Concert Casual (A Lesson In Etiquette)

Casual: adj. appropriate for wear or use on informal occasions; not dressy: casual clothes; casual wear.

After India and I spent the evening at the Atmosphere show from his When God Gives You Ugly tour at Boston's new House of Blues, we realized the drastic importance of qualifying the meaning of concert dress code and rules of conduct. Yes, this is a fashion and etiquette lesson, so be prepared. And yes, there will be a quiz afterwards...

Sadly, the worst offenders were female, though their male counterparts were not entirely blameless. Probably the best example of "what not to wear" is simultaneously the poster child for how you shouldn't act while in public (or ever). I give you (drum roll please)...Example A, the girl wearing a mini-dress, cowboy boots, and cowboy hat to the Atmosphere show.

Example A found herself grinding (apparently no one explained to her that this show was not her high school prom) throughout the night with a nameless scruffy male, during which time her dress continued to hike itself up (those things have a mind of their own, best not to be combined with alcohol), thus exposing her hind quarters (I don't care how much she works out, this is not something I want to see) through out the course of the evening. And let's just say she wasn't wearing boy shorts underneath or anything like that. Way to stay classy.

I call attention to this concert faux pas because of the sheer obliviousness demonstrated by sad little Example A and her equally classless crowd. India and I were simply baffled. Can someone please explain the need to wear heels and ridiculously immodest clothes to an occasion where: 1) it's dark; 2) your eyes are glued to the stage (except when you find yourself distracted by public displays of nudity); and 3) you run the risk of getting pushed, stepped on, spilled on, etc.? The worse part about this was that Example A was not an anomaly; rather, there were hoards of duplicates all over the House of Blues last night.

Ultimately, I just don't understand people who pay to go to a show and then pay no attention whatsoever. I'm not saying that everyone should be as crazy obsessed as I am (or as fabulous in my new Atmosphere hoodie!); I'm merely insisting on concert casual when it comes to dress and behavior. This roughly translates as being fully clothed and appreciating the music.

For fun, let's just say that Example B would be the dynamic Lolly/India duo: rocking jeans and tees, with India in her supa fly Bodega kicks and me with my trusty Havianas. No frills!--though my leather "Lolly" wrist cuff is pretty rock star. This low-key look is ideal concert apparel. We survived multiple beverage spills (thank you to the rowdy boys behind us) and a legitimate girl fight (with bouncers breaking it up and everything!), unscathed and styling in our little corner of the third-floor balcony. What's more, our concert casual kept us comfortable so we were able to rock out until the lights came up.

So I told you there would be a quiz, and this one is do or die. To be fair, I'm keeping it multiple choice. The question is: Define concert casual. Example A or Example B? No pressure or anything.

Atmosphere photo courtesy of the Village Voice Blog, online at www.blogs.villagevoice.com.