No more oldie rock for me

A colleague recounted his recent experience at a Pearl Jam concert. It was at Rod Laver Arena, possibly the most polite of Melbourne rock venues. He said he knew times had changed when the guy next to him offered his bag of jelly beans.
And that basically sums up what's wrong with a lot of rock gigs today - the audience.
Perhaps I should have remembered this before forking out $100 to see Elton John at the oh-so-sanitary Rod Laver Arena last night.
I'm no Elton nut (unlike the guy I spotted sprinting along the concourse, expensive program in hand), but he's made enough memorable music for me to ensure I see the guy live at least once.
(My sister) Lauren and I knew our plan for some old time rockin' out had gone horribly wrong when we sprinted up to our back-row nosebleed section seats to find a 75-year-old nanna on one side of us and a monotone-singing middle-aged man on the other (his one-key versions of Tiny Dancer and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road were particularly memorable).
Elton was great - he sang all the hits, threw in a few newies, chatted amiably with the crowd. But the audience was certainly the most lifeless I have ever seen.
Polite applause was the order of the night. Any deviation was not only frowned upon, but policed.
"Whoos!" were greeted with dirty looks from three seats down. A couple who got up to dance (old time style, mind you) on the floor were ordered back to their seats. Half a dozen people on the middle concourse who had politely chosen to dance in a spot where they would block NOBODY'S view were moved on regardless. We joined them during Saturday Night's Alright, but fled the scene as the security guards approached from 9 o'clock. What a jib.
I know Elton John is hardly going to incite a moshpit, but attending a rock concert that has NO atmosphere is not my idea of fun.
Put it this way, I saw Neil Diamond last year and was safely the youngest person there. And it was a party compared to last night's fiasco. Those Diamond fans know how to rock out!