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Live music is better on your own terms. You don’t need anyone else to enjoy a show

Published October 21, 2026 12:00PM (EDT)

(Hans Neleman / Getty Images)

Early on a Tuesday evening, I arrived at a local dive bar for a show by Dream Syndicate . There’s no opening act (or rather, as Steve Wynn will later joke, the Dream Syndicate are opening for the Dream Syndicate) and a blissfully early 7 p.m. start time. I greeted the door woman, bought a bottle of water, grabbed a bar stool against the far wall, and opened the book in progress on my phone until the show started.

At the end of September, I walked into the Majestic Theatre to see the Michael Shannon/Jason Narducy R.E.M. tribute . It’s a GA venue that holds a little over 1,000. When the doors opened, I headed for the barrier for no other reason than the volume at that proximity helps drown out what jamband fans refer to as “chompers” — people who view concerts as suitable background for their conversations.…