Cough vigilante

Detlof, seems you're on to something there. I had always attributed these noisy phenomena to nervousness or wondered why the world's representatives of the common cold invariably congregate around me, wherever I sit, in any venue, in any city! A noteworthy exception being a gentleman next me recently, visibly suffering from a whopping cold -- who, as EMM4 above, was dead quiet throughout the concert...
On another footing, can you all imagine the plight of some people having to sit still through 2 1/2 hrs of Wagner -- because "it's done" (and miss their favourite TV show, too!)... Better still, Mahler's 8th?

Greg, its Bruckner who does this to me!!! (Except his chamber music, though) Cheers,

I have been following this thread for the last two days and planned on contributing my thoughts on this unfortunate phenomenon today Sunday. Detlof, you have expressed my thoughts on this perfectly. I can only add that unfortunately, this behavior is not found only in "high brow" concert halls; I say "high brow" because that is the shallow realm that the experience of attending a fine performance stays in, for some individuals. We find the same behavior, and worse, at Jazz clubs where so many in the "audience" are clearly there not for the music, but to socialize at a "hip" night spot, and think nothing wrong of talking incessantly.

But please, let's not give up on or become cynical about the live music experience as a result of this annoyance. No experience is perfect, and in a way, this is a reminder of some of the things that make the live experience so great: the unpredictability and energy, good and bad, that goes with the territory. Live, feeling, human beings making art on a stage for an audience will touch us in a way so deep, that as Detlof points out, is just too much for some to handle.

Frogman, how right you are, I remember the great Abdullah Ibrahim, at this time he still called himself
Dollar Brand, getting livid with rage at the famous "Africana" Jazz Club here in Zurich, because the folks just chatted away. He was (rightly!!) so rudely outspoken, that he was not allowed to play anymore at the club. We were friends then and went out and got wonderfully drunk. A few weeks later he flew off to the US and was discovered by Duke Ellington...........

Thanks for sharing. Regards.