<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/578902124321f1f5018b87c0-1440/75th st corridor_csxlocomotive.jpg" alt="75th St Corridor_CSXlocomotive" data-mce-source="Sam Rega" /><p class="source"><span>Sam Rega</span></p><p class="caption">The CSX locomotives expel thousands of horsepower to get the freight train moving.</p></div><p></p></div></div>A freight train more than 10,000 feet long, hauling hundreds of shipping containers, sits idle in residential Chicago. It's the middle of the afternoon, and the CSX train is just parked there. Waiting.</p><p>At this stretch of railroad, known as the 75th Street Corridor, that scene plays out day after day. Freight trains spend hours waiting for commuter and Amtrak trains to clear a single intersection, blocking their path and preventing the delivery of goods.</p><p>The corridor sits in an urban neighborhood southwest of downtown Chicago. It's widely considered the worst choke point for rail movement in the city, which is the busiest rail hub in the nation. With hundreds of billions of dollars in goods traveling through Chicago by rail every year, each minute those freight trains are stalled, companies and consumers alike are losing money or being forced to spend more for the goods those trains haul.</p><p>Down the track from the stationary CSX train, a Metra commuter train rumbles through the worst part of the corridor: Forest Hill Junction, a six-track intersection shared by Amtrak, commuter, and freight rail. A few minutes later, another Metra train rolls through. Because these commuter trains run perpendicular to the track the freight train uses - and almost always have the right of way - the freight has to wait.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/578904164321f1c62f8b7f5f-1440/75th st corridor_diamonds_overhead.jpg" alt="75th St Corridor_diamonds_overhead" data-mce-source="Andrew Stern" /><p class="source"><span>Andrew Stern</span></p><p class="caption">The cause of so many delays: the Forest Hill Junction.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>"It really is the Gordian knot of Chicago that has to be untangled," Tom Livingston, a CSX vice president for government affairs, told Business Insider. "It would be like two major interstates meeting each other at a four-way stop sign."</p><p>After a half hour or so, a whistle rings out. The freight train shudders and groans as the conductor nudges it into motion. Finally, slowly, it's back on its way, moving goods through the city.</p><p>"It really is impactful on the entire nation in terms of moving traffic through," Livingston said. "You have freight moving at every point on the compass, and a lot of it."</p><h3>'The Super Bowl of freight rail'</h3><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image on-image"><a title_source="Chicago Department of Transportation" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5791038d88e4a7f4328b99c7-960/projareamapsnewlarge.jpg"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5791038d88e4a7f4328b99c7-748/projareamapsnewlarge.jpg" alt="75th Street Corridor" data-mce-source="Chicago Department of Transportation" data-link="http://www.75thcip.org/projmaplarge.html" /></a><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.75thcip.org/projmaplarge.html">Chicago Department of Transportation</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div>This might not sound like a huge problem - most people probably prefer their commutes take precedence over freight rail movements.</p><p>The mess of an intersection, however, takes on outsized importance given its location.</p><p>Chicago is the rail capital of the country. About 40% of the ton-miles (freight tonnage multiplied by distance traveled) that freight travels in this country goes by rail, and nearly one-third of that goes through Chicago.</p><p>"There's no other mode of transportation where a third of something goes anywhere," Livingston said. "You can do everything right everywhere else, from sea to shining sea, on our network, and Chicago is the goal line. And you can't fumble on the goal line."</p><p>Freight rail is divided into three classifications, with Class I being the largest and including national operators like CSX and Union Pacific. Chicago is the only place in the country where six of the seven Class I operators interconnect. That's why Livingston refers to the city as "the Super Bowl of freight rail."</p><p>The overlap, while vital, leads to massive congestion and costly delays.</p><p>An <a href="https://www.Amtrak.com/ccurl/978/381/Amtrak-Chicago-Gateway-Railway-Capactiy-Constraints.pdf">Amtrak study</a> of the Chicago rail problem found that a train shipment spends an average of <strong>30 hours</strong> traversing the Chicago region. To put that into context, freight often takes 48 hours to get from Los Angeles to Chicago.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/57891a3488e4a714088b8709-1440/75th st corridor_aerial train.jpg" alt="75th St Corridor_aerial train" data-mce-source="Andrew Stern" /><p class="source"><span>Andrew Stern</span></p><p class="caption">CSX's freight train stretches into the distance as it traverses the Forest Hill Junction.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>In real, economic terms, the Chicago rail hub could potentially affect somewhere between <strong>$657 billion and $799 billion annually</strong>, according to the same Amtrak study. That figure, however, has been disputed by "an economist who once served as a lead planner for the Chicago region." The study isn't "junk, but that $800 billion number is just absurd," he said, according to <a href="http://www.railwayage.com/index.php/passenger/intercity/blue-ribbon-panel-how-to-unclog-chicago.html">Railway Age</a>.</p><p>Even if that number is overblown, freight rail <em>did</em> move <strong>1.7 billion tons of freight</strong> valued at <strong>$427 billion</strong> in 2010, the last year for which <a href="http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/freight/freight_analysis/nat_freight_stats/docs/11factsfigures/pdfs/fff2011_highres.pdf">data was available</a>. Given that almost one-third of that travels through Chicago, the economic effects of delays are huge.</p><p>And these aren't just abstract costs. Rail ships many of the bulk products and household goods consumers rely on: car parts, grain, natural gas, UPS packages, you name it. When rail shipments are held up, those costs can be passed to the consumer.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/57891ef988e4a725238b83da-1920/75th st corridor_track level.jpg" alt="75th St Corridor_track level" data-mce-source="Sam Rega" /><p class="source"><span>Sam Rega</span></p><p class="caption">Waiting for the CSX train to move.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><h3>Founding Create</h3><p>To alleviate the problems intersections like these pose to freight companies, travelers, commuters, and consumers, the rail companies banded together with Amtrak, Metra, the City of Chicago, the State of Illinois, and the US Department of Transportation to found <a href="http://www.createprogram.org/">The Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program</a>, or Create.</p><p>Create identified 70 projects throughout the Chicago metro region that, when completed, could drastically reduce delays and better manage congestion.</p><p>Englewood Junction, on the south side of Chicago <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?ll=41.780168%2C-87.628702&amp;spn=0.003615%2C0.005681&amp;msa=0&amp;mid=1rirE4GhUm9P-BGD-_NmCMlQYnE8">near I-94 and 63rd Street</a>, used to be the worst choke point in the region. So Create <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XMIY_T_agA">built a flyover</a> - basically an overpass that carries one train over another in a different direction. The Englewood flyover separated 46 freight trains, 78 Metra trains, and 14 Amtrak trains that pass through daily and eliminated 7,500 annual hours of delays for commuters, <a href="http://www.createprogram.org/factsheets/P1_new.pdf">according to Create</a>.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5789202e88e4a79f178b850d-572/englewood flyover.png" alt="Englewood flyover" data-mce-source="Brian Jackson" data-link="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tC_mz3jD6sM&amp;feature=youtu.be" /><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tC_mz3jD6sM&amp;feature=youtu.be">Brian Jackson</a></span></p><p class="caption">The Englewood flyover separates train traffic.</p></div><p></p></div></div>A similar solution could unclog the 75th Street Corridor. The proposed flyover would eliminate conflicts between 30 Metra commuter trains and 35 freight trains every day. But the project can't proceed unless Create secures the necessary funding.</p><p>A lack of investment in infrastructure projects like this one has become all too common in the US. America spends <a href="https://data.oecd.org/chart/4Azj">far less a percentage of its gross domestic product on infrastructure</a> than many of its economic rivals, and consumers everywhere can feel the effects of that divestment. The 75th Street Corridor is a perfect example of how that oversight harms the economy.</p><p>America's future competitiveness in a global economy depends on its ability to move a tremendous amount of goods around the country. If trains are stuck waiting for hours on end just to move through Chicago, that harms not just the rail companies and the city of Chicago, but the entire economy as well.</p><p>For a deeper dive on the state of America's infrastructure, see our special report "<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-americas-crumbling-infrastructure-is-harming-its-economy-and-future-2016-7">The United States of Disrepair</a>."</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-americas-crumbling-infrastructure-is-harming-its-economy-and-future-2016-7">There's a multitrillion-dollar issue US politicians actually agree on, and it's making gas, food, and travel more expensive</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="VtZmNyNDE6e3oymCXXMXjk4AszZ-E1xM" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'VtZmNyNDE6e3oymCXXMXjk4AszZ-E1xM',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div><meta content="cms.next" name="cmsei" />

