that that wasn't the case.
Respect your fellow gig goers i implore you but don't winge about them being taller or fatter.

you want to enjoy the music and others don't In your opinion and probably mine their selfish yakking or prodding is blighting your experience. We can't understand how they can enjoy the gig if they are not paying attention.
It's because they are morons and should be despised, openly and without mercy. 'Course you could just tell them to shut up, start a fight and get thrown out.

sign that you are getting old - you seem to spend all day screaming at people...inside your head.

...yup! These inconciderate whippersnappers need taught a lesson!! Mind you, I paid (er, actually, my lovely lovely other half did)£150 plus all the robbing ticketmaster fees to see The Stones (£326 total!!) & was REALLY enjoying myself dancing (yes it was seated, yes I'm a tw*t)and spilled a little beer on the 'posh 1 gig every two years' bint infront of me, her husband mumbled something & I just grinned & did a kind of Keith 'eargggh' noise & carried on dancing. I am no lady it seems at a gig either! But it was an accident. Wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for those plastic glasses!

C'est la vie!

Yes i know they have to stand somewhere but as a short person myself its really annoying when they actually move themselves to stand in front of you. Even more so is this: when you've found a venue that has a nice slightly raised platform or bench at the side (King Tut's in Glasgow or the Cockpit in Leeds, staked a claim to it so that you can actually see what's going on on stage and then a tall person/couple clambers up there and stands in front of you ! There's no excuse for that in my book !

I've spent many a happy gig on that bench, at 5'7" I often can't see but that bench is great!!

I'm 6ft 2in and try to be considerate to many of the 'vertically challenged' (and I use the term in the context of this discussion only) near me - including Ms. Grissom - however once I choose a spot I believe I am within my rights to stay there (usually somewhere near the mixing desk for the best sound). Ms. Grissom finds being able to see an issue regularly but is far more annoyed by the chattering scum who attend gigs these days spoiling things for everybody not just 'vertically challenged' gig-goers.

Having very, very small children who can't see the stage and then their parents (or whoever they may be in connection with said children) leave them with me expecting me to look after them. I can't bear it, and then said children being whisked away in tears because the children can't stand the noise. These unfortunate incidents have now stopped due to a number of high profile incidents recently thank goodness.

Agreed that the BO issue is something I try to avoid but couldn't when seeing Springsteen at Milton Keynes Bowl several years ago. I was standing next to two gentlemen pressed up against their arm pits and the whiff, I think I needed my gas mask on!

What really annoyed me was a guy who pushed and shoved his way to the front at a well known folk festival a couple of years ago. I had been standing for nearly five hours with my friends when guitar god Richard Thompson came on stage. He had strapped to his back a six-string guitar and I had to duck for cover every time he moved. Even worse he started saying "yeah!" every five seconds when Thompson was playing a delicate guitar solo.

Agreed with mobiles was another time when I was trying to watch Jimmy Webb. He was trying to explain how he came to write "MacArthur Park" and then someone was yelling down a mobile phone "what's for dinner then?" where upon ten people (including myself) turned round coldly looking at said person.

As a 5'11'' girl I've had my fair share of discrimination at gigs, expecially from other girls who come up to my elbow and think that because we have the same genitalia I'll be quite happy to lose my good vantage point so that they can get a bit closer. I don't really enjoy gigs that much unless I'm near the front and to be fair, I'm not really that tall. I don't mind people taller than me standing in front of me because one can always move. I personally think it's very inconsiderate of tiny people to make me have to constantly worry about whether I'm elbowing them in the face while I'm trying to enjoy the peformance. I firmly believe if you can't hack it you should get the hell out of there!