Concert Crowds Today Couldn’t Survive the 1990s
I posed this question, in the form of a declarative statement last night on twitter, and the response was divided.
Could concerts of today ever compete with the massive gatherings of the 1990s?
Answer-
I honestly don't think so.
If you were dropped into a 1990s concert crowd, there’s a decent chance you’d either cry, puke, or die. Probably all three. And not because of drugs or dehydration. But because it was real. It was raw. And most importantly, it was pre-cellphone.
Every now and then, a clip pops up on TikTok or Instagram that just melts your brain and reminds you of how far we’ve fallen. Two in particular come to mind-
AC/DC at Donington, England in 1991
and Metallica in Moscow, Russia in 1991 (The Monsters of Rock Festival)
First, let's start with Metallica. This isn't the first time I've posted this show on this website. And for good reason. If a genie granted me one wish for a concert I could go back in time and get to experience, I think this is my choice.
I don't think it's replicable because of all the intangibles.
We're talking Moscow. Right after the fall of the Soviet Union. People were literally moshing next to tanks.
We’re talking up to 1.6 million people packed into an open field, all losing their minds to “Enter Sandman” like they’d just been released from 70 years of cultural lockdown. (Because, well, they were.)
The crowd looked like a fucking human tsunami.
Guys climbing scaffolding.
Soldiers trying to keep the peace and giving up halfway through the first chorus.
No barricades. (Seriously zero barricades. How??)
No LED wristbands.
No “find my friends” app.
Just raw anarchy and pure adrenaline.
It looked like Woodstock had a baby with a fucking riot, and Metallica was the godfather.
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Then we got AC/DC at Donington that same year.
Just look at Angus Young in his little schoolboy outfit, duck-walking across the stage like the devil’s house band just clocked in for work.
Every pan across the audience shows a sea of people- like real actual people, not iPhones. People were fuckin feeling it.
People who didn’t need to go Live on Instagram to prove they were there because they were too busy being there.
(Two great points)
You watch this footage and you realize, that these people weren’t capturing a moment. They were actually living in one.
They weren’t concerned about angles or filters or battery life.
They were concerned about getting closer to the stage without dying in the process.
And now?
Now you’ve got crowds like Chappell Roan's at Lollapalooza last summer, and Lady Gaga's from Brazil last week, sure they were massive, but they look like a dystopian tech conference.
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Every second person there surely has their phone in the air, recording grainy footage they’ll never watch. There's dozens of jabronis in cowboy hats filming themselves fake-singing for TikTok clout. There’s girls in the front row whose backs are turned the entire show while they try to record themselves “vibing” to a song they just Shazam’d.
And yes, there are small exceptions to the rule. Robbie Fox just blogged a great example today of Turnstile in Bmore -
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You can still have great shows and experiences today, don’t get me wrong.
Taylor Swift is moving stadiums.
Beyoncé has a literal army of backup dancers.
Travis Scott is staging post-apocalyptic ragers with inflatable eagles, and people are legit dying in the audience. But it’s not the same.
It’s not feral. It’s not dangerous. And it’s definitely not as free.
The 90s didn’t have stage design or pyrotechnics that looked like a Marvel movie. No frills and pizazz.
But what they did have was soul. People left those shows with bruises and no voice.
And just as importantly, no evidence.
Just memories burned into their brains. An experience they didn't document, so much as they survived it.
p.s. - AC/DC is coming to Solider Field in a couple weeks and I feel obligated to go since I've never seen them live before. Even for their age, they look like they still fucking bring it.
And I really like who they brought on tour opening for them, The Pretty Reckless.
This song fucks.
p.p.s. - to this guy on twitter's credit, this show looks like it was a lot of fun to be at. Maybe Brazil is just nuts?