Floor seating etiquette
 

Hi all :D

My partner and I will be attending the Vancouver show on 18/11/14, we are travelling all the way from New Zealand to see Fleetwood Mac!!! it will be our first time seeing them as they cancelled their Oceania leg of the tour last year when John fell ill. I just got my tickets this morning and can not even attempt to explain how excited I am to both see my favourite band in the world for the first time and visit both Canada and America for the first time too!!! :] I am wanting to ask other people who have attended a past FM show what proper floor etiquette is? I'm seated in row 20 on the floor and I was curious if people mind if you go up further just for one song or a good photo? I would love to run to the front and just stay glued to the stage for the entire night of course! lol but I know people paid A LOT of money to get up to the front and it's not really fair to have a couple of kids cutting in and blocking their view....I just want to know if it's totally inappropriate to go up just for a bit, because I have seen some posts from other people who have just gone for it lol but I don't want to get yelled at by someone or worse escorted out by security and miss the concert!!!!

p.s: my seats are on the left, who usually occupies the left hand side of the stage?

most times security doesnt mind if you go up for a photo or two but if they arent paying attention then i say go for it -ha! at the pittsburgh show last year i was 3rd row but since they let the first 5 rows go to the front of the stage i ended up at the front near Stevie (she was more towards the left) and there was nobody in a 10 foot range so there easily could have been 10 or more people up there with me. i would just go with the flow and see what happens at the time.

First, CONGRATS on getting tickets! It was so unfortunate last year that they canceled that entire leg of shows.

As for your question, I had floor seats last year for Fleetwood Mac in the middle of June and here's what I've learned from that experience:

• People usually never sit when they have floor seats, even though there is a chair there

• It isn't worth it if you're short in height - unless you make an investment to wear heels and would be comfortable standing in them all night

• People will get mad at you for standing, depending on who is around you that night (and if you stay standing it may be worse) Just pray you don't have people like that around you. When I went, there was a rather large man and I think his wife that sat next to my mom, and didn't like the fact that when the lights went down, and the beginning of Second Hand News started, that they realized they'd have to be standing the whole time. Some people don't peruse the internet watching tour videos like I do to get a sense of the atmosphere at these things.

As for rushing the stage, I personally have never done this, and I rarely go to concerts, but as I've read about others on here, it may be best to do it right when the lights go down, and sprint your way up there, depending on how tight or not venue security is.

Hope this helps!

Security generally won't let you travel closer to the stage than your tickets allow, but some venues are more lax about that than others.

If you're looking at the stage, the lineup is usually Christine, John, Stevie, Mick, and Lindsey from left to right.

Dallas 2009 AA Arena, I was the whole time stood up sticked to the stage, even before the show begun, and security never minded. And my seat was like road 20. Took lot of pictures.

NYC MSG 1997 security was very controlling thèy didn't let you stand up or dance for a while, it was so annoying
However in 2012 I saw Elton at MSG and it was more flexible. I remember everybody sung Crocodile rock stood up.

Basically like mentioned already.Plus putting up with the drunks.People talking all the time.

Some venues the security are pricker bushes and some venues the security dont give a crap about photos,videos or getting closer.

Can't believe there are still such things as floor seats in large arenas. I've seen Springsteen several times and with him all floor tickets are general admission, no seats, and sold for the same price. I had assumed it was the norm for rock acts nowadays.

Same. I saw Bob Dylan in Philly a few years ago and made the mistake of getting actual seats instead of general admission floor tickets. But as soon as the lights went down, my friend and I slipped under the rail and ran into the crowd haha. It was fantastic, but I doubt the same would fly at a FM concert.

THIS is my aim. i'm waiting for the general public sale though and would like to fly from Oz to Vancouver via Auckland :D flights now are soooooo cheap it's like the Mac gods are encouraging our fan!girl behavior.

floor seating ... i have barely sat in my seat during a show. but it depends how far back you are. and it's generally a bit more acceptable to stand if you're on the aisle. some people will b!tch about your standing. hopefully everyone else is standing with you :nod:

interesting. i saw Dylan in DC a year ago, he was in the same venue as FM, just not nearly as full, and there were seats on the floor, not GA. and nobody was going to the stage like at FM, all first rows were just sitting in their seats. if he was selling GA floor, they'd either have to cancel the show or it would look sad and empty.

Honestly, I would scope out a security guard--pre-show, and tell them you'd like to take a picture once in a while and get up a little closer to do it, if that's okay.
There are some guards out there who are very nice and understanding...especially to those who treat them with respect (considering the fact that I saw a drunk girl at one of the last FM concerts I went to not only slap another woman at the concert, but slap the guard who went to escort her out...it's not an easy job and I really do think they are open to helping out people who actually treat them like human beings and not monsters who are out to spoil their fun).
Anyway, good luck and I hope you get to move up! Have a great, great time.

I've been to quite a few concerts, but I've never done floor nor been so close to the stage.

Questions: How is the sound right in front? Can you actually hear the songs well/even hear performers un-mic-ed? And who is best to be closest to, actually acknowledging and playing to fans? Guessing Lindsey...

not too good. yeah you can hear songs and what they are saying, but it's not nearly as clear as a bit further on the floor, or on the sides. if you want good sound, right at the stage is not for you.

yeah. Lindsey interacts with people he sees in front of him and responds to stuff people say. especially when he's not the one singing but just playing guitar.

So if I do it, I should bring my Tusk album sleeve and wave it up to him? I would definitely do it (the prices though are incredibly steep for a concert)....but I would probably hate being pushed around and would need to get to the stage to lean on.

I have a pretty good seat at the 8th row center... I'm wondering some of the same things... Should I try to get to the stage? Can they see you in the 8th row? I'd love to just make eye contact. Anyone know if that's possible? And that would be so cool to get something signed.. Def bring your tusk album! :-)