This spot in Chicago is the epitome of a more than $100 billion problem facing America

<div id="ooyalaplayer" style="width: 800px; height: 450px;"></div><div style="display:none;" id="kalturavideoplaceholder">kalturavideoplaceholder</div><p>&#xa0;</p><div><div><script src="https://apis.google.com/js/platform.js"></script><div class="g-ytsubscribe" data-channel="BusinessInsider" data-layout="full" data-count="default"></div></div></div><p class="embed-spacer"></p><p dir="ltr"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Studying philosophy in college almost ruined Victoria Reed's life. But Reed, the daughter of a successful rock musician (<a href="http://altoreed.com/about/">Alto Reed</a>, part of <a href="http://www.bobseger.com/band/alto-reed/">Bob Seger's Silver Bullet Band</a>), dropped out one semester shy of graduating to follow her dream - becoming a musician herself.</span></p><p dir="ltr"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">In the first episode of <em>One Song Story</em>, Reed reveals the advice she would have given to herself a few years ago when she was freaking out during a "dark night of the soul." And, she explains how that dark time ultimately provided the fuel for her to realize her career dreams. </span></p><p dir="ltr"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The video is set to her moving single "Make It Easy" from her debut album </span><em style="line-height: 1.5em;">Chariot</em><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">, <a href="http://www.victoriareedmusic.com/store/chariot">out February 26th</a>.</span></p><p><em>Produced and edited by <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/author/andrew-stern">Andrew Stern</a><br /></em></p><p><em>Cinematography by David Fang</em></p><p><strong>Follow BI Video:&#xa0;</strong><a href="https://twitter.com/BI_Video" target="_blank">On&#xa0;Twitter</a></p><p>&#xa0;</p><meta content="cms.next" name="cmsei" />

Up-and-coming songwriter reveals the advice she'd give to her younger self when she was freaking out during a "dark night of the soul" 

