I share your disgust and feel your pain. We've batted this ball around many times!
For the record:

1. I blame alcohol. I don't understand how so many folks can afford to pay $7.00 (and up) for beer at shows, yet so many seem to have that kind of cash - even after buying tickets - expensive to begin with and often at higher premiums thanks to StubHub, TicketsNow and other outlets.

2. The aficionado type. The guy (or girl) who feels the need to explain to anyone and everyone (even the folks who are trying to LISTEN TO THE MUSIC) the album that the song playing originally appeared on, the songwriter, the best live version (he has over 2,000 recorded shows), the bands original guitar player who is now dead or has been excommunicated from the band - his sins and offenses that lead up to said death or excommunication ....

3. The mating call. Some folks go to shows looking to hook-up. I have no problem with this ... for the most part.

At the Dylan/Wilco/My Morning Jacket show (Atlanta Lakewood) summer before last - there was this clueless jackass who was consuming previously described over-priced beer all afternoon whilst hitting on solo-attending dimbette. Sitting right behind me and my silver-haired entourage - he proceeded to drip and spill said expensive beer (carbonated piss in a cup) over me and my buds. He also yacked incessantly over the entire performances of the first two acts.
At one point, I even turned around and told him that it was okay if he spilt beer on me and ran his jaw all afternoon. My only request was that he PLEASE show ME a little consideration during Bob Dylan's performance. He actually agreed - then, reneged on his promise. The evening very nearly ended in fisticuffs.

I don't mean to be such a stiff, rigid @$$hole but sometimes I think that concerts should have the same ushers as the classical music (symphony) shows. These events have a very strict - no talking - no snoring policy. Kinda like a Crosby, Stills and Nash show.

Thanks for posting, but I think this battle is lost.

I can normally tune out talkers but the people I can't stand are the whistlers. It seems they are always right behind me and seem to do more damage to my hearing than the music.

Yeah... I consider whistling an assault.

I believe it is a symptom or manifestation of a sociological change we are seeing for ourselves within a relatively short time, for anyone 50ish or more years old. It is part of the age of entitlement and age of personal self need for attention. Our culture has fostered a belief that if it feels good, we have a right to do it. A belief that our sensory needs trump others. A belief that people enjoy knowing we announce our presence. A belief that people who are around us are weaker than we are. Couple beliefs with conditioning by parents who also grew up this way, and never learned manners that were socially taught and more importantly expected years ago, that fell in some ditch by a wayside years ago. Alcohol? Nah! Back when society had manners, people drank at events. The social rules, or lack of have changed.

Talkers, people who watch the whole show through their cell phone and people who act like they are dancing, but are actually spending the whole time making sure they are being noticed by those around them and not actually dancing to the music all drive me crazy at concerts. Part of the reason why I like smaller shows with a general admission floor that way you can just move away from people who are trying to be their own show.

Alcohol and other drugs are a major factor.

I've seen people at shows who once they drink, smoke herb, take MDMA, or even do coke they can't shut up and won't stop talking. Thankfully I have earplugs and just move away from them, and ignore them.

Or maybe these people are just starved for attention and they would just talk a lot anyway even if they'd never used any drugs at all? Or they're the type of person that enjoys talking during a movie in a movie theater?

During the past few years I've made an effort to attend only those shows where I have a better chance of avoiding these problems.

Choice of artist,location,venue,sound quality,etc. affect people in different ways.

Thus,I'm certain that shows I see in Levon's barn(even post Levon's passing),Dylan(sitting in the 10th row),ABB final show(surprisingly well behaved and joyful crowd in the loge that night),shows in small clubs,shows with really old people like me,shows up in woodstock,have all been enjoyable.

I'd love to see Mule again,particularly with Scofield,but Mule crowds,in my experience,drink too much and don't shut up.I saw Phi last year and it was a good show,but the talkers and phone zombies won that one.

I posted the article given it was interesting,but I've become quite content seeing or listening to shows at home!

Perhaps,I went over the edge with talking problems when seeing EC and Derek at MSG and the two girls behind me were whining the entire first set,"why does there have to be all this guitar playing?"' At that I threw up knowing I'd eventually stop seeing all these shows! I also warned them that he guitar playing gets even more annoying as the night goes on...they whined a bit more and left!!!