View Poll Results: Do you agree with the Eagles policy on standing at concerts?

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  • Yes. It's rude for people to stand when most folks are sitting - it blocks their view.

    10 21.28%
  • No. I should be allowed to stand and dance whenever I want. That's part of the fun!

    8 17.02%
  • Maybe. It depends on whether one of the few people standing is in front of me!

    5 10.64%
  • I don't care. Whatever the Eagles want is cool with me. It's their show.

    3 6.38%
  • I think the Eagles should just take it easy, let what happens happen, and not try to dictate when people can or cannot stand.

    21 44.68%
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Thread: Standing or Sitting?

  1. #11
    Stuck on the Border Prettymaid's Avatar
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    Default Re: Standing or Sitting?

    Quote Originally Posted by Ive always been a dreamer View Post
    The way I read this is that the band is not dictating the 'sit or stand' decision. They are letting the audience decide if they want to sit or stand - majority rules. I see nothing wrong with this and think it is actually the fairest way to decide the issue.
    I agree with Dreamer here, but I voted for the last choice. As I said in another thread, why is the band wanting to come off as the bad guys when they can just ask the venue to do the dirty work for them? Why ever let anyone know that it is the band's policy? I guess what I'm saying is that there are times when security should have to deal with someone who is not being respectful of the people around them, but why get the band involved? Their job is to perform. I'm afraid the Eagles are showing their age and acting like grumpy old men.

    ETA: Soda, you had not yet posted when I started this. After posting I read yours, and of course you stated my feelings better than I did! Thanks!
    Last edited by Prettymaid; 03-17-2009 at 06:04 PM.
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  2. #12
    Administrator sodascouts's Avatar
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    Default Re: Standing or Sitting?

    Thanks PM!

    You know, I've been on both sides of this issue, so it really hits home for me. I was punched in Glasgow for standing during the first song and not sitting immediately after the band came out. At a Lindsey Buckingham concert, I was kicked by some guy for standing catty corner to him, even though I was in the aisle and trying hard not to block anyone.

    That said, I do sit down when I see the majority of people behind me are sitting. I don't really want to stick out like a sore thumb like that! I'll stand for a bit hoping to encourage others to do the same, but if they don't, I sit back down. Of course, sometimes, it becomes difficult to gauge - people in a certain section are standing, but not directly behind me - when is it OK? Having security make that decision is asking for trouble.

    Let's face it, there is a tendency for MANY guards to go on power trips and use any excuse to "crack down" on audience members. I was manhandled by guards at Moline for attempting to take a photo at the end of the show during Fleetwood Mac's band bows (I had been good the rest of the concert), harassed by them in Detroit's DTE to the degree where I swore I would never see another show there (I had simply moved down the row a few seats after the people sitting there had left before Fleetwood Mac's encore, and I was yelled at). Many of my friends have similar stories. The last thing those type of security guards need is "official sanction" to be pricks.

    I remember in Chicago, the second show, when Don called out a couple people for standing during Waiting in the Weeds. "When we sit down, you can sit down, too. Then maybe the people behind you can see for a change." I CRINGED. While some people applauded, many others - including those around me - were going "What a dick." Meanwhile, from my vantage point, I could see patches of people standing in other sections. He accomplished little but to make himself look bad and make two fans feel like crap. Yes, he made it easier for the people immediately behind them to see and they were undoubtedly grateful, but was it worth injecting negativity into the show and bringing the room down, even if only for a bit?

    Again, he was just trying to help... but his desire to insert himself into the situation and "take control" was a mistake, IMHO. He came off like an old, scolding fuddy-duddy telling the kids to get off his lawn. If they were really being so horrific, as I said before, security can take care of it without the band's help.

    Always in our hearts, Never forgotten

  3. #13
    Stuck on the Border
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    Default Re: Standing or Sitting?

    I voted for the last option. I tend to agree with Soda's points although I think Dreamer had some valid arguments as well.

