Called the ‘Dutch disease’ by both the Dutch and foreigners, it’s terribly irritating when concertgoers talk through a concert. I can’t say there’s nothing worse than that because they are also morons who let their phones ring or block your view while filming, and a few other annoyances of that category. In any case, it’s disrespectful and a big problem.
Luckily, The Hague pop venue Paard had already introduced in February the ‘lul-niet-lolly’ (roughly, ‘don’t-blabble-lollypop’) and it’s now caught on at another 22 pop venues, including 013 in Tilburg, de Oosterpoort in Groningen, Doornroosje in Nijmegen, Rotown in Rotterdam, and de Effenaar in Eindhoven.
You suck on a lolly and you’re not ruining the concert experience for someone who actually cares about the money and time they spent to get to the show. It’s so bad sometimes that bands from other countries are warned this might happen and that it’s a shameful cultural phenomenon. I’ve even seen acts stop playing and tell the persons talking if they are enjoying the show and then tell them to shut the hell up or even leave.
If people want to act like children, they might as well suck on a lollypop to keep quiet.
(Link: nos.nl, Photo of South African rapper Jack Parow by Orangemaster)
Thanks to a new Dutch app called ‘Stop-App’, people will be able to report cat-calling, whistling, hissing (it’s a thing here) and threats of many kinds on the streets of Rotterdam. As of 1 January 2018, this kind of behaviour will be punishable by law with fines starting at 190 euro and running up to 4100 euro or three months in jail.
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