Story #2: Concerts

Last weekend, I attended a few shows at Willamette Week's MusicFestNW in Portland, Ore.  The following are musings from that experience and from a Radiohead concert in Auburn, Wash.

1. Dancing.  People in Portland, or at least the ones at the shows I attended, do not dance.  How can you watch TV on the Radio, where the lead singer is shimmying around on stage, and not move your body at least a tiny bit?  The Radiohead show was just as bad.  Part of me cuts the crowd some slack for being in an amphitheatre, but then the other part of me just can't understand how you can stand still to that music.  Sure it was a big venue, but Radiohead can fill the space.
2. Recycling.  At the Radiohead show, they asked us to remove and dispose of the caps to our water bottles.  This is problematic because, as I previously stated, I dance during concerts.  And even if I were a non-dancer, maybe I might have to use the restroom.  In either case, having a full and open bottle of water is inconvenient, if not actually gross (as in the restroom case).  They stated that it was because the caps are not recyclable [note: this is the correct spelling of that word, I checked].  My thought: Um, could you place trash and recycling bins together with a large sign about the caps?  Or make us sign a waiver saying, "By declining to trash my cap at the venue entrance, I hereby promise to throw my cap in the trash, not in the recycling bin with the bottle."
3. Bathrooms.  The demographics at the Radiohead show must have been a little skewed.  For the first time in my life, the line to the men's restroom was about 5 times the length of the line to the women's restroom.  This is despite the fact that (so I am told) the men's restroom at the White River Amphitheatre consists of a big peeing trough.  I'm sure there are stalls for the "Number 2" business, but still.  A big trough.  And a line 5 times longer than the women's.
4. Sweat.  Concert venues would benefit from a more advanced cooling system, wherein the area toward the front, where people crowd so tightly that body heat abounds, is cooled more than the rest of the venue.  I get tired of leaving concerts looking like I just got out of the shower.  I would say just turn up the A/C in the whole venue to alleviate the sweating of all involved, but I acknowledge that it could get chilly for those folks in the back.  But hey, maybe this would finally make them dance to stay warm!