Music fans really baffle me to no end. If there is no show next them they whine and bitch about it to the musician(s) doing the tour. "Any (insert towns here) date?" Or "Its too expensive for me to go (such and such place), come here instead." Those people come off as selfish and spoiled. I understand the need to see a show, and I know we're all not lucky to have a venue close to us (I myself am 2 hours from the closest one here).
But to those of you wanting musicians to play here, there, everywhere and all the little places in between, I urge you to stop and think for a moment. Put yourself in their shoes. Did you ever stop to think that some of these musicians have families and would like to spend time with them? Obviously you don't, that's clear. I'm sure that if you even remotely cared about them that you'd want them to have that balance- their own home, family and bed. I'm sure you'd miss it if you were in their shoes.
Remember, they are human beings first - they are parents and spouses, and do all the same things we all do. And just because they entertain for a living doesn't mean that they don't deserve their rest and relaxation too.
I think what bothers me about fans who want musicians to play closer is how they go about asking. There are those that are genuinely sad. Okay, that I understand. But when some people get out and out nasty and verbally abusive, I can't help but think "He wants to play for you why?" Whatever happened to treating someone with respect? Does he not deserve it because he's a public figure? Does the age old rule of treat others how you want to be treated suddenly fly out the window here?
Maybe the reason I'm upset is because the musician I see being treated this way is someone that I've known for years. I've seen the human side of him- Dad and husband. I see how happy being with his family makes him. I feel sad when I see people demanding shows from him because I think of his child, who because of the selfish demands of fans who can never seemingly get enough, doesn't get to spend nearly as much time with his Dad as he should. I fear that we as a fan base will be a source of resentment for this kid, because of how often his father was away entertaining because someone needed their fix. And I don't use that word lightly here at all, because there are those out there that are well and truly addicted.
To those of you I'm referring to, do you really want that on your conscious? Do you want to be the reason a child doesn't get to spend time with their dad? Surely some of you work away and don't get to spend as much time with your children as you'd like to. Surely you can understand this situation. How would you feel if before you even left to do your job that your employer (because that's what we music fans are to a musician) basically told you that what you were doing was not good enough, and that on top of doing your regular job you also had to spend any possible down time you got satisfying the needs of a greedy customer? How would you feel knowing that you weren't going to get to spend time with your family, time that you can never get back, perhaps missing an important milestone in the process?
Maybe I'm wasting my breath here. Chances are most people won't read this rant, I don't rightly know. Perhaps some of you will, maybe even some of you who are the people I'm talking about. But even then, will you realize that I'm talking about you? Probably not. Because you don't see this as a problem.
But then, the toughest part of any addiction is admitting you have a problem in the first place.