    I can safely say that we don't get the crowd trouble that you seem to get in the Northern Hemisphere. Australians are so apathetic that most of them don't want to stand up.

  4. #14
    Administrator sodascouts's Avatar
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    Default Re: Standing or Sitting?

    And it's undeniable that when the majority of the audience is standing and dancing, the concert's energy level soars. Perhaps that's why the executive producer of Farewell 1 approved the inclusion of so many shots of the people who were standing, even during slow songs like Lyin' Eyes. (The executive producer was Glenn Frey.)

    Fleetwood Mac's policy of allowing anyone in the first four rows who wants to stand to come up to the stage does effectively eliminate such problems at the front; at the stage, these standing folks are no longer blocking anyone, and can rock out to their heart's delight.

    ETA: You know, I wonder if Don would be mad at me for standing during Take It to the Limit... the Eagles are sitting then so by his earlier logic I should sit too.... but DANG, it's such a powerful song! Seems to me to be justifiable to stand, at least at the end!

    Always in our hearts, Never forgotten

  5. #15
    Stuck on the Border TimothyBFan's Avatar
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    Default Re: Standing or Sitting?

    PM & Soda--I think you guys are spot on! Let's face it--Glenn & Don already get a bad rap from a lot of critics for being not so kind--why prove their point by calling out to audience members (the same people that have helped make them what they are today). I truly believe they are making themselves look like grumpy old men and I don't want to see that. It is extremely upsetting to see them so "moody" and hear that this stuff is going on--so far as going to the trouble to have flyers handed out to the first 10 rows for goodness sake! Might as well post a "do not trespass" sign!

    Again--we are not children and 90% of us can figure out when it is appropriate to stand during a song and when to sit down in our seats-without being told. In Cincinnati, we had 2 drunk chicks from 5 rows back, falling all over and getting mouthy with my daughter as they tried to stumble there way up the isle to the stage. Security did nothing till I told them to during intermission but yet they were all over a young couple dancing in the far isle where they really weren't hurting anyone. I know security isn't always something you can depend on but let them take care of it and not the band.

    I think this bad publicity on top of the whole Irving/Ticketmaster thing right now, and every review you read making a big deal about the face value of the tickets, which most feel very strongly about just isn't good and it is really souring some fans. Me included. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE AND ADORE THEM but this does get hard to swallow. They have been on such a pedestal for years with me, it makes it harder. That of course, could also be coupled with the fact I bowed out of going this Sunday because of personal reasons but also didn't want to spend the money ~~~~ maybe I'm taking it to seriously to heart because I'm feeling a bit bitter at the moment.
    He sings it high, he plays it low

  6. #16
    Moderator Ive always been a dreamer's Avatar
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    Default Re: Standing or Sitting?

    I totally agree with everyone that it would be best for the band not to address this with members of an audience. It doesn’t endear the band to fans if they embarrass or humiliate them. But here is where I take issue. First of all, I am not prepared to criticize the band so harshly when I really do not know what the band’s official policy is regarding this matter. Everything we are talking about here is hearsay. Here is what the columnist wrote:


    MTS Centre security explained their actions this way. "It's Eagles' policy."
    But why?
    I called Kevin Donnelly, the MTS Centre general manager.
    Donnelly said the event promoter asked them to implement the stay-seated policy and leaflets were distributed to people in the first 10 rows, advising them that they may be asked to sit down.
    From what I gather, this "Eagles policy" was supposed to work this way.
    If most people were seated -- say, during a slow number like Peaceful Easy Feeling -- the "stragglers" who were still standing would be asked to sit like everyone else.
    But if the majority of people stood for an up-tempo song like Life In The Fast Lane, security was instructed to let them stay standing.
    Not exactly clearcut or cast in stone. Based on this, the columnist even acknowledges that he is not totally clear on the facts. In addition, it seems to me from reading this that it was the venue that decided to distribute leaflets, not a request from the band.

