Wearing a band's t-shirt to one of their concerts: Classic or Dud?

This came up in the context of a diss on Pete Buttigieg and I have extremely strong Opinions about this; I suspect others do, too.

my strongly held belief on this is that it's fine to do

My Strong Opinion about this is as follows:

fuck you for telling me what I should or shouldn't wear on my own fucking body, you controlling fuck

This is basically "have you seen PCU? y/n"

I wear band shirts of the band I'm seeing all the time.

Fuck haterz

This is sometimes discussed on a podcast I listen to. The consensus is (a) it’s totally fine; and (b) where better to wear it?

When I used to wear band shirts, I would absolutely do it. What I can't stand is listening to the band that I'm going to see on the way to the show. That drives me nuts.

I suspect that the people wearing the band's shirt at the show are enjoying themselves more than those who decided not to because it was uncool.

Band T shirt Etiquette

I feel like this is one of those 90s "sellout rules" no one has actually cared about for ages.

This rule was created and enforced by indie-rock pseuds. Go to an Iron Maiden concert without an Iron Maiden shirt and you'll be stared at. Same thing for Slipknot, Slayer, Amon Amarth, Motörhead once upon a time, AC/DC...

Go to an Iron Maiden concert without an Iron Maiden shirt and you'll be stared at.

this is equally stupid tbh

Guys the way to get a band to like you like you is to pretend you don't like them enough to wear their shirt

Also whenever they ask who has the new album, do the Freeform Jazz Odyssey thumbs down

Slayer shows, you wear Slayer shirts to.

Death metal shows, you don't not wear the band you're seeing. You need to find the oldest, most obscure metal shirt in your collection, and strut around with your nips out making sure everyone knows you're not a poser.

Also if you find a poser, you must fight them

my strongly-held opinion is that you should wear a KISS t-shirt to every concert you attend

What if I don't like KISS?

Asking for me.

owning a band's T-shirt and purposely *not* wearing it at their show seems weird to me

I agree that is a dumb thing to police, but if I'm going to wear a band shirt to a show, it's going to be a shirt for a different band. Shirts are basically ads for bands and if I'm at a show, we already know we like x band so maybe I want to rep for y band instead.

yea that's why I always wear my Kansas City Royals gear to the Brewers games

In my case it's usually because I gained 20 pounds in the last year and half of my band shirts are in my "old" size.

It's like the guy who i saw once wear a Brett Favre Falcons jersey to a Packers playoff game watch party.

It was important that everyone knew his vast knowledge of sport.

LOL bands aren't sports teams guys. No one is going to be mad at me for wearing my Lightning Bolt shirt to a Sleep show, or w/e

If yr going to a Sleep show your shirt is supposed to not be washed and covered in food stains

Actually, to be honest, if you're going to a Sleep show, you need to be in cosplay as the guy on the cover of Dopesmoker (a real thing I have witnessed at a Sleep show)

Shirts optional at Sleep/High On Fire shows.

What if I don't like KISS?

Asking for me.

― sorry for butt rockin (Neanderthal), Thursday, February 13, 2020 10:26 AM (eleven minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

doesn't matter, rules is rules

Guy in the post office the other week was wearing a faded 1993 Cliff Richard tour sweatshirt, now THAT'S what should be worn to a Maiden show

I mean it's true, there's no "winning team" or "losing team" at a concert, but we're all rooting for the band to be their very best and I like them to know I'm out there supporting them

Idk, the one time I saw Meek Mill, he definitely *lost* that concert

Probably the best one I've seen was a guy wearing a Cro-Mags shirt at a Belle & Sebastian show.

I've never worn a band t-shirt. I probably should.

Strongly in favor of wearing the shirt to the show if you want. Even when I dont do it myself, I like seeing it done bc shows are more fun when you know the audience is excited. This is basic Showgoing 101 stuff. Also if I am at a show by myself it can be a good opening to strike up a conversation at the bar bc you kow the person is probably stoked on the band and interested in talking about them.

People who have vehemently argued against this IME rely on the argument that it's "trying too hard" and will make you look like a dork who purposely picked an outfit to wear or w/e, oblivious to the fact that they themselves are caught up in a web of status anxiety, overthinking and concern about what others will think of their specially-chosen outfit, which is what is actually lame and dorky.

Other argument I've heard more than once: "the band will see it and it will make them feel weird and awkward." Idk they're selling the shirts at the actual show, I think they are OK with the idea of ppl wearing them?

