Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Biographies
- 1 Ethnographic intersections: Emotions, senses and spaces
- 2 ‘Dancing for joy’: Gender and relational spaces in Papua New Guinea
- 3 Creating the right ‘vibe’: Exploring the utilisation of space at Hip Hop concerts in Adelaide and Melbourne
- 4 Pontic dance: Feeling the absence of homeland
- 5 Emotional actors/Affective agents: Interspecies edgework and sociotechnical networks in the Spanish bullfight from horseback (rejoneo)
- 6 Sensual feasting: Transforming spaces and emotions in Lihir
- 7 Anxious spaces: The intersection of sexuality, the senses and emotion in fieldwork in Nepal
- 8 Interrupted research: Emotions, senses and social space in (and out of) the field
- 9 Voices in the park: The composition of sacred space and public place
- 10 Ngadha being-in-common: Emotional attachment to people and place in Flores, Indonesia
- 11 Trust your senses: Growing wine and making place in McLaren Vale
3 - Creating the right ‘vibe’: Exploring the utilisation of space at Hip Hop concerts in Adelaide and Melbourne
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 July 2017
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Biographies
- 1 Ethnographic intersections: Emotions, senses and spaces
- 2 ‘Dancing for joy’: Gender and relational spaces in Papua New Guinea
- 3 Creating the right ‘vibe’: Exploring the utilisation of space at Hip Hop concerts in Adelaide and Melbourne
- 4 Pontic dance: Feeling the absence of homeland
- 5 Emotional actors/Affective agents: Interspecies edgework and sociotechnical networks in the Spanish bullfight from horseback (rejoneo)
- 6 Sensual feasting: Transforming spaces and emotions in Lihir
- 7 Anxious spaces: The intersection of sexuality, the senses and emotion in fieldwork in Nepal
- 8 Interrupted research: Emotions, senses and social space in (and out of) the field
- 9 Voices in the park: The composition of sacred space and public place
- 10 Ngadha being-in-common: Emotional attachment to people and place in Flores, Indonesia
- 11 Trust your senses: Growing wine and making place in McLaren Vale
Summary
Abstract
This chapter examines how space is utilised at Hip Hop concerts to promote certain sensual experiences. It is based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in the Adelaide and Melbourne Hip Hop scenes. I explore how light, sound, venue layout and spacing are harnessed to foster specific reactions from the crowd and to create what Hip Hop fans colloquially referred to as the ‘vibe’. I conclude that the practical realities of particular venue spaces (size, configuration, stage equipment and so on) can significantly influence the experiences of individuals attending Hip Hop concerts and the presence or absence of the ‘vibe’.
Introduction
A successful Hip Hop concert is a dynamic event that overwhelms the senses. The music is loud enough to damage your hearing, the bass can be felt as well as heard and the whirling lights create a dramatic atmosphere. Hands are thrown in the air, heads are nodded to the beat, and people yell, clap and cheer their appreciation. Yet not all Hip Hop concerts evoke these kinds of reactions and emotions. Hip Hop concerts can be exciting and inspiring, but they can also be tedious and tiring. In this chapter, I draw on data compiled from participation observation at various Hip Hop shows in Adelaide and Melbourne, Australia, to explore the mutually constitutive relationship between space, emotion and cultural context. I demonstrate that the senses are engaged in specific ways at Hip Hop concerts to foster certain audience reactions and to create what Hip Hoppers colloquially refer to as the ‘vibe’. Creating the right vibe is an important factor that contributes to the perceived ‘success’ or ‘failure’ of Hip Hop events. Concert organisers, promoters, performers and venue staff try to control the concert space and, therefore, the emotional and sensorial experiences of the audience. In particular, they harness light, sound and venue layout to try to promote particular emotional states and bodily movements. I argue that our understanding of the relationship between musical performance and emotion can be enhanced by research that accounts for spatial and cultural context in order to consider how the nature of particular spaces can both constrain and evoke emotion.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Emotions, Senses, SpacesEthnographic Engagements and Intersections, pp. 31 - 48Publisher: The University of Adelaide PressPrint publication year: 2016