Singalongs

Feel free to read this posting out loud as you go along.
Is it just me or are more and more concerts becoming one big singalong with the audience knowing every word of most songs and feeling empowered to sing along loudly regardless of singing ability (of which I have none). This has been loud and clear at most of the recent shows I have attended from Citizen Cope at the Troc to Coldplay at the Tweeter. ( World Cafe Live's rep as a listening room has seemed to reduce the chorus). Some of the best moments in many shows are the artist encouraged singalongs. A good example was Rodney Crowell's leading the audience on "Like A Rolling Stone" at the All About the Music Festival. But increasingly, it seems that at least in the bigger venues, audience members believe that the right to singalong loudly on any lyrics they think they know is part of what they're paying for. Maybe they're right. But it seems more prevalent now. Is it a function of the popularity of karaoke in recent years? Is it a function of the "me generation"? It has certainly had a negative effect on my appreciation of some of these performances. Maybe I have to stick to more intimate venues or bands that are much louder than the audience. I welcome comments on this.