We went to see/hear Steely Dan last weekend - one of my favorite groups for the past 30 years and yet my first chance ever to hear them in concert. It was amazing! And here it is, in effect a 2-man group, yet with a total of 13 folks up on stage. A couple of observations about European rock concerts:
1) they start on time. The program said 8:30 and literally at the stroke of 8:30 the warm up band took the stage for exactly 30 minutes.
2) you can drink/eat/whatever in the small concert hall. Beer runs about $5, with other drinks at comparable prices, so the Europeans have obviously not yet mastered the Art of the Rip Off.
3) there is no dope whatsoever. Somehow it seemed to me like that would simply be considered bad form.
4) the hall has absolutely, positively no parking whatsoever. Fortunately for us, it was a quick and cheap train ride north from Waterloo to the Forest East stop, just south of Brussels. Two train tickets were almost certainly still cheaper than the parking "convenience fee" charged for nearly all U.S. rock concerts.
5) you stay in your seats, at least until the end. Everyone remains seated throughout the concert until the encore, at which time, almost as if by a predetermined signal, everyone stands and crowds forward, as close to the stage as possible. Since our seats were in the 16th row, only about 90 ft. from the stage in the first place, we saw no reason to cram forward, but that stopped few of the others behind us. But even as they approached the stage, there was no jumping, dancing, even swaying. Just standing. And listening.
How civilized. How very European.
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