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/56461b2911231419008b4efa-813-610/screen%20shot%202015-11-13%20at%2012.14.53%20pm.png" alt="DFS protest signs" data-mce-source="Andrew Stern" data-mce-caption="DFS protesters outside AG Schneiderman's office"><p class="source"><span>Andrew Stern</span></p><p class="caption">DFS protesters outside AG Schneiderman's office</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>Protesters gathered outside New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's office to challenge his recent ruling that daily fantasy sports constitute illegal gambling in New York state.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Led by FanDuel co-founder Tom Griffiths and other industry employees, about a hundred gathered before 8am for what's been dubbed the "Fantasy Sports for All" coalition. They hoisted signs reading, "Keep your laws off my lineup" and "If only politics were skill-based," a nod to the federal statute proclaiming online games of skill are legal, whereas gambling games are not (daily fantasy sports are classified as games of skill in most states, at least for the time being).</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In response to the Attorney General's ruling, Griffiths tells Business Insider: "He acted unlike any other AG in the country... It's surprising that he has acted unilaterally overnight to shut us down."</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/56461b7e2491f92b008b4ef8-812-609/screen%20shot%202015-11-13%20at%2011.20.27%20am.png" alt="DFS protest Tom Griffiths" data-mce-source="Andrew Stern" data-mce-caption="FanDuel co-Founder Tom Griffiths led the chants"><p class="source"><span>Andrew Stern</span></p><p class="caption">FanDuel co-Founder Tom Griffiths led the chants</p></img></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In his cease and desist letter sent to both companies on Nov. 11, Schneiderman said, "Daily fantasy sports is neither victimless nor harmless, and it is clear that DraftKings and FanDuel are the leaders of a massive, multi-billion-dollar scheme intended to evade the law and fleece sports fans across the country. Today we have sent a clear message: not in New York, and not on my watch."</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Daily Fantasy Sports industry has been all over the media in recent weeks and months, and there are some huge, vested interests at stake. With billions of dollars in wagers changing hands each year, hundreds of millions of dollars in advertising flowing from DFS sites to ESPN, Fox Sports and the like, and the billion-plus dollar valuations of both FanDuel and DraftKings, many prominent businesses are keeping a watchful eye on how this all plays out.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As we discussed on WNYC's "Money Talking" this week, with many states having similar gambling statutes on the books as New York, Schneiderman's ruling could have far-reaching implications for this burgeoning industry.</span>&#xa0;<div><iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" height="130" width="100%" src="https://www.wnyc.org/widgets/ondemand_player/wnyc/#file=/audio/json/548366/&amp;share=1"></iframe></div></p><p class="embed-spacer"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Griffiths tells Business Insider that he'll continue to fight the ruling. </span></p><p class="embed-spacer"><span style="font-weight: 400;">"Fantasy sports is played by 60 million people across the country," he says.&#xa0;"We want to keep it legal and fun and available to play."</span></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/meagan-cignoli-stop-motion-vines-2015-10">This woman was a genius at stop-motion Vine videos, so she turned her hobby into a business</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="QwY2JkeDo8iX9-RU2mub5u_bUAQ4EJXS" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'QwY2JkeDo8iX9-RU2mub5u_bUAQ4EJXS',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div><meta content="cms.next" name="cmsei" />

FanDuel's cofounder and an army of employees protest AG Schneiderman's ruling against fantasy sports: "If only politics were skill-based"

<p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/562571c5bd86effb5b8b7f91-2845-2134/gettyimages-466652095.jpg" alt="Sports fans cheering" data-mce-source="Getty Images" /><p class="source"><span>Getty Images</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>We're working on a report about the cultural phenomenon of Daily Fantasy Sports - what it is and how it works. But in particular, we want to hang out with people immersed in the game. </span></p><p>Do you play on sites like DraftKings or FanDuel on a regular basis? Is this a major passion of yours, with or without high stakes? Have you won - or lost - a large amount of money doing so? Are you willing to speak with Business Insider on camera about your experiences?</p><p>If you answered yes to some or all of those questions, we'd like to hear from you, regardless of where you live. As one part of this project, though, we are looking to follow some New York City fans who play together, so let us know if you and your friends are interested.</p><p>Email us at dfs@businessinsider.com, and please include your name, where you live, your occupation, what the sport means to you, how often you play DFS, which site(s) you play on, and how much money you typically wager in a week.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/jon-stewart-wwe-summerslam-betrayal-john-cena-seth-rollins-2015-8">Jon Stewart's epic betrayal of John Cena shocked the WWE universe</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="wwM2k2dzpKE1rdlruQKWmnMNL41IWSmU" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'wwM2k2dzpKE1rdlruQKWmnMNL41IWSmU',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div><meta content="cms.next" name="cmsei" />

Are you a passionate DFS player in New York City or elsewhere? If so, we want to hear from you

