It's good to talk?

Am breaking my own house rules today by writing about an event away from Frome, but the issue is the same whether the subject is the River of Music or Nunney Rocks...

In the capital for the aforementioned 'River' - an ambitious 'London 2012' world music festival taking place at various outdoor venues this weekend along the Thames, from Battersea in the West to Greenwich in the East. My gripe is not restricted to this event, but applies to all such concerts. What is it that makes certain people behave in the open-air the same as if they were sitting in front of the telly at home? That is, to chatter incessantly throughout the performance. Now, no-one expects church-like silence at a gig 'en plein air', but why bother to make the effort to come along if all you want to do is natter to your neighbours? It's disrespectful to both the performers and your fellow audience members who might, just might, want to listen to the music they've paid to hear.

Kayhan Kahlor - stoic in the face of incessant nattering

Now, if it's Bruce Springsteen banging out his rock 'n' roll at x hundred decibels (before the plugs were pulled, of course), that's one thing. But these particular chatterboxes yadder-yaddered their way through half an hour of exquisite Persian traditional music in Battersea Park yesterday afternoon. Maybe they were simply taking their cue from the incessant messaging we also had to endure throughout the day from the event's sponsor. And that was?  BT.