Craig’s List - 5 Ways Concerts are Not Like Hockey Games

Craig’s List - 5 Ways Concerts are Not Like Hockey Games

Let's put the subject on ice ... 

by Craig Anderton 

Like most peoples’ opinion on this oft-debated subject, did you think there are more similarities than differences between hockey games and concerts? It’s a common misconception, but think again!

1. Band members get into fights—Charlie Watts punching Mick Jagger, the Lamb of God drunken brawl, the North Korea/South Korea-like dynamic of the Gallagher brothers from Oasis...even poofy hair bands like Poison have come to blows. Hockey players get into fights too, but they’re smarter—they fight people from the other teams!

2. Hockey “critics” are called referees, who watch every player’s moves and make a big fuss if someone’s not following the rules. So, be eternally thankful you don’t have some dimwit emo music blogger standing next to you onstage, and blowing a really loud whistle every time you hit a wrong note.

3. When hockey players do something bad, they have to spend time in a penalty box and pretend to look ashamed and dishonored. When rock groups do something bad, they get all kinds of free publicity in “entertainment” (I use the word loosely) TV shows so forgettable I can’t remember their names. But to be fair, it is difficult to throw a television from the penalty box. Or do things involving poodles, 3D IMAX glasses, and groupies.

4. During half-time at hockey games, they play music. But in an enduring riddle that no one has ever been able to figure out, during concert half-times musicians don’t play hockey. Why?

5. Hockey teams embrace cutting-edge devices called “clocks.” These marvels of modern technology divide the daily rotation of the earth into numerical reference points, which allow humans all over the world to synchronize their activities—including starting hockey games on time. Well, someday musicians will also discover “clocks,” so their concerts will start on time! Just don’t bet on it.

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 Craig Anderton is Editorial Director of Harmony Central. He has played on, mixed, or produced over 20 major label releases (as well as mastered over a hundred tracks for various musicians), and written over a thousand articles for magazines like Guitar Player, Keyboard, Sound on Sound (UK), and Sound + Recording (Germany). He has also lectured on technology and the arts in 38 states, 10 countries, and three languages.