See that guy with the guitar? That’s Rick Nielsen, the main guy from Cheap Trick, a band that has been around since the 70s and was at one time huge, although they still have a significant following.

This past Saturday, I was surprised to hear they were playing a free show on Fremont Street considering they recorded the theme to That ’70’s Show and once brought down Budokan, so of course I had to be there. Apparently, about 16,000 other people had to be there too. It was a tight fit even a ways back from the stage, but when the people who only stopped to gawk at the spectacle went their own way the crowd thinned ever so slightly. That gave people room to dance around in the infamous drunk dance, however I’ve been to enough concerts where that doesn’t bother me. And when you mix classic rock with NASCAR weekend, you have to expect an eclectic mix of people.

But something else did. As you can imagine, there were many, many, many people taking pictures and videos, myself included. But I also saw something I had never seen before. The couple in front of me were actually making a video of *themselves* singing along to the song the band was playing on stage. They weren’t watching the show, they were watching themselves sing to the song the band was actually playing, as though it was some kind of karaoke in which the band was actually playing the song live.

A familiar sight

I don’t know why this bugged me so much. A legendary band, at a free show, why would you video *yourself* and not watch the show? I guess I can understand a selfie, but missing seeing the band perform a song you obviously know and enjoy when you’re right there is too weird. It reminds me of when I was much younger and I’d see people show up to a concert drunk, throw up, pass out and miss the whole experience. Why show up in the first place?

I guess since this show was free the comparison isn’t entirely apt, but they spent most of the show looking around, taking pictures of themselves, facing away from the stage, making Facebook posts; why go to the show if you aren’t going to watch? At least stand in the back. Sheesh.