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img style="float: right;" src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5612a78ebd86ef13008bf3db-2661-1996/grace_hand_up.jpg" alt="Grace_hand_up" data-mce-source="Getty Images" data-mce-caption="Potter summons her power"><p class="source"><span>Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Grace Potter summons her power.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>Adele does not have the best voice in music. Nor does Beyoncé, Ariana Grande, Christina Aguilera, Lady Gaga, Kelly Clarkson, Mariah Carey, or any other pop superstar you might have pictured in your mind. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">No, the best voice in music belongs to a woman many probably do not know. She's Robert Plant good. Freddie Mercury good. She's, dare I say, Aretha Franklin good.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The best voice on planet earth right now belongs to </span><a href="http://gracepotter.com/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Grace Potter</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.&#xa0; </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Potter recently threw down a two-and-a-half hour rock show for the ages at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. With nary an empty seat in the house, she took to the stage like a hurricane, leaving no one unaffected in her wake. She was a mystical flower child spinning and twirling in a haze of fog in front of a giant screen projecting stars and galaxies behind her. She ran around the stage, jumped up and down with the beat, cajoling the fans onto their feet before settling into position.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5612a866bd86ef17008bf2ec-2661-1996/galactic_backdrop.jpg" alt="Grace_Galactic_backdrop" data-mce-source="Getty Images" data-mce-caption="Grace Potter's galactic backdrop at Radio City Music Hall"><p class="source"><span>Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Grace Potter's galactic backdrop at Radio City Music Hall.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Then, planted firmly at center stage, arms outstretched wide to her sides, she seemed to begin absorbing power from the universe itself, drawing in energy from everyone in the room. Her hand reached to the sky, channeling every last drop of force the ether could muster. You could feel the galactic storm building inside her. The power trapped within her body, yearning to be unleashed.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After a deep breath, she opened her mouth and unleashed a tsunami of righteous sound. It was a miracle the speakers didn't instantaneously&#xa0;combust from the force of her voice. With her band creating an often ethereal soundscape as prelude to the sonic detonation, she would repeatedly shatter the auditory dream state with a nuclear explosion of unadulterated vocal power.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Fear not for the future of music -&#xa0;the Gods of Rock have seen fit to grace us with Grace.</span></p><h3><strong>The gathering storm</strong></h3><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Grace Evelyn Potter was born in the small town of Waitsfield, Vermont, to parents involved in the woodworking craft. She went to St. Lawrence University, where she met Matt Burr, a drummer who convinced Potter to form a band with him (they've been bandmates ever since and </span><a href="http://fishersisland.net/wedding-grace-potter-matthew-burr/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">married in May of 2013</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">). After her sophomore year, Potter dropped out of college to pursue music professionally.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5612a7309dd7cc18008bf4b7-2661-1996/grace_unleashed.jpg" alt="Grace_unleashed" data-mce-source="Getty Images" data-mce-caption="Potter unleashes the beast"><p class="source"><span>Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Potter unleashes the beast.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>For the first decade-plus of her career, Potter was the frontwoman for the relatively successful and uber-talented Grace Potter &amp; the Nocturnals. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The band released three studio albums from 2007 to 2012, with the single "</span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHlhOgQ36m8"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Paris (Ooh La La)</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">" receiving widespread commercial airplay. Their brand of raw, soulful rock struck a chord with audiences across America, and the group began headlining 1,000 to 1,500 person venues.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">From the beginning, it was obvious Potter had a major-league voice. Their third album, the aptly titled "</span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007PXNUMU/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=211189&amp;creative=373489&amp;creativeASIN=B007PXNUMU&amp;link_code=as3&amp;tag=thebusiinsi-20&amp;linkId=DECLMUFB767LZX6V"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Lion, the Beast, the Beat</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">," showcases the lion's roar within the diva; but, it wasn't until her first solo studio album, "</span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01017JVJ2/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=211189&amp;creative=373489&amp;creativeASIN=B01017JVJ2&amp;link_code=as3&amp;tag=thebusiinsi-20&amp;linkId=6LZDFAPF6LXXDJMH"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Midnight</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">," released August 14th of this year, that she uncaged the full fury of the beast within.</span></p><h3><strong>Midnight</strong></h3><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">On first listen, "</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Midnight"</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> left me wanting more. As a longtime follower of Grace Potter &amp; the Nocturnals - and a deep lover of their soulful rock sound - I wasn't sold on the turn toward pop rock Potter had taken sans Nocturnals. