People watching, the new American past-time (part one)...
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
I will admit (though I don't really want to) the real reason I go to the mall... To watch the people.
It's more entertaining than anything you can see on Fox or Mtv. But, I am happy to report, I no longer have to go to the mall to watch people; I can go to my favorite bar and see even more interesting aspects of human behavior.
Now, we're all familiar with the traditional mall behavior of human beings. The most visible nowadays being the middle class, white male attempting to look like he is a roughneck from the inner city. There are other common ones as well, the teenage girl and her friends looking for new clothes/boyfriends. The disgruntled child being dragged around the mall by their parent. The husband who is in the mall, under duress. These have become, trite and very stereotypical in my humble opinion. So I have begun to look elsewhere for entertainment.
Where I have I found it? The local music scene. I am what some people would call a "scenester". Except I am different from most scenesters, at least in my area, because I actually care about the people on-stage and am friends with many of them. My favorite new group of people to watch are those who are new to the scene and whatever club I happen to be at. There are the tell-tale signs: the glassy-eyed, deer-in-headlights look, the pensive smiles on their faces which says "Do I really want to be here? Who suggested this place anyway? Is that man in vinyl pants?!?". This usually takes about five to ten minutes, the decision to stay or go is generally agreed upon and they go on the move. The first destination is usually the bar, where they ask for something which invariably the bar doesn't carry. And that's only if they can get past the appearance of the bartender. Now, he is by no means ugly, he just looks different. He's very tall and lanky and has a haircut similar to something you'd see on someone involved in the new wave movement in say 1983. If you know him, you'd say he can do whatever the heck he wants, but most new people have a picture of what a bartender should be in their heads and he doesn't fit the mold (and he doesn't care). If they can't get past his looks, they usually find a waitress and order from her. Then the search for a seat begins, if there are no wingmen available to scout some seats they have to fend for themselves. Invariably displacing a regular who has left their seat to go talk to a friend. This is generally upsetting to the regulars and considered bad form.
Then there are the people who are there to try and get laid. You can sometimes tell by their apparel, but this can be decieving. My favortie are the older men who come out to try and pick up a younger woman. Now, some older men can do this, others can't. For example, I was watching a friend's band play and there was this guy who came in and hit on every girl in the place (literally) and used some cliched pick-up line on each girl. "Where have you been all my life?" being the one most easily remembered. He even tried to dance, if he ever had a chance with anyone in that bar, male or female, he lost it the second he began dancing (picture a dance scene in a John Hughes film fifty years from now). The younger men are fun too, lurking by the bar, leering at women as they walk past. Every so often uttering as a girl they find attractive walks up to the bar "Hey, how you doin'?...Oh, you're getting a drink." You can almost smell the desperation. Now women do this too, it's just a bit more subtle-sometimes. There is always the one girl who walks around and asks each guy "Are you in the band?". Other times, women will just follow (okay, stalk) the guy they want around the bar; this is disconcerting to the guy as well as to their girlfriends.
These are just some of my favorite types of people to watch, I haven't even covered the college crowd. Or, the rock-n-rollers I so loveingly call my friends and family. Keep checking back to my here or my journal for any updates I may have. If you have any suggestions as to where I should look for more fun people to watch, let me know!!
Note: this is by no means meant to stereotype anyone, it is merely my take on some recent experiences with the people who inspired this piece.
It's more entertaining than anything you can see on Fox or Mtv. But, I am happy to report, I no longer have to go to the mall to watch people; I can go to my favorite bar and see even more interesting aspects of human behavior.
Now, we're all familiar with the traditional mall behavior of human beings. The most visible nowadays being the middle class, white male attempting to look like he is a roughneck from the inner city. There are other common ones as well, the teenage girl and her friends looking for new clothes/boyfriends. The disgruntled child being dragged around the mall by their parent. The husband who is in the mall, under duress. These have become, trite and very stereotypical in my humble opinion. So I have begun to look elsewhere for entertainment.
Where I have I found it? The local music scene. I am what some people would call a "scenester". Except I am different from most scenesters, at least in my area, because I actually care about the people on-stage and am friends with many of them. My favorite new group of people to watch are those who are new to the scene and whatever club I happen to be at. There are the tell-tale signs: the glassy-eyed, deer-in-headlights look, the pensive smiles on their faces which says "Do I really want to be here? Who suggested this place anyway? Is that man in vinyl pants?!?". This usually takes about five to ten minutes, the decision to stay or go is generally agreed upon and they go on the move. The first destination is usually the bar, where they ask for something which invariably the bar doesn't carry. And that's only if they can get past the appearance of the bartender. Now, he is by no means ugly, he just looks different. He's very tall and lanky and has a haircut similar to something you'd see on someone involved in the new wave movement in say 1983. If you know him, you'd say he can do whatever the heck he wants, but most new people have a picture of what a bartender should be in their heads and he doesn't fit the mold (and he doesn't care). If they can't get past his looks, they usually find a waitress and order from her. Then the search for a seat begins, if there are no wingmen available to scout some seats they have to fend for themselves. Invariably displacing a regular who has left their seat to go talk to a friend. This is generally upsetting to the regulars and considered bad form.
Then there are the people who are there to try and get laid. You can sometimes tell by their apparel, but this can be decieving. My favortie are the older men who come out to try and pick up a younger woman. Now, some older men can do this, others can't. For example, I was watching a friend's band play and there was this guy who came in and hit on every girl in the place (literally) and used some cliched pick-up line on each girl. "Where have you been all my life?" being the one most easily remembered. He even tried to dance, if he ever had a chance with anyone in that bar, male or female, he lost it the second he began dancing (picture a dance scene in a John Hughes film fifty years from now). The younger men are fun too, lurking by the bar, leering at women as they walk past. Every so often uttering as a girl they find attractive walks up to the bar "Hey, how you doin'?...Oh, you're getting a drink." You can almost smell the desperation. Now women do this too, it's just a bit more subtle-sometimes. There is always the one girl who walks around and asks each guy "Are you in the band?". Other times, women will just follow (okay, stalk) the guy they want around the bar; this is disconcerting to the guy as well as to their girlfriends.
These are just some of my favorite types of people to watch, I haven't even covered the college crowd. Or, the rock-n-rollers I so loveingly call my friends and family. Keep checking back to my here or my journal for any updates I may have. If you have any suggestions as to where I should look for more fun people to watch, let me know!!
Note: this is by no means meant to stereotype anyone, it is merely my take on some recent experiences with the people who inspired this piece.
