Live concerts have been picking up and doing well in India lately, the most notable one being the successful Coldplay tour in January in Mumbai and Ahmedabad, followed by Cigarettes After Sex which performed in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Gurugram, and the ongoing Ed Sheeran tour in Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Shillong, and Delhi-NCR.
Indian musician Armaan Malik, who performed for a Delhi-NCR audience on Saturday, gave his two cents on the appeal of attending concerts, citing various reasons for doing so.
"I think there are a lot of reasons to attend a concert. One is that there are a lot of core fans who are really, really big fans of the artist. So they go to see the artist, to listen to the music live. There is also a section where they think that these artists are definitely cool, let's check out and see how the vibe will be. And there are also people who have never attended a concert but because there has been a wave or a concert has been promoted in a way where the hype of that concert has increased. So I think a lot of people go because of FOMO (fear of missing out)," said the singer in an interaction with ANI.
Armaan feels that a two to three-hour-long concert makes people forget about their day-to-day problems and other stresses. "What we have witnessed with all these artists like Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, and my own concerts is that you will feel the audience wants to get an experience which takes them away from the stresses and problems of life, even if it is a concert of two to three hours. For those two to three hours, they forget all the other problems. And I think that is the beauty of a musical concert."
Recently, noted comedian, actor and musician Vir Das tweeted about certain so-called "fans" of Coldplay indulging in gatekeeping when it comes to those unfamiliar with any of the band's songs, adding that everyone is free to enjoy these concerts regardless of their knowledge of the songs.
Das wrote: "The number of asinine, 'Bro, they don’t even know any Coldplay songs; they just showed up' posts I have seen. So? Good. Now they do. It’s lights, music, dancing, and fun. Everyone’s entitled to enjoy. You don’t have the monopoly on fun because you sobbed to yellow one time."
The number of asinine “bro, they don’t even know any Coldplay songs, they just showed up” posts I have seen. So? Good. Now they do. It’s lights, music, dancing, and fun. Everyone’s entitled to enjoy. You don’t have the monopoly on fun because you sobbed to yellow one time.
— Vir Das (@thevirdas) January 27, 2025