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But, as I got past the pop trappings adorning the album, I discovered the raw power hidden within the tracks. "</span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRH97j0SocE"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hot to the Touch</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">," "</span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3yEqk9ntyM"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Alive Tonight</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">," and "</span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cEKi_W4Vvg"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Delirious</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">" are raucous dance rock anthems sure to get you moving. "</span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lsUYIn-H_8"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Look What We've Become</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">" and "</span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zz3OIGxazzU"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Instigators</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">" are pop-punk tunes with some dirty grit. Other tracks like "</span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQPcYbMklYY"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Empty Heart</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">," "</span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLbGav4JIkM"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Miner</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">," "</span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvSjDWXfWuc"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Low</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">," "</span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3LQsCJ30Vc"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Nobody's Born With a Broken Heart</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">," and "</span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMslyfv7cTI"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Let You Go</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">" deliver soulful songs in different musical veins, but all are good to excellent tunes sure to speak to listeners' hearts. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But, "Delirious" demonstrates what makes Potter so special.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/6cEKi_W4Vvg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div></span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://youtu.be/6cEKi_W4Vvg?t=3m">Around the song's three-minute mark</a></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">, it descends into an experimental, trance-like interlude common to many Led Zeppelin opuses (e.g., "</span><a href="https://youtu.be/Q0utAHY3xo4?t=1m24s"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Whole Lotta Love</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">"). </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">At this point, many digging the pop-y vibe of the album so far might be tempted to press fast-forward, but exploding out the other side of the musical meander at </span><a href="https://youtu.be/6cEKi_W4Vvg?t=3m55s"><span style="font-weight: 400;">3:57</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> is a guitar solo for the ages, except it's not a guitar squealing in the upper registers… it's Potter's voice doing the shredding. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The producer doubles a soloing guitar with Potter as she reaches stratospheric levels of pitch and volume, and the two instruments sound almost as one. The outro of the song is Potter's voice alone, and you can be forgiven if you thought it was actually a guitar ending the song. I've never heard a voice used like this before because no other voice could do what she just did.</span></p><h3><strong>Radio City Music Hall</strong></h3><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After listening to the album on repeat for the two days leading up to the show, I was terrified Potter wouldn't unleash the full force of her voice as heard on "</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Midnight</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">." But then I remembered, she's one of the best performers I've ever seen.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I had the privilege of attending a Grace Potter &amp; the Nocturnals show at the House of Blues in Dallas, Texas, a few years ago. On the floor it was standing room only, and my friends and I arrived as early as allowed to get a spot right against the stage. I had never seen someone dominate a room the way she did that night. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">From the moment she walked on stage to the instant the "get the hell out" lights came up after she exited, the audience stood transfixed, completely under her spell. Her combination of sultry sexuality, unbridled energy, deep emotion and raw power took hold of everyone in attendance.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/561435d0bd86ef1c008bfc5e-3264-2448/img_6715.jpg" alt="IMG_6715.JPG" data-mce-source="Andrew Stern"><p class="source"><span>Andrew Stern</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div>I didn't get quite the same feeling on Saturday. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Potter and her band gave every bit the Dallas performance and more, but the room was ill suited to her gifts. As so perfectly described by my girlfriend, "When you see Grace Potter live, you want to be in her aura." </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With a stage so massive and a floor full of nothing but seats, I&#xa0;felt oddly detached from the virtuoso performance Potter gave. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">I wanted to be in general admission, standing room only, shoved against the stage, but the classic beauty and dignified luxury&#xa0;of the music hall introduced an unwelcome physical distance between performer and audience. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Potter and company gave one of the most impressive performances I've ever witnessed, but I wanted to be closer, enveloped in Potter's presence. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">My proximity jealousy notwithstanding, Potter turned in the best vocal performance I've ever heard. She is categorically the best vocalist alive right now, and she puts it to good use. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Despite the tinge of pop that crept into "</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Midnight</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">," it is an excellent album from an unrivaled musician. If you're not familiar with her or her band, get on it. You're missing out on a generational talent you'll one day&#xa0;tell your grandkids about.&#xa0;</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Potter has that special sauce that great&#xa0;performers all seem to possess. The Bowies and Plants and Mercuries of the world have an aura of sexuality, power, brilliance and otherworldliness. The stage's galactic backdrop suited the performance beautifully because Potter channeled a force beyond this world.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the song "The Lion, The Beast, The Beat," Potter proclaims: "Somebody let the beast out baby!"</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Did they ever.</span></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/fear-the-walking-dead-zombies-amc-fantasy-2015-8">Science explains why we're obsessed with zombies and shows like 'Fear the Walking Dead'</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="gyeHAzdzoRuJNn1mQSH8i52uGcOi91Le" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'gyeHAzdzoRuJNn1mQSH8i52uGcOi91Le',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div><meta content="cms.next" name="cmsei" />

