# Flicking the lighter at the end of a concert

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flicking-the-lighter-at-the-end-of-a-concert/91517>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 5, 2001, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flicking-the-lighter-at-the-end-of-a-concert/91517 "2001-11-05T02:14:34Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\
**Post date:** [November 5, 2001, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flicking-the-lighter-at-the-end-of-a-concert/91517/1 "2001-11-05T02:14:34Z")

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When did this start?

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**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\
**Post date:** [November 5, 2001, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flicking-the-lighter-at-the-end-of-a-concert/91517/2 "2001-11-05T02:36:07Z")

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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

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**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\
**Post date:** [November 5, 2001, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flicking-the-lighter-at-the-end-of-a-concert/91517/3 "2001-11-05T04:20:54Z")

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[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=75908](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=34507)

[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=14114](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=14114)

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

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\
**Post date:** [November 5, 2001, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flicking-the-lighter-at-the-end-of-a-concert/91517/4 "2001-11-05T17:49:58Z")

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

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**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\
**Post date:** [November 5, 2001, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flicking-the-lighter-at-the-end-of-a-concert/91517/5 "2001-11-05T19:27:45Z")

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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.

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**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\
**Post date:** [November 5, 2001, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flicking-the-lighter-at-the-end-of-a-concert/91517/6 "2001-11-05T21:50:21Z")

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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.