    In any event, if the band wants to set guidelines that the audience should generally dictate when they want to stand, I don’t have a problem with that. While it is true that the energy level soars when the crowd is standing and dancing, the crowd will dictate when they want that to happen. Although I like the idea that Fleetwood Mac has of letting people up front, I still don't think that it will solve most of the problems. As someone who is vertically challenged, I appreciate it if the band is trying to address the issue. Eagles tickets are not cheap for anyone. But the people who want or need to sit or are short have just as much right to be able to see the show as the ones who want to stand. I just don’t think there is a clear right or wrong answer to this, which is probably why there is so much controversy.

    However, I also agree that whatever the band’s stance is that it probably won’t make any real difference in the long run. It is still up to the venue’s security to interpret and enforce any policies. And as I said before, therein lies the real problem, IMHO.

    "People don't run out of dreams: People just run out of time ..."
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  7. #17
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    Default Re: Standing or Sitting?

    Unselfish me: I know they have to have some rules in place for safety measures as well as so everyone can enjoy themselves. This could be argued two ways: the sitters point of view and the standers. I understand there are many different kinds of people attending an Eagles concert and all should be able to enjoy themselves 100%.

    Selfish me: I being the stander/dancer voted for no. I should not be told to sit down at a rock n roll concert. An opera maybe but not for rock n roll. I might as well stay home and put in a live dvd if I intend to sit down.
    Last edited by Fan_For_Life; 03-22-2009 at 09:17 AM.

  8. #18
    Stuck on the Border luvthelighthouse's Avatar
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    Default Re: Standing or Sitting?

    Ok, I feel really strongly about this... The first concert I ever saw was Duran Duran, I remember standing the whole time! Other concerts I've been too Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Skid Row, etc, etc, etc... I never sat at any of those concerts. It just wasn't done. Not at a rock concert! I did see Petty right after his best friend Del died and there was a lot of sitting. I actually felt sad. I couldn't tell if the audience was "supposed" to sit or if it was vibe from Tom's recent loss.

    The concerts I've been at were there was a lot of sitting have been country acts; Reba, Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks... and I have to say, I didn't have the same "connection" that I did at a "rock" concert.

    I am a huge lover of music. Music resonates w/the soul. When I'm at a concert, I want to feel that connection. The aura of the crowd, the energy... it all means so much.

    So yeah, to conclude... by all means standing and "feeling" the music is a must! If you need or want to sit, no one will care. Mind you, I'm short, only 5'2" and I often have 6' men standing in front of me... but that's just part of the territory...

  9. #19
    Border Rebel Fan_For_Life's Avatar
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    Default Re: Standing or Sitting?

    Audience participation is part of the performance,, or so I thought it was. It never occurs to me to sit at a concert even with a seat assigned. It doesn't matter who it is, generally I go see bands/musicians I like so I'm always into the performance just like the band is. I suppose since our gentlemen are getting up in age as well as countless fans I should understand the need for cautiousness.

  10. #20
    Administrator sodascouts's Avatar
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    Default Re: Standing or Sitting?

    Quote Originally Posted by sodascouts View Post
    By creating this "policy," they have opened the door for the security people to interpret it however way they want and blame it on the band. In Hampton, Dreamer was told that all people were to sit down at all times. In Jacksonville, overzealous security yelled at Jags and ruined her concert experience. In Winnipeg, they were bad enough to garner the band negative press. Inconsistency is inevitable in such situations - not only between venues, but even between sections within the venue; the guards by F3 might be more aggressive than those by F1 for instance, causing even more confusion.
    I'm just quoting my over-three-year-old post here to note how little has changed. On the first night in Atlantic City, security was telling people in the front section on my side (Tim's side) to sit down during the song Walk Away!!! Meanwhile, I could see people further down more towards Joe or a few rows back who were standing and dancing with no problem. I sat down obediently and just rocked out in my seat, but it felt rather lame.

    The second night was better. However, sitting down during Hotel California because "majority rules" also felt pretty lame to me.

    Always in our hearts, Never forgotten

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