Other argument I've heard more than once: "the band will see it and it will make them feel weird and awkward."

wtf?!??!

I will forever associate Iron Maiden t-shirts with this lady

Probably the best one I've seen was a guy wearing a Cro-Mags shirt at a Belle & Sebastian show.

critical support for this king

It's like the guy who i saw once wear a Brett Favre Falcons jersey to a Packers playoff game watch party.

I wanna mock this guy but then again I do own a jersey of Giannis's brother Thanasis just because it's funny to me

wtf?!??!

Sometimes this topic is like casually discovering someone you know is into Qanon or something - I'll be having a conversation about it with someone I thought I knew well, they'll say something like "you can't let the band see you in their own shirt or they'll get freaked out", and I'll think wow I didnt realize this person has been insane all this time.

lol @ "the band will see it and it will make them feel weird and awkward."

"oh no, they are wearing our merch; how on earth can I step out in front of all of these people and play now"

What if I don't like KISS?

Asking for me.

― sorry for butt rockin (Neanderthal), Thursday, February 13, 2020 10:26 AM (eleven minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Some bands like Kiss and the Grateful Dead are more about the merch, they are fashion/lifestyle brands as much as anything else. I had a Kiss shirt when i was 9 years old but never owned any of their records or attended a show. To this day, I've only heard about 3 of their songs. For pre-teen me, all the mystique around Kiss or the Dead was shattered the moment I heard a note of their music.

"I feel like you all like us for the wrong reasons. We are not a commercial cash cow.

Btw we are selling thongs with our name on them 2 for 10 at the merch table which is also the pool table"

Xpost

I do believe that if the band sees you in the crowd wearing their thong when they walk on stage, things might get weird and uncomfortable unless you are at a Lords of Acid show

or if youre at a belle and sebastian show, and its a cro mags thong

I stopped wearing band t-shirts to gigs after I went to see My Life Story (sorry!) at a festival and in front of the stage were loads of couples wearing matching MLS t-shirts, it was just sort of icky.

I'm not really into wearing band tshirts at all,or just generally any shirt with writing on it. i currently own 1 band tshirt - teenage fanclub t that I bought in 2017 - that gets worn on laundry day.

T shirts should not have graphics or writing imo

underrated arbitrary t-shirt rules i have loved

idk dud but I only ever had…3 band t-shirts and they’re all defunct and I don’t buy t-shirts with stuff on them anymore

when you see these shirts, do you think about what kind of parent(s) buy this for a child and dress their child in said garment? Do you perceive that the same parent could dress their kid in a Swans shirt one day and a "Troll hair don't care" shirt the next?

I feel like we've had hundreds of threads about this or related topics ... maybe someone can just link them?

"Promiscuous"

xp Yes, I do perceive that. I don’t really see different “class markers” in any of these shirts

Ok, don’t wanna open a can of worms if this is something that’s been talked out elsewhere

eh, it's just that in ILX's 20 year history, undoubtedly someone, or ilx collectively through discussion, has articulated this better than I would at 10am on a Sunday.

I will say this (to add color to my own p.o.v.): occasionally, I’ll see a Very Metal or Goth couple whose kid is dressed in a totally normie toddler style (conventional, colorful clothes), and I’ll think — cool, they’re on my wavelength; they’re not using their child as a canvas to express their own unique style, they’re letting him or her make that choice layer.

*later

(also want to stress, once again, that I don’t go around judging very harshly how anyone dresses their kid; I would just roll my eyes a bit at something like the Swans edge case.)

do you know the kid made that choice? Did you ask it?

all I'm getting at is -- we can find any mode of dressing a kid to be annoying and smug, even all the ways ... but the specific annoyance at Swans shirt babby, does seem to have class connotations.

Kids should be naked to respect their right to choose

I’m sorry, I will still need those class connotations explained!

And you may be missing my point — the kid didn’t make a choice to wear any particular clothes (I’m talking baby or young toddler here), so the couple dressed the kid in a “default” way. Obviously, it’s always the parent making the choice when the kid is that age.

here's something that could be useful:

http://www.icosilune.com/2009/01/paul-fussell-class/

I understand the concept of class markers, I don’t get how that applies to the Swans example.

(I’ve also explained why I specifically find it cringe-y, and it sounds like you’re saying, “No, you’re having a class-specific reaction, let me not explain it...”)

the link describes what some of the markers are, and how/where the Swans example and the "Troll Hair don't care" example would fit

I think my impression of Fussell's Class was that poetry scholars don't necessarily do the best sociology.

also, as individuals embedded in, or products of socio-economic classes, we are going to have class-specific reactions to things ... it's not like I'm saying you're racist and/or a bad person.

