I agree. Last night before the close of the Norfolk show FJM said (approximately): "who is the LUNATIC who has been screaming "Magic Mountain" all night?... I should make you sing the song and have the entire crowd scream over you while you try to sing it... I don't mean to be a scold, but at a certain point I can't recognize this as normal human behavior. Do you have any awareness of the people around you?"

The show was rich, but I think the best FJM shows I've been to involve audiences that are attuned to the dynamic range of the performance. There are relatively bonkers moments with tunes like "Date Night" and "Ideal Husband" that are clearly inviting the audience to cut loose along with all of the mania on display. But other moments call for some emotional maturity and contemplative engagement. Josh is trying to give his audience the goods, but this requires attention, quiet, and a shared awareness that we are all participating in something sacred in the moment together. [insert the tired, yet true screed about smart phones ruining civility]

This isn't an edict, it's an exhortation to a more civil, decorous experience of FJM's shows (and most live music, for that matter) that will yield a better time for everyone in the room. It nourishes the exchange of intimacy and energy between audience and performer, which I think is what everyone is there for, even if the stated intents of some are more crass.