What Does a Concert Ticket Really Buy?

Last night, I went to a rock concert with a friend. We're both longtime fans of the band, and hadn't seen them in a while...and therefore were excited about the music. A youngish couple in front of us was talking or smooching the great majority of the time. This put a damper on our being able to see the stage, and was a big distraction.

During a break in between songs, I asked them whether they could curtail their conversations, as their behavior was ruining our enjoyment of the show. They looked at me as if they had every right to be doing whatever they wanted, and I had some nerve asking. The couple next to them then tried to justify it by pointing out that the people behind them (next to us) were also talking a lot. I then pointed out that it's a lot harder to annoy a distraction when it's directly in front of your face. They all just turned back around and went about their business. My friend told me that one of their group shot me a dirty look a few minutes later. Really!

Luckily we spotted two empty seats a couple of rows ahead of us, and several places to the right. When they were still empty at intermission, we made the break for freedom. All our new neighbors were interested in what was happening on stage, so we got maximum enjoyment out of the latter part of the show.

I'm sure these people's behavior would have been immediately squelched by an usher at a classical music concert, or at another event where the noise level was similarly low. Does the fact that it's a loud performance give people the right to be loud and disruptive, because they've purchased seats in the theater?