Move over, Adele - you're no longer the best voice in music

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/560a9f8b9dd7cc11008bdc47-3264-1632/img_6474.jpg" alt="Espresso Doppio" data-mce-source="Andrew Stern" data-mce-caption="Espresso Doppio, one packet of raw sugar" /><p class="source"><span>Andrew Stern</span></p><p class="caption">My drink: espresso doppio with one packet of raw sugar.</p></div><p></p></div></div>I'm 29 years old, and I made it through high school, college, my first, second, third, and fourth jobs, and graduate school (which coincidentally included my fifth and sixth jobs simultaneously) without drinking coffee. That's not to say I never used caffeine, but it was rare.</p><p>My caffstinence was not on principle; I simply hated the taste of coffee. It tasted like hot water mixed with dirt. It smelled delicious, but the taste failed to deliver on its olfactory promise.</p><p>Yet in my 29th year, I've become an avid coffee drinker. How did this happen? Well, my journey to the caffeinated promised land followed a roundabout course that began and ends in South America by way of New York City.</p><h3><strong>Summer vacation for (mostly) grown-ups</strong></h3><p>In the summer of 2014, between years one and two of grad school, I was in Brazil filming a documentary that would become my master's thesis film. Those five weeks were intense, intimidating, exhilarating, and imminently rewarding. To cap the trip off, I stayed in the country for weeks six and seven to attend a local soccer tournament called Copa do Mundo (known as The World Cup to Americans).</p><p>It was the second week of the tournament and my body was in open revolt. My three buddies and I were traipsing around the country, drinking until 2 or 3 a.m. routinely, then getting up (somewhat) early every day to either sightsee, watch a game, or go to a game. I was in a continuous state of physical and mental exhaustion. I had a nagging cough and my voice was perpetually hoarse. I felt like I had a permanent low-level hangover. On unfortunate days, the hangover was positively nuclear. Nevertheless, we had to soldier on; America needed us.</p><p>Near the end of the trip in Recife, Brazil, after the Americans had fallen to the Germans 1-0 the day prior, my buddies and I had claimed a spot at a restaurant/bar downtown to watch Brazil take down Chile in the morning game. Four or five hours later, the three of us still standing were like the walking dead. We were as tired as we were drunk, which is to say exhausted.</p><p>My buddy ordered an espresso to inject a little pep into his step. He urged the other two of us to do the same. I figured, <em>What the hell? We have to rally somehow...</em></p><p>Those two ounces changed everything.</p><p>First of all, the espresso (with one packet of sugar, since I'm not that hardcore) was downright delicious. It was so much richer in flavor and texture than coffee. It packed a wallop, too - we were back in action within 15 minutes.</p><p>We didn't need to use espresso again that trip, but the incident stayed with me.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/560aa1779dd7cc18008bdcc4-1024-512/entreamigos015-117.jpg" alt="entreAmigos" data-mce-source="entreamigosobode.com.br" data-mce-caption="The site of the first espresso" /><p class="source"><span>entreamigosobode.com.br</span></p><p class="caption">The site of my first espresso.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><h3><strong>Life A.B. (After Brazil)</strong></h3><p>As it turns out, I didn't drink coffee again during my second year of grad school, either. That all changed with my first job out of grad school. I was hired by CNN on a four-month contract to help curate content for a mobile app concept they were toying with. And while it was an amazing opportunity, there's only so many hours one can stare at a screen reading other people's writing before your eyelids start to droop.</p><p>Luckily for me, the CNN Center in Atlanta has a Starbucks in the lobby - not around the corner, not down the street, in the lobby.</p><p>Schwing.</p><p>Every day, as my eyes got heavy around 3 p.m., I'd saunter on down to the Starbucks stand and grab a single shot of espresso with a half packet of sugar.</p><p>As my caffeine tolerance climbed, I bumped the order to a double with a full packet of sugar. That was enough caffeine to get me through the end of the day without amping me up to the point of getting the jitters. </p><h3><strong>An ocean of espresso in New York </strong></h3><p>When I started working in New York City, the habit followed. But instead of having one realistic option for walkable caffeine, Manhattan boasts an endless supply of roasts: Whether in the guise of giant chains, regional favorites, artisan baristas, or tiny restaurants that happen to have an espresso machine, the island is chock-full of coffee shops.</p><p>There was an ocean of espresso at my fingertips.</p><p>As fate would have it, the documentary film team I work on made going for an afternoon coffee a bit of a tradition. We were editing a film about Ikaria, Greece, where people drink one to two cups of Greek coffee every day. Doctors on the island claim it's a legitimate contributor to the islanders' exceptional longevity (they live up to 10 years longer than anywhere else on Earth). So, we should be drinking really strong coffee in small portions, too, right?</p><p>My producer and I started exploring the espresso/coffee shops in the Flatiron District around Business Insider's office. We'd go to a different joint most every day, which got me thinking, what exactly goes into making the perfect espresso? And why is there so much variety between espresso offerings?</p><p>So I set out to determine the secret to a non-coffee drinker's coffee drink.</p><p>I quickly realized I had no idea what I was doing.</p><h3><strong>The death of caffstinence </strong></h3><p>It came easily enough at first. I preferred espresso to regular coffee because the latter has neither a strong enough flavor nor a thick enough texture for my palette. Also, I'm lactose intolerant, which ruled out pretty much all of the other milk-centric coffee drinks (e.g., latte, cappuccino, macchiato, etc.).</p><p>My drink of choice was settled. Now, to find the perfect espresso.</p><p>The first espresso I ordered from a craft brewer was downright undrinkable. I still don't know enough about the eccentricities of the espresso brewing process to tell you why I hated it; I just knew the acrid, almost sour aftertaste was terrible. If I had to guess, I'd say it was overly concentrated past my taste buds' breaking point.</p><p>So fancy wasn't necessarily better. Check.</p><p>As I talked to baristas in the following weeks, I came to realize there are a lot of things that play into the flavor of a given espresso: the source of the bean, method of harvesting and processing the beans, style of the roast, coarseness of the grind, density of the pack, length of the extraction, exact temperature of the water… I'm sure I have yet to touch on every factor, so you can imagine my feelings of abject ignorance during this experiment.</p><p>The sheer variability notwithstanding, as I made the rounds of shops in walking vicinity, I do think I identified a few trends in the espressos I like the most.</p><p>First of all, I prefer a more robust, chocolatey flavor that's bitter without going into full acrid. There's a reason I liked the espresso in Recife so much - the Brazilian bean fits that flavor profile exactly. Subsequently, most of my favorite espressos are either single source Brazilian brews or are a blend with a Brazilian base (which also explains why I liked Starbucks' offering).</p><p>Second, I like a 4-ounce double-shot. Many artisanal shops pour a double as their standard, but in a 2-ounce pour, which is why I think it's too concentrated for me. Again, I could be totally wrong in that reasoning, but it makes sense conceptually.</p><p>In addition to loving Brazilian beans, the Italian espresso machines/barista methods seem to strike a chord with my taste buds.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/560aa3459dd7cc21008bdd03-3264-2448/img_6472.jpg" alt="Italian espresso machine" data-mce-source="Andrew Stern" data-mce-caption="La Marzocco espresso machine" /><p class="source"><span>Andrew Stern</span></p><p class="caption">I've learned that I prefer espresso pulled from an Italian machine.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>The best espresso I've found to date is at a <a href="http://www.alvicolettonyc.com/">little Italian restaurant on 17th</a> between 5th and Broadway. It's not even a coffee shop; they just happen to stock great coffee beans and do whatever it is a great barista does to make liquid ambrosia. It truly is the nectar of the gods.</p><p>That's not to say hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurants are the only purveyors of excellent espresso. But, something about their bean + barista(s) + brewing method combination checks all of my espresso boxes.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/560a9f6d9dd7cc0f008bdc81-3264-2448/img_6470.jpg" alt="Restaurant espresso" data-mce-source="Andrew Stern" data-mce-caption="Get a great espresso outside the coffee shop" /><p class="source"><span>Andrew Stern</span></p><p class="caption">Get a great espresso outside the coffee shop.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>If you find coffee too watered down and/or lacking flavor, yet you crave the payoff promised on other end of the delicious scents emanating from your local coffee shop, the right espresso might do you right.</p><p>Likewise, you might even love some of the more involved milk-centric drinks, but being as I can't drink them, you'll have to research those on your own.</p><p>If you're anything like me, though, look for a Brazilian-based blend, an Italian espresso machine, and a 4-ounce pour.</p><p>Like Julia Roberts in "Runaway Bride," the journey to your preferred style of eggs is an exercise in personal identity and self-discovery. Your ascent into espresso can be every bit as edifying (and delicious).</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/long-island-mansion-real-estate-wall-street-2015-9">There's a Gatsby-esque mansion on Long Island and it just hit the market for $100 million</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="Y2NTRrdzoVidbBQ8hFL0BPyn8gAZMaib" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'Y2NTRrdzoVidbBQ8hFL0BPyn8gAZMaib',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div><meta content="cms.next" name="cmsei" />

How a coffee hater found his perfect coffee drink (and maybe you can, too)