I guess you’ll have to take my word that the only difference I would infer about parents dressing those kids in those two shirts is that one likes the idea of advertising that they‘re into the Swans.

I'm also not clear on what the link says about Swans shirts, though.xps

I think my impression of Fussell's Class was that poetry scholars don't necessarily do the best sociology.

― With considerable charm, you still have made a choice (Sund4r), Sunday, February 16, 2020 10:47 AM (two minutes ago)

hahah -- fair point! There is definitely overlap between Fussell and Bourdieu fwiw

The legibility of messages on clothes is an important factor. The more legible the messages, the lower the class. Middle classes will wear things that they consider tasteful or “classy”, and thus are legible with the messages of taste and low key branding. Class signs and indicators are thus broadcast.

Are Swans tasteful or classy?

We are such fans of your music and all of your records. I'm not speaking of yours personally, but the whole genre of the rock and roll.

xp - in the context of children's wear, I would say yes, esp. if we are talking about the standard Swans album cover design that's like white text on a black background. Also, it shows a certain class anxiety, which is probably what the posters like morrisp are picking up on and finding annoying. Troll Hair babby is definitely prole. Cute denim jacket with patches of metal bands is also most likely prole. Ramones "RnR high school" babby, could be prole, but is likely middle class, because it is a "classic" design.

Full disclosure: my child is the only member of the family who has any interest in Swans whatsoever.

Full disclosure: I do not have children.

Prole Hair Don’t Care: Tracing Class Markers in Unlicensed Animated Character T-Shirts

This is a photo I took of the handbag of an approx 75 y/o woman in Guangzhou

https://i.imgur.com/ovPw4Vw.jpg

Descendents logo would look cute on a kid's shirt tbh

also funny because the kid is a literal descendent of the person that clothed them!

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/35/9e/72/359e7287f8db1269c125cea45ddcfc52.jpg

middle class ^^

Pretentious is a loaded, abused term and I regret using it, yeah. Maybe edge lord vs. non edge lord is appropriate here. A kid wearing a Brian Eno shirt would be cute and I wouldn’t hate the parents for it. Seriously not a class thing from my perspective.

The connection between these things and socioeconomic class usually seems tenuous to me, although I am interested when someone is providing actual social science research (something I don't recall much of in Fussell but it was admittedly a while ago and I didn't make it the whole way through).

I try to not wear a band shirt for the band I am seeing. It feels strange.

There are exceptions: Wearing a classic shirt to see a band is fun. I saw the Supersuckers a couple years ago and wore a shirt I picked up at the Sub-Pop offices when visiting Seattle back in the early '90s. Wearing an authentic Kill 'Em All For One tour shirt to see Metallica would be very cool, if a bit smug.

Also, there was the Motorhead exception (which is mentioned above) that has become the Slayer exception (not sure who will take the mantle now that they are done).

Fussell was definitely not data-driven social science, definitely on the observational and descriptive side. ... Probably in the current age of big data and more purchases being made by credit card and online, it would be theoretically easier to research using more scientific methods

You can just sit around at Disneyland, and see all these various T-shirts being worn within the actual same families.

I guess you’ll have to take my word that the only difference I would infer about parents dressing those kids in those two shirts is that one likes the idea of advertising that they‘re into the Swans.

“likes the idea of advertising that they’re” jesus I’m done

When someone wears a band T-shirt, are they not advertising that they are into the band?

Some just buy them for cosmetic purposes

I love when you say "love your shirt, <band> rocks" and they look confused, not realizing what they're wearing

Oh yeah, that happened when I asked a 13yo about her Foreigner shirt. She did know they were a band tbf.

Was she a foreigner though?

Her family lives in the boonies but they drive a fancy-looking car. Not sure about their level of earnestness or insecurity. xp no

I've known people who told me they buy band shirts regardless of fandom.

Baffling to me as i have strict rules about whose shirts i will wear

I asked a kid at school recently about her Iron Maiden shirt. Her whole being shrieked 'please don't ask me, I don't know!' at me, so I left it.

They're selling Maiden shirts in Primark, man.

Did she say she was just a teenage dirtbag baby?

Lol

That's funny, I feel like I've definitely seen multiple Maiden shirts lately