Like you, I actually don't have an issue for someone getting up to grab a quick drink or hit the bathroom and expecting to come back to their seat. It's the "this bag saves my seat until the end of time" asshats that are the problem.
The problem is....how do we tell the difference????
If all I see is a bag or towel in a seat, is the person on their way back from the bathroom right now? Or are they out at Da Vinci's having pizza, then going to go take a nap during the next band, finishing up with a trip to the vendors before eventually meandering back to catch the headliner, expecting their seat to still be held by the almighty bag/towel?
How long do I stand there and wait to see if the person comes back in a reasonable amount of time to see what sort of bag-owner I'm dealing with here? (Yes, it's a ridiculous question and ridiculous expectation on their part).
There's no way to tell.
So, need to take a quick break? Do it one at a time. Most of us are sitting with friends, so if you want to return quickly to your seat, hit the head one at a time and your friend can tell people that "he's coming right back with beer for us." THAT'S WHAT WE DO, and it works very well.
Otherwise, when we come back in to catch the next band, I look for a seat. If none are truly empty (THEY RARELY ARE), I start looking for bags and towels to move. Once the band starts, it's really hard to find a seat in the near-dark, so I'M NOT MOVING at that point, even if you really did just run to take a quick break.
Why should I have to look for yet another seat when I already found one in which there was no person? You can find a new seat just as easiliy as I can. I shouldn't. I won't. Period.
Craig
(Yes, this issue is a major pet peeve of mine).
And no biggie - seats were available.
