Illustration: Henk van Ruitenbeek I was talking to a Chilean friend recently about the kind of concerts she and I had attended. I asked her: ‘Have you noticed the lack of emotion?’ She answered: ‘Ah yes, that is called the Dutch disease’. Her Dutch boyfriend had told her that. It means that people just go on standing or sitting still, talking and drinking, no matter what kind of music the artists are playing.
Dear Dutch people, life is too short to keep still at a concert!
Unlike in the Netherlands, in South America massive concerts only take place in big cities such as Santiago, Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo. When world-famous bands play, people may travel more than 1000 km to hear them, and sometimes people even camp outside the stadium (speaking from my own experience). Once the concert starts, the collective euphoria rocks the entire stadium. Throughout the concert, people sing, jump, scream and sometimes cry. They never talk!
I have just obtained a ticket to attend Metallica’s concert in Amsterdam next year. I am looking forward to seeing how the symptoms of the Dutch disease will show up then.
Dear Dutch people, life is too short to keep still at a concert. Feel the music!
Pamela Bachmann Vargas, PhD candidate of the Environmental Policy Group, from Chile
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