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ipmcc t1_iqqrc3q wrote

It might be helpful for you to clarify what you mean by "based around drinking."

To my mind, things "based around" drinking would include beer/wine/cocktail festivals, and going out to bars, but a Steelers game? Sure, most people drink, but it's based around football. Concerts, again, most people drink, but it's based around the music performance.

Put differently: Are you trying to avoid alcohol? or drunk people? or both?

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chefmarksamson t1_iqqsk06 wrote

To be fair, I absolutely feel OP’s pain regarding concerts. It varies a bit show to show, but I’ve been to a lot of concerts here where most of the audience is clearly treating the show as an opportunity to get drunk and rowdy and hear some music, in that order. It’s fine when the band is playing a fast, loud song that everyone knows and wants to sing along to, but I’ve spent way, way too much time struggling to even hear bands play quieter songs over the din of drunk people having shouted conversations over top of music they’re clearly not paying attention to. Yes, this happens everywhere, but as someone who frequently travels to see shows, it’s notably worse here. This is the only city where I’ve actually seen artists stop mid-song and ask the audience to quiet down so they can hear themselves play.

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Elouiseotter t1_iqqttb2 wrote

This happened when The National played a few weeks ago at Hienz Hall. Two different groups behind me kept talking loudly throughout the songs. It was incredibly frustrating.

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Jmyles23 t1_iqr7rmh wrote

I’m that guy who politely asks them if they can be quiet. We were in the second balcony level for The National and I’ve never seen so many people get up so many times for drinks during a show.

Some guys were talking loudly in another row, and a girl behind them pulled out her phone and put the bright light on them from behind until they stopped, turned around and said “what the fuck?” She was like “I’m sorry is that distracting you?” I swear this was such a great solution, but I don’t have quite the balls for that!

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Elouiseotter t1_iqruxe3 wrote

I think I was sitting by you! There was a ton of drinking and people being obnoxious at the show. I turned around and full on stared at a woman who was basically drunk shouting during a song. I also didn’t have the balls to tell her to STFU. She left shortly after.

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Jmyles23 t1_iqsfiq5 wrote

Next show we can get a block of three tickets and I can be the designated shamer.

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ipmcc t1_iqqxfic wrote

Who among us Pittsburghers hasn't endured the "Woo Guy" (or worse, the "Freebird Guy"... or even worse, and more local, the "Ah Leah Guy") at concerts and sporting events? The Pittsburgh Kenny Chesney concert is practically world-famous for the bad behavior that occurs.

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fleetiebelle t1_iqrhsl2 wrote

There's always the guy who randomly screams the name of the most popular song, as if it's not going to be the encore. I doubt many acts change their set lists because of some drunk in the balcony.

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TiesThrei t1_iqrejsy wrote

For me it seems to depend on the size of the event. At smaller shows, most people aren't getting wasted, even when it's a show at a bar. But if it's at the arena or Burgettstown or something like that, there's more people partying beforehand and drunk by the time they get to the show. The bigger the show, the more it seems like everyone's drunk.

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TransporterOffline t1_iqr6b7k wrote

It usually means someone testing the waters of sobriety and feeling conflicted on how to express it. This isn't a term i would ask someone to clarify, just offer some suggestions where alcohol is completely absent or at least very cloistered.

Edit: Don't forget Sober October and other cessation experiment months are out there. Probably expect more of this question in January.

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