I got two replies this week, from Chiima of Okay!Musume Time and Steve of Selective Hearing. So it’s an exciting Your Thoughts Week!

Chiima Wrote:

have only ever been to two lives; a 30 seconds to Mars concert, and a small Pub live by an amazing Welsh band called 4th Street Traffic. Both were terrific lives, however I never found that there was much communication between fans during either of these lives as, in general, we Brits stick to whoever we’re going to these performances with – we don’t really mingle unless we’re going out to do that sort of thing specifically.

From what I see on videos or from concert clips is that Idol Fans actually come together, as you said – in their chants and how they react to the songs or who is performing. However here, if you chant, it’s usually between you and your friends rather than everyone – the only time we come together is to scream lyrics when the performer stops singing for a second to let the crowd sing along. Really, we don’t join as a whole community of fans, we’re just individual fans in one huge space, watching the same performer.

I want to go to an idol live because I want to just be around a community of people and feel like I belong, rather than standing there as an individual who is seeing the same person as everyone else, but doing their own kind of thing.

Interesting article, it definitely made me think about the only two lives I have ever been to, and how disconnected the fans are from each other here!!!

This is pretty much how I feel a lot of times at shows; at most shows I go to I stick with whoever I’m with and it feels like I’m watching a show and I’m not really part of things. That’s the thing I think I like best about idol shows; the fans are not only there, but they’re participating.

And now, from Steve:

I’ve been to about 60 or 70 concerts in the last 15 years or so, ranging from extreme death metal/black metal to electronic music as well as plenty of idol concerts and even a few random country and bluegrass shows. I’ve been all over the spectrum, and while some concerts generally do have a kind of “community” aspect to them, I never really get too involved in that kind of thing. Here’s an attempt at explaining why.

I guess just as a personal thing, I don’t like associating myself with a crowd or group of people too closely, and not just for some silly fear of “conforming” but I’d just rather be someone taken as an individual. In any group of people I find that I do have something in common with or do find something I can relate to them on, there’s usually at least an equal amount of things about those people that I am against and don’t agree with and don’t want to be associated with. And that’s a part of life, is celebrating being different from others and still being able to get along with them, but there’s something about being part of a “crowd mentality” and blindly banding together with other people that makes me uncomfortable. Again, while I do find things that I can get along with people about, becoming part of “the crowd” just for the sake of community rubs me the wrong way, so I usually just do whatever I feel like doing, regardless of what everyone else is doing.

As I had said earlier, maybe a good example of this is like I said on twitter before, the type of show doesn’t necessarily dictate what kind of “community” or bonding you’ll have with other people. I’ve been to loud, crazy death metal shows and met some of the nicest, most considerate people I’ve ever run into, and run into some of the biggest and most inconsiderate assholes at idol shows. Contrary to everything usually associated with idol music, not everyone who likes idol music is a good person by default or someone I want to be associated with. Just as I’d like to be viewed as an individual, I view everyone else as an individual and don’t use my association with a certain crowd or group to define myself or fill in parts of my personality.

I love and value meeting new people as much as anyone else, especially when I have things in common with them, but it doesn’t mean I instantly want to become their best friend and become part of a “community” with them.

It also rubs me the wrong way how much they put forth this kind of “community” and togetherness aspect amongst idol fans (Japanese ones in particular) at the live shows and stuff, but then proceed to be hateful, disrespectful, and otherwise very unfriendly to other fans in the online space and at some other kinds of idol events that aren’t concerts. It makes the “community” that they represent at concerts feel a lot more hollow and dishonest as a whole, when, in a different environment, they act completely differently.

Hopefully some of this makes sense, even if it seems like we just have different kinds of personalities and approaches to these kinds of situations and may disagree in the end.

I understand where you’re coming from, Steve; I normally don’t like crowd mentality, especially for things with very commercial interests. However, that is something I think I’d like at a concert. If I was able to actively show my individuality at a setting like this, I would; however, it’s impossible to hear or notice one person in a concert crowd. I don’t think the audience has to be noticed, or even should be noticed, but it’s just something I’ve thought about.

I understand where you’re coming from; there are people you don’t want to be associated within any group, and there are some fans in particular with idol fans. However, I personally think there’s value to bonding with someone, even if it’s only for a concert or because you’re chanting together. Due to  my short stature (5’1″) and my general shyness, I generally have to hold back at concerts: I find a place where I’ll be able to see, and I have a hard time meeting people at these situations. I just think that there’s something to be said for becoming part of a group, even if that’s not something I’d even want in my day to day life.

But yeah, I think this boils down to a difference in experiences and a difference in what we value/want.