SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The summer concert season is in full swing and now seems like a good time to revisit the basics of concert etiquette.

After the Lakeview Amphitheater opened last weekend with two wildly different shows, it became clear some people forgot how to behave at concerts.

Common sense, basic decency and courtesy will make the overall concert experience better for yourself and your fellow music fans. And when concert tickets cost an arm and leg, why wouldn't you do everything you can to make it the best night ever?

Here are five concert etiquette topics to keep in mind.

1. Cell phone use

Most concerts take places in dark places. Waving around your bright cell phone screen can be as distracting as bringing a live cat to a show.

Every phone has the capability to dim screen brightness. Do it before the show starts. Please.

Taking photos is a standard expectation most concertgoers have. Some artists, like Taylor Swift, even encourage it to promote their brand as a social experience.

Some concerts are the complete opposite. Bob Dylan's strict ban on cell phones annoyed more than a few concertgoers on Sunday.

If the show policy requires phones to be off and away, just do it. People lived without cell phones for centuries. You can spare a few hours. (Is there a family emergency? Just take your call in the lobby.)

As far as documenting the experience, go ahead, snap a photo of the band. It'll probably suck and look fuzzy, but you're free to do it.

Are you Snapchatting 10 seconds of The Mavericks to send to your friend who couldn't attend Jazz Fest this year? Fine, just try not block anyone's view.

Are you shooting a live video of the entire Brit Floyd concert to share with your cousin on Facebook later that night? Stop. You're driving the people behind you crazy and your cousin should've bought a ticket if he wanted to see the whole freaking show.

Are you playing The Sims on your phone in the middle of Boyd Tinsley's furious fiddle solo? That's so rude. Why did you even come? Go home.

2. Recycling

Any trash you produce during your stay at a music venue belongs in a trash can. Not around the trash can, not on the stage and not on the ground, where people can and will trip on it.

After trash cans filled up, concertgoers threw their cans on the ground at the Jason Aldean concert at the Lakeview Amphitheater on July 15, 2016.

Your recyclable bottles or cans belong in recycling bins. It's not hard to hold on to your empty can until you get to a bin in the parking lot or lobby. Just try it.

Even after a thorough cleanup by the Amp's grounds crew after Zac Brown Band on Saturday night, hundreds of cigarette butts, papers and foil wrappers still remained on the lawn for Bob Dylan's show on Sunday. Gross.

Hundreds of cans left strewn on the lawn of the Lakeview Amphitheater after Zac Brown Band performed on June 24. (Katrina Tulloch)

3. Dancing

Music exists to be enjoyed and people enjoy shows in different ways. Some people want to sit and listen, while some people want to stand up and dance.

Compromise is key.

More often than not, a few dancers start a ripple effect to convince people behind them to stand up and dance too. It's a beautiful thing and performers often appreciate it.

Local singer/songwriter Tanksley loves seeing his crowds dance and move freely.

"I think that some people get caught up in what others may or may not think of them and it severs the flow of energy," said Tanksley. "I think it's one of the best times to enjoy just being human and let all of your negativity out. It's important to relish in the freedom."

Dancers have every right to dance. They don't need to ask permission to do it.

But some people prefer to sit. Some have mobility issues and can't stand up. They deserve to have fun too. If the people seated behind dancers can't see the show, they have the right to ask politely if the dancers would move.

If this happens, dancers should listen and find a spot elsewhere. In any venue, there are places to dance -- up front, on the sides or even in the back. Fighting about it, or imploring seated people to dance too, is not a solution. Don't ruin someone else's experience.

There are exceptions. Sitting is expected at the opera, classical concerts and many low-key folk/acoustic shows. Read the room.

At Bob Dylan's show, a woman next to me started dancing in front of her seat. A security guard swooped down on her and told her she had to sit down or move, because it was a seated show.

She sat, then moved over to dance on the lawn. The seated folks behind her encouraged her to dance if she wanted -- it didn't bother them. The show went on without incident.

TL:DR? Respect each other and don't be jerks.

A woman dances to the sounds of the Soft Spoken Band. The second night of the 2017 M&T Bank Syracuse Jazz Festival at Onondaga Community College, Syracuse, Saturday June 10, 2017. (Michael Greenlar | mgreenlar@syracuse.com)

4. Screaming

Are you at a sold-out Zac Brown Band show and you want to scream "I love you!" to Clay Cook after he slayed his cover of "Whipping Post" by the Allman Brothers Band? Go ahead. Clay deserves it and everyone agrees with you.

Are you drunk at a 700-person concert at the Westcott Theater screaming the name of a local lead singer, between songs, because you went to the same high school? Stop. The singer isn't laughing and the crowd isn't laughing. You're creepy and you're annoying. Everyone hates you. Go home.

At certain shows, people won't scream but they will engage in loud conversations.

Here's a bonus tip from CNY music expert and Soundcheck radio host Dave Frisina, who may have attended more concerts than anyone else in Syracuse.



"Keep the talking to an absolute minimum during the show (except between songs)," said Frisina. "This isn't 'background' for a conversation, I'm here to hear the music! If you're not engaged in the band, move to the outskirts of the venue and chat away."

5. Drinking

Let's be adults here. People will drink at concerts and some people will go harder than others.

Did you knock into a guy and spill his beer? Offer to buy him a new one.

Did a woman fall down in front of you and hurt her knee? Help her up.

Did your friend have too many rum & cokes and now he's challenging a father of three to fight in the parking lot? Talk him down, for crying out loud, and get him some water.

Did your designated driver end up drinking? Call a taxi, Lyft or Uber. There is no excuse for driving drunk.

Take care of each other. You're all there to have fun.

Got any more concert etiquette tips? Leave them in comments below.

Katrina Tulloch writes music and culture stories for Syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Contact her: Email | Twitter | Facebook