My husband and I love attending concerts. Music is a big part of our relationship and we’d much rather spend money on a concert experience than going out to dinner. As my husband puts it: You just poop out that fancy food anyway.

We’ve seen quite the gamete of performers: Dave Matthews Band, Twenty One Pilots, Jay-Z, The All-American Rejects, Maroon 5, and many, many more. What never ceases to amaze me is the same types of people that show up to every single concert. No matter what genre…country, hip-hop, rock…there are always these five people in attendance.

The 5 People You Meet at Concerts

1. The Die-Hard Fan

You’ll know this person immediately because he’ll be wearing a worn band t-shirt that’s snug as a teddy bear and looks a little like Swiss cheese. It may smell like cheese too if you get close enough. The die-hard fan knows every single lyric. To every single song. She shouts them out as she sways and dances along. The die-hard fan is the first one to arrive and the last one to leave.

The die-hard fan is actually pretty great to be standing by. They bring a contagious energy and are almost as entertaining as the main stage.

2. Just Along for the Ride

At the opposite end of the spectrum, there’s always the person who doesn’t know the band and either scored free tickets from work or is on a blind date. Simply put, they are just along for the ride. To the avid concert goer, this person is a charlatan, a stick-in-the mud. They may try to bop along to the music, but their heart isn’t in it. They’re usually on their phone halfway in and if you offered a stick to prop them up, they’d take it.

The concert attendee who’s just along for the ride is a buzz-kill. If you ever happen to score free tickets to a band you don’t really know, do everyone a favor and either listen up before hand or at least pretend you’re having a good time.

3. The Way Too Old

It’s always a pleasant surprise to see the granny with her cane or the white-haired, wrinkled man at a concert that you’d never peg them for. And they’re having a great time! Extremes aside, never fail, at every single concert I’ve ever been too, there are always a few “mature” concert-goers that are dancing just as hard as the young ‘uns.

I’ll never forget the old man at a Jay-Z concert we attended. He must have been in his 80s and was bobbing his head to the beat the entire concert, a grin plastered to his face the whole time.

4. The Way Too Young

If you’re never too old to enjoy a concert, you’re never too young either. My fourth child attended a Macklemore concert in the womb. At six months pregnant, I could feel him squirming inside me as the music pulsed and vibrated. Maybe that’s why at now three-years-old he’s the best dancer in the family.

At pretty much every concert I’ve attended, there’s always someone who brings a baby. I’ve seen little ones strapped to their mamas wearing noise-protection earmuffs and toddlers riding their papa’s shoulders jumping along to the music.

4. The One Who Came To Party

Finally (unless you’re attending MoTab), the one person you are 100% guaranteed to run into at a concert is the guy or gal who came to party. You’ll know this person for their slurred lyrics and zombie dance moves. I’ve seen a man dancing with a dog, have had my shoe puked on, and walked a mile and a half back to our campsite at the Gorge Amphitheater in what felt like a scene from The Walking Dead. 

Just remember when it comes to concerts, one man’s drunken dog dance is another woman’s story to tell.

Concerts may not be for everyone, but for me, they are some of my favorite experiences. What’s cool is that all different kinds of people come out to enjoy music and have a good time. It’s a commonality you have with people you’d probably never meet otherwise.

My outlook on the types of people who attend concerts is mirrored by these great Ben Harper lyrics: “Your choice is who you choose to be; and if you’re causin’ no harm, then you’re alright with me.”