When I was a child, my dad used to take me to classic music concerts – piano concerts, cello concerts and the like. I really loved the music but hated having to sit still for so long. I got used to the tradition in classic music concerts to sit still on your chair in an orderly fashion and try not to sneeze or in any other way disrupt the dignified performance.

As a teenager, I loved going to rock and pop concerts, when they came anywhere close to my home town (which was not very often, since I grew up on the German countryside). I loved the party that a concert represents, with drinks and dancing and screaming and generally being wild.

But it seems that the Rock stars of my time have grown old and their concerts have turned into “classical music”.

I recently went to a Rolling Stones concert in Homebush and last night to an Eric Clapton concert in the Entertainment Centre. Both times , I sat in a far away corner from centre stage and was not able to see much of the stars. I still enjoyed their great music.

In last night’s concert, I dared get up and stand in one of the large hallways that connect the rangs – and of course I started to dance, ’cause that’s what Eric Clapton music does to me! To my enormous disappointment, I was asked by some dorky security guard to get back to my seat.

What bad can a little dance do? Why is it not allowed to have fun at a Rock concert of old stars? It gave me 100 times the enjoyment of the music in comparison to being nailed down in a seat! And I’m sure, if more people were allowed to show their joy this way, the musician would also have more fun in the concert. To me, it seemed like Eric was rather disappointed with the Sydney crowd. Well NO FU….. WONDER!

I think, in future I will stick to the concerts of younger and local musicians and crowds – such as Missy Higgins or Xavier Rudd, where you are actually encouraged to enjoy the music with your full conscience and body. Those classic music concerts just made me feel old and joyless…