Sometimes Austin Audiences Shockingly Rude!

Dear Editor,
    Something has been bugging me about the Austin music scene, and it was really accentuated at the recent celebration of Steve Harris’ new book, Texas Troubadours.
    Many in this town are regularly displaying callous disregard for the very people they profess to revere – the singer-songwriters who bless us with each inspired performance.
    I have never witnessed such rudeness as was shown to local songwriters who could barely be heard above the conversations of certain attendees. As if those playing and singing were mere backdrops for the cliquish loudmouths who graced us with their presence.
    These people who are so full of themselves as they disrupt music venues all over town may think they are “making the scene” when in all truth they are just “making a scene.”
    The irony was poignant in this case since Texas Troubadours highlights many long-suffering Texas singer-songwriters, some of whom were performing. The hall of the gallery was resplendent with the book’s intimate black-and-white photographs of artists who are the heart and soul of Texas music and to whom it pays grateful tribute.
    This was a very personal setting in a room where the offenders were less than 20 feet from the musicians. To one who loves to hear songwriters perform it was especially disturbing in that the instruments and vocals were not amplified. How often are we privileged to hear the wonder of live music at a normal decibel level in this day and age?
    Years ago a wild Detroit audience booed Jimmy Page off stage for the sin of playing a 12-string acoustic guitar between sets, and I’m reminded of that embarrassing moment when I observe similar, albeit less rambunctious, narcissistic behavior here in Austin.
    That these exceptional artists endure it so professionally is a further tribute to them.