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/55f70ff2bd86ef0f008ba24c-4462-3346/243a0200_reduced.jpg" alt="243A0200_reduced" data-mce-source="Andrew Stern" /><p class="source"><span>Andrew Stern</span></p><p class="caption">Don't be "that" guy (or girl).</p></div><p></p></div></div>Live concerts are pretty much the best things ever. Getting to hear a band you love lay it all on the line as you drink beer and enjoy your friends' company is about as good as it gets.</p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">An epic performance takes root deep in your soul, staying with you for months or years or decades afterward. (I can still feel Zak Starkey's bass drum thump in my chest cavity as he pounded out the epic solo on "Won't Get Fooled Again" while playing with The Who in Nashville, Tennessee.) </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Every great show I've been to has two things in common. First, a great band I love dearly playing at the peak of their powers (or very near the peak of their powers for some of the more aged groups). And second, a veritable plethora of jackasses trying their darnedest to ruin the concert experience for everyone in close proximity to them.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">No one wants to be "that guy" (or girl), regardless of the context. To ensure you don't suffer that fate - or more accurately, to ensure no one else has to suffer you - here are 10 behaviors to avoid at your next concert.</span></p><h2><strong>1. Taking incessant pictures</strong></h2><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I get it. You're at an awesome show, and you want to remember it forever. I can't blame you there. Lord knows I've been guilty of snapping a photo or two to prove to myself </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">that</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> just happened. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">But you know what literally everyone who cares about the music hates? Your hand high to the sky blocking their view of the band as you snap 100 photos you'll never look at again (except for that one you'll post on Instagram, to prove to other people you're cool). </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Take a picture. Hell, take 10. But once you've snapped a few early in the show, give it a rest.  </span></p><h2><strong>2. Taking incessant video</strong></h2><p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/55f70fcbbd86ef10008ba263-2368-1776/concert crowd.jpg" alt="concert crowd" data-mce-source="Getty Images/Theo Wargo" /><p class="source"><span>Getty Images/Theo Wargo</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></strong></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">You know what's worse than snapping pictures constantly? Recording video. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">If it's a good show and the band is blasting away at 125 decibels, </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">you know what can't capture the sound at all? Your iPhone microphone. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Most shows are dark with bright stage lights and spotlights. You know what struggles to capture video in low light situations with stark contrasts? Your iPhone camera. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">The last thing I want to see from the crowd is an army of phones held up in the air and </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">staying</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> there because not only are you taking photos, you're recording video. And to top it all off, you know what people look at even less than concert photos? Concert video. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When I was young and didn't know any better, I recorded a few videos at concerts. I have since apologized to the Gods of Rock and made my amends. But all these years later, I can honestly say I've never looked at those videos again.</span></p><h2><strong>3. Not watching the show </strong></h2><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Another thing I can't stand at shows is a pack of people looking down at their phones while the band is giving it all they have. If you're at a show, </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">be at the show</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">. It bothers the crap out of me when people are watching a movie or a TV show and they're on their phone the entire time. What's the purpose of watching anything if you're not really paying attention? Well, if you're taking up space in a concert venue that could have gone to another, more attentive fan, you're being an jerk. If you're texting a friend trying to meet up at the show, fine. But if you're taking selfies and checking insta and posting to Facebook, go to the bathroom or to the bar. Remove yourself from the crowd because you're not really there anyway.</span></p><h2><strong>4. Yelling things at the band</strong></h2><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">At big shows, this is less of an issue. In a 25,000 person arena, the band can't hear you anyway, so it doesn't matter all that much beyond your rock karma. But if you're in a more intimate room and the band can hear you? Don't yell at them. Just don't do it.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"I just hate it when people yell out little prepared sentences at shows," David Ponder, lead guitarist for rock band </span><a href="http://www.somebodysdarling.com/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Somebody's Darling</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> said. "The little joke you thought up is lame. Always."</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This most certainly includes yelling "Freebird" at the show. Unless you're at a Lynyrd Skynyrd cover band concert, you're either being a redneck, or trying to be funny and failing. By all means, cheer your ass off for the band, but don't yell things at them. It's not funny, and the band is tired of your lame schtick.</span></p><h2><strong>5. Requesting songs</strong></h2><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This follows closely with not screaming things at the band. Don't yell requests unless the band</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> specifically asks, "What do you guys wanna hear?" The band has a set list and they're going to play what they want to. They're balancing what fans want to hear (the hits) versus what they want to play as artists. That's their job. They very well might play the song you want to hear, but they're saving it for a particular part of the concert. Bands put a lot of thought and effort into the mood and flow of a concert vis-a-vis their set list, so don't be that jerk yelling for the same song the entire show.</span></p><h2><strong>6. Singing</strong></h2><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">You know something I've never said at a concert? "Man, I'm so glad this guy in front of me came to the show. He's a much better singer than [insert band's lead singer here]. Thank God he's belting out all the tunes so loudly next to me!"</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">At big shows, the speakers are probably so loud no one else can hear you. This becomes less of an issue in that case. But if there's any chance others can hear your atonal groanings as you attempt and fail to approximate the singer on stage, keep your loud noises to cheering only. </span>No one came to hear you sing. There's a reason the lead singer gets paid to produce music with his/her voice and you do not. Remember that.</p><h2><strong>7. Shoving to the front</strong></h2><p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/55f70ea79dd7cc24008ba24f-5120-3840/concert.jpg" alt="concert" data-mce-source="Shutterstock" /><p class="source"><span>Shutterstock</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></strong></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you have to make uncomfortable contact with another person in order to get to the front, you should just stay put. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you want to be closer to the band, get to the venue early. If I'm standing in the fifth or sixth row and have been there for an hour or more, and you just roll up, shove through me, and then stand directly in my personal bubble right in my eyeline, you're the absolute worst.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Also, try hard not to go to the bathroom over and over again throughout the show. Even though you got there early enough to get a good spot near the front, pushing through people constantly as you go to and from the bathroom repeatedly is really annoying. You're not the worst, but it's suboptimal for those around you.</span></p><h2><strong>8. Being the only person doing what you're doing</strong></h2><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">At huge rock shows, expect to stand pretty much the whole time. But at intermediate to smaller-size shows, especially in older venues that have dedicated seating, it can be difficult to gauge whether or not you ought to stand or sit. If you love to stand during a show, you can try to set the precedent of standing in your section, but if you're the only person doing that, it's pretty obnoxious. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">This becomes a much bigger problem at shows where the audience might be split between young adults and older, original fans (think: The Eagles). In those cases, take your cues from what other people are doing in your section. Don't be the only person doing what you're doing.</span></p><h2><strong>9. Getting obnoxiously drunk </strong></h2><p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/55f70edf9dd7cc21008ba2ca-3689-2767/girl drinking.jpg" alt="girl drinking" data-mce-source="Shutterstock" /><p class="source"><span>Shutterstock</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></strong></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I'm a firm proponent of drinking at concerts. It's a major component of how venues make money, which keep bands in business. Also, a great beer or cocktail plus your favorite band's show makes for a perfect match - w</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">ithin reason.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">No one likes to take care of someone else because they're too drunk to function on their own. It only goes downhill from there if you're ruining everyone's night by making an ass of yourself in the middle of the audience. I've seen hammered guys throw up on the back of people's heads at shows; I've seen girls start fights with one another; I've seen people nose dive and take multiple people to the ground with them, all because the perpetrator was smashed. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Have a drink. Have three. Don't get completely wasted.</span></p><h2><strong>10. Making out</strong></h2><p>Hold hands, put your arms around one another, enjoy each other's company as you take in the awesome performance - but do not make out. Literally no one wants to see it. PDA make-out-sessions almost always look like two seals fighting over a grape. You look ridiculous, and it's gross. Just don't do it.</p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Concerts can be the most fun events you'll attend all year. Great ones can live on in your heart and soul for decades to come. But, for every amazing concert I've been to, I've had another ruined by audience members doing some combination of the above 10 things. Don't do them, and let your next concert be that much better for their absence. </span></p><p> </p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-revenant-trailer-2015-7">This new Leonardo DiCaprio movie from the 'Birdman' director looks incredible</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="I4dW45djrV4xb7t7BJGAqmgR7LH6bHtR" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'I4dW45djrV4xb7t7BJGAqmgR7LH6bHtR',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div><meta content="cms.next" name="cmsei" />

