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

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

xxpost The Dead have fantastic merch that looks nothing like their music sounds.

Imo we should wear shirts with recommended setlists on them and stand near the front.

Anybody who shouts out a song request is kicked out

The opening band will see it and it will make them feel weird and awkward.

I bought a band shirt last year. Grand Magus (a Swedish biker/power metal band) were on their first US tour ever, they had a 20-minute opening slot before Amon Amarth/Arch Enemy/At the Gates, and I'd been a big fan since at least 2010. I was basically saying, "You guys are awesome - here's $20 in the hope that you'll be able to come back and play here again sometime."

that's why you wear two tshirts, one for the opener and one for the headliner xp

pro-tip: don't try this at a festival, you will die of heatstroke

when I saw Ween there were a bunch of people in custom Ween gear and I thought that was super cool. I mean where else do you show that off

i feel like this is fine at like a big ticket hard rock show (Maiden and Slayer are good examples) but most of the time this is something i file under "innocuous things that make you irrationally embarrassed" tbh.

I like band shirts but don't ever wear them to the show I'm seeing because, by being there, they should assume I am a fan. I do, however, sometimes wear other bands' shirts to a band's show, so that they can see that I am a fan of other bands, too, and not just them. Keep those egos in check.

so you could still wear the headlining band's shirt to the show, but also bring an extra shirt that says "just so we're clear, I am not hear to see you but you can win me over - surprise me!".

hmm, might need a small font for that

xxpost The Dead have fantastic merch that looks nothing like their music sounds.

― dinnerboat, Thursday, February 13, 2020 11:27 AM (twelve minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Seriously hearing the Dead for the first time, age 10 or 11, was the most disappointed I've ever been in music. It was like, "Huh? What is this corny bluegrass stuff?? Put on the Grateful Dead album!"

Now, wearing a band shirt the day after the show, I dunno, I think that can be kind of tacky. With the exception of my two best friends from high school, fraternal twin brothers, who saw Bell Biv Devoe and came to school the next day wearing matching "Do Me!" t-shirts.

how I break it down, to an extent:

"cool teens" used to think it was definitely bad, when I was an uncool teen

HOWEVER, an exception was when you bought the shirt at the show, and not wanting to carry it, put it on over what you were wearing. then you were required to wear it to school the next day, smelling like stale cigarette smoke. you might also have a small hole in the shirt somewhere where a guy bumped into you with his lit cigarette because you are very cool and crowded to the front where it was packed

as an adult, the purest thing I have seen is fans wearing the shirt from the prior tour to the current tour, as they attend ALL TOURS. there was a woman in front of me at a Depeche Mode show, and she quietly sang along to every song w/solo Martin Gore vocals with tears streaming down her face

I read someone saying recently that the rule came about because it was a way to spot narcs at underground shows? Which does make sense in a way, but isn't really relevant to most of the shows I go to, and I'm very much in the "wear what the fuck you like" camp.

I once went to a Jay-Z show in a suit, because I had to go to a fancy holiday party right beforehand.

HOWEVER, an exception was when you bought the shirt at the show, and not wanting to carry it, put it on over what you were wearing. then you were required to wear it to school the next day, smelling like stale cigarette smoke.

lol...seen. did this with my first Slayer shirt, I came to school stank as hell.

JiC's not a businessman, he's a business, maaaan

I would leave out the caveat about a prior event and just tell it as "I wore a suit to a Jay Z show" in the future

Noted!

It's quite possible I had a band shirt under it all, though.

I read someone saying recently that the rule came about because it was a way to spot narcs at underground shows?

wearing a suit to a show seems extremely suss too imo

total that-guy behavior

At a Willie Nelson show, I saw a woman wearing a custom shirt commemorating all the times she’s seen Willie play (plus, I think, an R.I.P. to her dad?) — which is pretty next-level.

that's awesome

critical support for this queen

I went to a few hardcore shows in DC still wearing my shirt & tie from my dayjob and people were suuuuper not into it

A friend wore a Mogwai "Blur: Are Shite" t-shirt to a Blur gig once. He likes both bands, thought it would be funny, however this was at the V festival in Chelmsford where the audience didn't enjoy the joke as much as he did.

I last bought a band t-shirt about 12 years ago when I saw Does it Offend you, Yeah? at Maxwells in Hoboken. Their logo was a real disasterpiece, so I had to have one. Presumed the guy I bought it off was a roadie or tour manager but turned out to be the singer/bassist. I immediately put it on over the shirt I was wearing. Show was meh. Gave the shirt away shortly afterwards. Wish I kept it because terrible/awesome logo.

I specifically asked to buy a 'Blur: Are Shite' shirt from Mogwai's tour manager when they played Maxwells in 99 but she said they didn't bring any because "Americans already know that Blur are shite". Also quite like Blur.

i have a roxy music shirt that i like to wear because there's a solid chance the band i'm seeing was influenced by them in some fashion.

Alternate question: can a band member wear their own band's t-shirt on stage? Every time I've seen Southern Culture on the Skids recently it seems Rick Miller's wardrobe consists entirely of his current merch table.

I say yes. If anybody is entitled to advertise their band it's the band itself. Plus, clean clothes are at a premium when you are on tour.

There was a period a few years ago when Milton Nasimento was frequently filmed and photographed wearing Milton Nascimento t-shirts. Not at his performances but like, lounging around his apartment and noodling on his guitar or shooting the breeze with a friend. The prints on many of these were of album covers with prominent pictures of his face, like Courage and Minas.
Not sure how I feel about this. C or D?

I read someone saying recently that the rule came about because it was a way to spot narcs at underground shows?

― emil.y, Thursday, February 13, 2020 10:44 AM

https://compote.slate.com/images/b52810d8-3f5f-4d0a-818a-563f6be7b099.jpg

https://resources.tidal.com/images/fd0ac9d8/d8fe/4a64/a394/a0416ee71c31/1080x720.jpg

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