Need to get some polls on the go in here I reckon.
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Funny, I immediately thought of this specific gig, where I noticed at least a half dozen men in their late 50s/60s. But I was looking at this as a good thingā¦ at least I can go see new bands for decades to come without being completely out of place.
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The first gigs I went to were all-ages hardcore shows, where the average age was about 17, and if you were 25 you would get called an āold guyā. They were also about 90% male and 95% white, despite the progressive attitudes of (mostly) everyone there. I assume there is no current equivalent.
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Wouldnāt be surprised if cost plays into this - 20 years ago, you could see most decent sized bands for around a tenner (Ā£16 in todayās prices) and arena sized tours were about Ā£20-25 (Ā£32-40). Now youāll be lucky to get change from Ā£35 for a lot of standard gigs and the big acts are mostly charging north of Ā£65. Thatās a lot of money to chuck on a night out as a teenager, or before drinks as a student.
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Iāve been to quite a few gigs with my nephew who is 14. He is normally the youngest and Iām nearly always the oldest. At first I felt quite conspicuous, but now I donāt really care
His first gig was Green Day at Hyde Park for his 13th birthday. Obviously that was expensive (birthday present for him), and I wasnāt the oldest.
Smaller gigs have been Remo Drive at the Borderline which I think was Ā£10, and a band called Mom Jeans at The Haunt in Brighton which was Ā£8, so not too bad for his pocket money.
He also wanted to see The Used, remember them? I quite enjoyed that, he was by far the youngest and most were around my age.
I took him to last years Slam Dunk festival (his 14th birthday present), and weāre going again this year. I really enjoyed that last year and again it was a mixed bag, although generally younger.
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Cool kid 
(By DiS standards anyway
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I for one am shocked that the bands that I like are liked by people of a similar age to me.
And shocked that time is linear and Iām getting older.
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Absolutely - festivals obviously the value for money in this day and age, and there are so many more that lots of bands donāt really do non-festival tours during the summer
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Saw Basic Instinct at the cinema when it came out. Audience was me, three or four couples, and two old ladies, sitting behind me, who knitted at a steady pace throughout the film, never speeding up or slowing down. Even at that bit, that bit and astonishingly that bit as well.
Oldest crowd Iāve seen at a gig is Wire. Great band, and the audience makes even me look young.
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Not exactly current, but went to a few of the early FWD dubstep nights and they were a bit like that.
all the people in this thread rekt
Iām saying yr a grandad who likes grandad music.
The kids might be going to less shows, but i still see a bunch of kids at local hardcore shows and l have teenagers as friends on Facebook who go to gigs.
Yeah, probably.
Iām just aware that Cadet died at the weekend. Iāve never heard of him, but some of the young people i know were quite upset about it.
think it often depends where the hype for a new band is coming from
If itās coming from Marc Riley on 6 you can guarantee a very specific old white fella demographic at the gig
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I think people under 25 are seeing less bands and more DJās these days
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Yeah I think generational tastes have changed. In the last year or so Iāve been to Lovebox and Kero Kero Benito, which had a much younger crowd but generally I find myself in the mid to younger age range.
I donāt think that the legacy DIY indie bands have as much appeal as they did with the kids as they did when I was a teenager. The same can probably be said by emerging bands influenced by them who are attracting an older crowd, e.g. Flat worms, Car Seat Headrest etc.
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There was always a John Peel type with a pint of ale stood at the back of gigs. Really aware Iād be that guy now.
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Donāt think I ever really see what the demographic is like at the gigs I go to. I will now though.
The only one that really jumps to mind is Letās Eat Grandma last year, where there was like 5 tall bald men standing right in front of the stage. Pretty weird and their refusal to react to the music was pretty off-putting.
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Yeah itās not fair of me to have made them out to be creeps, LEG are a pretty hyped band so Iām sure they were just music fans. It was just not what I expected to see at the gig and stood out in my memory (also I am a tall man who is more than a decade older than the band so canāt really talk).
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The Car Seat Headrest gig I went to was stuffed with teenagers and people in their early twenties.
When I went to their instore at Rough Trade it was packed with middle aged men, lots of which then went and queued for the signing desk. Definitely felt a bit off and not very pleasant for the younger people who seemed to be the same age as the band
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