10 things you should never do at a concert

This band of college dropouts has a monster hit single - but people still don't know who they are

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/55da7032bd86ef0e008b5473-1021-766/screen%20shot%202015-08-23%20at%206.57.01%20pm.png" alt="Foo Fighters 'rickroll' Westboro Baptist Church" data-mce-source="adamisntdumb" data-mce-caption="Foo Fighters 'rickroll' Westboro Baptist Church"><p class="source"><span>adamisntdumb</span></p><p class="caption">Foo Fighters 'rickroll' Westboro Baptist Church</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>The Foo Fighters <a href="http://time.com/4007453/foo-fighters-rickroll-westboro-baptist-church/">"Rick-rolled" the Westboro Baptist Church</a>, when the protest group gathered to protest at the entrance to one of their concerts on Friday.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The church, which is known for protesting military funerals with wildly insensitive signs, were picketing outside the Sprint Center in Kansas City, where the Foo Fighters were scheduled to perfom.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In response, the Foo Fighters drove up to the venue and lead a sing-along to Rick Astley's song "Never Gonna Give You Up," a phenomenon known on the internet as "Rick-rolling."</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The band brandished signs of their own, including "Keep it Clean" and "You Got Rick Roll'd Again."</span></p><p>The moment echoed another in 2011,&#xa0;when Foo Fighters responded to the hateful chants of the mob with an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWSeDYTHtiQ">impromptu flatbed concert</a>, the superstars fought fire with music yet again.</p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As you can see in the video below, the band sits in the bed of a pickup truck adorned with massive speakers blaring "American Idiot" from Green Day as it rounds the corner. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As the truck approaches the "church" group, the speakers&#xa0;begin blasting&#xa0;"Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley (hence "Rick"-rolling). Taylor Hawkins, the drummer for the band, is seen holding a sign reading "You Got Rickroll'd (Again)" as Dave Grohl claps along to the song. There is also a rather large companion seen in a very small, colorful bathing suit holding a sign reading "Keep it Clean," an ode to the first time the Foo Fighters&#xa0;tussled with the group.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Given the two groups' shared history for loud, albeit peaceful, confrontations, a group of Foo Fighter fans seemed to be waiting for just such an occasion. And, seeing the opportunity to hijack the protest, a massive dance party erupts around the "church" group as the Foo Fighters egg their fans&#xa0;on.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><div><iframe width="853" height="480" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/BD-fWMYcHXk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div></span></p><p class="embed-spacer">&#xa0;</p><p>&#xa0;</p><meta content="cms.next" name="cmsei" />

ANDREW STERN

Latest Stories from ANDREW STERN

This spot in Chicago is the epitome of a more than $100 billion problem facing America

ANDREW STERN

Up-and-coming songwriter reveals the advice she'd give to her younger self when she was freaking out during a "dark night of the soul"

ANDREW STERN

FanDuel's cofounder and an army of employees protest AG Schneiderman's ruling against fantasy sports: "If only politics were skill-based"

ANDREW STERN

Are you a passionate DFS player in New York City or elsewhere? If so, we want to hear from you

ANDREW STERN

Move over, Adele - you're no longer the best voice in music

ANDREW STERN

How a coffee hater found his perfect coffee drink (and maybe you can, too)

ANDREW STERN

10 things you should never do at a concert

ANDREW STERN

This band of college dropouts has a monster hit single - but people still don't know who they are

ANDREW STERN

The Foo Fighters 'Rick-roll'd' the Westboro Baptist Church

ANDREW STERN