Flicking the lighter at the end of a concert

Factual Questions
1

When did this start?

2

Shirley,

I swear I’m not following you around. I think this became popular when Bob Dylan and the Band toured in 73. It was a huge comeback tour for Dylan.

Chrome

3

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=75908

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=34507

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=14114

Hopefully, you’ll get a better answer than was given before.

4

Thanks Sam. I missed those threads when they came out.

5

maybe, just maybe, it started out from concerts where the performers were deaf and cudn’t hear the audience’s applause. i’ve seen a concert where they waved their hands and banged their feet on the ground in appreciation, instead of clapping, for the hearing impaired performers.

dunno though if candles or lighters were actually used in such cases, but it seems (ap)plausible.

6

I can give an answer to this, since I was there. It started at Woodstock in 1969. We would light candles and campfires at night during the frequent rainstorms. This scene inspired the folksinger Melanie to write the song Candles in the Rain. The scene of the hillside covered with lights appears on the the cover of one of the concert albums. Lighters soon became a tradition whenever Melanie sang that number in concert.