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

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

^Seems classic 2 me.

Leaning more towards classic myself but still on the fence.

I used to think you should never wear a band's t-shirt at their own show. Unless, like, you were fronting with a really old tour shirt that would show all the late comers how much cooler you were than them. I was never that guy (I'm not that cool) but I always like to see old t-shirts and merch pre-internet to see how the band's aesthetic evolved.

Then, I went to my first real arena show to see Taylor Swift on her Reputation tour and I was blown away. The norm was to have on some sort of Taylor Swift merch, AND there were a ton of people dressed up as various Taylors from her music videos, or in costume based on inspirations from her song lyrics. It was like going to Comic Con, but it was Taylor Con: a Taylor Swift fan convention. I loved seeing all the enthusiasm and creativity from the audience. There was a real joy and excitement in the air and the omnipresent Taylor Swift clothes and costumes just added to the excitement of the show.

Classic.

I did this once when I wore an old Katatonia shirt to a show where they opened for Opeth, and after the Katatonia set some cool dude standing closer to the stage handed me their printed setlist

I'm not sure if that meant "You are obviously a Katatonia connoisseur and therefore better able than I to appreciate this unique souvenir" or "You look like the only Katatonia fan in the building, here, take this shit"

wearing your own shirt onstage is classic, outside of a venue it can be touch & go but Milton Nasimento can 100% get away with it

I've noticed members that joined an already established band within the last year do this a lot.

Because they had to throw out all their old band shirts first, they had nothing else to wear!

I guess I'm too old to care about the answer to this question. show that you're a fan-- great! show that you like some other band--also fine. the only thing I don't want to see people wear at shows is tall hats.

But Milton Nascimento has a Milton Nascimento t-shirt for every day of the week and wears them in all kinds of social situations.

https://www.otempo.com.br/polopoly_fs/1.1449347.1534248225!httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/main-photo-multi-article-f1-resize_620/image.jpg]

https://cdn-ofuxico.akamaized.net/img/upload/noticias/2017/01/11/milton-1_284155_36.jpg

https://cdn.opantaneiro.com.br/img/pc/400/300/dn_noticia/2016/12/83466300958641700d7ce77.62428291.jpg

https://aloalobahia.com/images/p/milton_nascimento_salvador_alo_alo_bahia.png

It's like the one kid from your high school who only wore Metallica t-shirts, but it's Milton Nascimento and they're his own shirts. This is a whole other level of wearing your own shirt outside a venue. At first found this heroically clueless but now thinking it might be legendary, or both.

I will definitely wear the shirt for an opening band / support band to a show. Generally, these are my friends' bands, and it's also to show support for them, because a lot of people at the show will often be disrespectful or at least don't really give a fuck about the opening and support bands, but they are usually really stoked to be opening for the headliner.

It definitely depends on genre though -- I generally don't wear band shirts to goth shows because I dress up more.

The standard band shirt is way more designed for a cis-male body than a cis-female one. I have recently done this thing where I will decorate band shirts I already own and make alterations to them so that they are more flattering on my, uh, feminine attributes, and for some of the shirts, they are a bit too tight in the stomach, so I've done alterations so that I look less fat while wearing them.

also re: wearing opening band shirts -- if you got in free to the show because a friend in one of the opening bands put you on the list, wearing their shirt to the show is often a very considerate thing to do!

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