Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Girl Fight

I know I should say "woman fight" but really, it's not as interesting.
As Middlebrow mentioned, I happened to witness a girl fight in the waning moments of the Sun Volt show on Sunday night.
First, I just want to gush (gush, gush) about how amazing Alejandro was. I can't wait to listen to him all the time.
Well then. Sun Volt was on. I had noticed earlier that a young man was backstage taking pictures of Alejandro when he was on. I assumed it was one of the members of Sun Volt because he had that kind of mussy haired-hip look to him. Turns out he was the bass player. Anyway, we were in the second row, front and center. When the show got going, many people stood and danced in the area just in front of the stage, which meant just in front of the people in the front row. As the show progressed, two girls (yes, girls) came and stood right in front of the people just in front of us. Annoying, but not a buzz kill. One of the girls, the brunette, held a huge jug of what looked like Kool-Aid and vodka. The other girl, a blonde, wore a tiny white sundress. They were, to my mind, trying to get the attention of the mussy haired hip guy.
The woman in front of us asked the girls several times to quiet down, or take it down. Not sure. It was loud. But from her hand gestures, I could tell she was less than thrilled with the presence of the girls in front of her. Instead of quieting down, the girls screamed louder and waved their hands. They were being truly obnoxious. I watched this argument slowly simmering between glances at the stage and some booty shaking.
During the encore, I noticed the girls arguing more. The woman's body language said to me "upset, but controlled." The girls were laughing, clearly enjoying the irritating effect they were having on the woman. Her husband stood beside her, uncomfortable.
I was clapping when I saw the woman's arm shoot out, right into the side of the brunette's face. There was no blood. The brunette clutched her face as if she had just noticed its existence. She looked confused, as if she had blacked out for a moment and then come to in the middle of a situation she didn't understand.
The woman's husband started gathering their things, cooler, folding chairs, blanket. The brunette looked around, as if for a witness. I turned my attention to the stage. I heard the brunette say, "This isn't over." The woman walked off with the two girls, her husband following close behind.
I felt sorry for the husband and the woman. It was the best show of the season, and it was ruined by two underage drinkers. Sure, she shouldn't have hit the girl. But I understand the situation. I've been there. I yelled at some loud talkers at the Chick Corea and Bela Fleck concert. Middlebrow regrets that he didn't deck a guy who talked about real estate through their entire second set.
We've become a society of rude people. Sad. But true.

5 comments:

Clint Gardner said...

What with my recent encounters with surly teens (q.v. flickr) I've come to different conclusions about physical violence and dealing with people. I know, I know, one should give peace a chance, and look to Ganhdi, but my god! some people need to have their clock cleaned before they realize how stupid they are being.

Lisa B. said...

One of the worst experiences of all, in my humble opinion, is watching a fight a-brewin' right in front of you. It kind of takes the joy out of whatever else you're doing. Truly obnoxious, as you say, at a concert, where everyone should be having a fine old time. On the other hand? something interesting to blog about.

ErinAlice said...

Last time I went to a concert a drunken lady said "Nice butt" as I walked past her and then pinched me on the ass...I could have hit her but I figured hey, maybe she's just being really really friendly. I didn't go back by her chair though. She did end up being kinda obnoxious later. She left early. Thanks goodness-no blood. I think that is better than a girl fight. Too bad you didn't have a video camera-you could have put it on Youtube...

Condiment said...

Every day I am astonished at the rudeness of others. One would think I could get used to it after all these years. But it is still surprising to me, it is still fresh, it still grates. And I gotta say I love the idea of the composed, wronged woman bitch-slapping (sorry) that brunette without warning. It is wrong of me, perhaps, but I almost cheered.

Dr Write said...

Oh yes. I was not sad. Surprised. But if I had to take sides, I would have been down there slugging the perky blonde and the loud brunette. I felt a brief moment of victory of wronged people everywhere.