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

brimstead otm to a large extent, ime many of the people I have met who most vocally clown on concertgoers wearing the bands shirt back it up with "its so corny that they're so excited, were they writing the bands logo on their trapper keeper all day lol", obviously trying to put across a front of jaded connoisseurship, as if they themselves just happen to find themselves at this show and who knows, if its not totally boring maybe they'll stick around

nb I dont classify this as a hipster thing but nearly universal across genres/scenes, the phenomenon of snotty ppl who need to flex at shows by complaining about other concertgoers not measuring up to their standards of fandom

geez, do we have a new generation of ilxors who need to take Intro to Hipster Studies .... *sigh*

wearing a hipster studies tshirt rn

The biggest problem with this ‘rule’ is that I nearly always want to buy a shirt of one of the bands playing. If I’d do this after the show and walk around all evening in my supposedly cooler other shirt first, the good/fitting merch is all gone so I buy my shirt as soon as I’m in the venue. So I can never be that trve dude.

when I saw Datarock I bought a shirt first and wore it over my other shirt (what else was I gonna do with it?) and the singer noticed and brought me on stage so, that was cool

xxp - what kind of dog is on the front?

hipster puppy, obv

the breed! what breed of dog! geez

I threw all my old metal shirts out and regret it all the time. I had so many cool death metal shirts and it breaks my heart. I'm gradually buying them back (replacements, not my old ones).

My uncool t-shirt story: first gig I ever went to (the fucking Quireboys at the Hammersmith Odeon) I bought a t-shirt and went to the toilet and put it on.

unless there are like four dogs of different breeds sitting like good bois with a brick wall behind them.

I have a small holdall in the loft with a collection of band tshirts that are "not to go the journey". All are pretty cool, all bands I like, but also because I like(d) the t-shirt over all.

I also have a few 'down' that I wear but rarely. 808 state, a Moondog one, and a couple of Beatles ones I get as Xmas pressies you get the picture.

I tend not to wear them to gigs though. One time accompanying Alice to Reading Festival when she wasn't quite oldenough to go on her own, pondered which would make me not look like "accompanying dad". Decided on a paislyish shirt in a "if you can't join 'em, beat' em" style. Actually, the pic is still on our fridge!

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.

depends on how old the kid is.

Hafta admit I’m not big on adults dressing little kids in band gear, when the kids are too young for the band (but put whatever you want on your kid, who am I to object).

i think it's cute, unless the band is "problematic" -- there are so many other aesthetically objectionable wardrobe options for children, a babby-sized Ramones t-shirt is okay in comparison.

was at a toddler birthday party where one of the 3 year old guests was wearing a swans t shirt

Ugh. “Aren’t mommy & daddy cool?”

I judge these the same way I judge it for adults: if I like the band its cool & ok and if I don't, its lame

depends on how old the kid is.

― sarahell, Friday, February 14, 2020 3:38 PM (two hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

What? No, it depends how cool the shirt is!

Saw like a 3 year old being carried around by his fully metal parents outside a Maryland Death Fest venue wearing a little jean battle jacket with Exodus and Jungle Rot backpatches. It was cute.

I always love shit like that

Metal jacket with patches is cute to me but swans t shirt is obnoxious somehow (even setting aside gira rape accusations)

I like Swans but def agree that one is not a good look for the parents.

maybe the kid likes swans (the bird)?

also p rapey iirc

^golf clap for this

I concede that a universal, fashion-y logo like Queen isn’t so bad (or even, I guess, the Ramones). The “cooler,” the worse, IMO

My friend got his one year old a Napalm Death onesie

Yeah I mean the crux of a lot of this is pretentious v. unpretentious.

Oft told story, but:

Alice - Ramones t-shirt - "Rock&roll high school" "oh OK then I'll go get the t-shirt"

dressing your toddler in a 'jesus is a cunt' cradle of filth shirt and dropping him off at a birthday party, pretentious or unpretentious?

Well, I think the idea that wearing a band's t-shirt signifies your deep appreciation of their music is bit old fashioned.

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

LOL this is so late 70s Lou Reed

Yeah I mean the crux of a lot of this is pretentious v. unpretentious.

― circa1916, Saturday, February 15, 2020 12:49 AM (ten hours ago)

oh geez ... this is still a thing people are concerned about? Also, what qualifies as "pretentious" when the context is fashion for children of an age where their parents choose their clothes for them? However you dress your child is a signifier of something, it is a performance, a pretense. Really, "pretentious" in this context, seems to mean, a performance you dislike. There also seems to be a bunch of class-related stuff tied up in this too.

i wear shirts featuring bands on them to shows where that band is playing, fuck it. i like the band! when is a better time to wear the shirt?

lol @ Milton Nascimento upthread. What a legend

I don’t even wear other band t-shirts. Just don’t get it. But most prob I don’t want pple approaching me at gigs. Just fuck off, I’m here for the music, not trying to decipher the banter you’re spewing in my ears. (Yes, I’m an asshole. I already talk to enough ppl during the day.)

/Yeah I mean the crux of a lot of this is pretentious v. unpretentious.

― circa1916, Saturday, February 15, 2020 12:49 AM (ten hours ago) /

oh geez ... this is still a thing people are concerned about? Also, what qualifies as "pretentious" when the context is fashion for children of an age where their parents choose their clothes for them? However you dress your child is a signifier of something, it is a performance, a pretense. Really, "pretentious" in this context, seems to mean, a performance you dislike. There also seems to be a bunch of class-related stuff tied up in this too.

If I see a toddler at a show in a Swans shirt, I'm calling them a little fucking poser, and I don't care if they cry.

I wear band T-shirts (usually not for the band I’m seeing but maybe I have? Idk) and don’t care what other people are wearing at the show. It’s rare that a stranger talks to me without me talking to them first so that’s not a problem and the people I do talk to don’t give me shit for what I’m wearing so I don’t really see what the problem is. If someone is so uptight about me not knowing some invisible rules I’d sooner just avoid them than try to please them. Snobbery is very boring imo.

Sarahell otm about this idea that pretentious = a performance that makes you u comfortable for some reason (reasons may differ)

I think the difference when someone is using their kids to express their own personality/taste is that the kids aren’t really consenting to be part of the “performance,” they’re sort of being used as a prop. (It’s not a high crime or anything, though.)

I doubt they put that much thought into it

I found out that chemlab reformed when I told a random dude I liked his shirt. That was cool

where do you all stand on shirts for babies that have words on them

like, “This Is My Resting Burp Face”?

"Fuck the Police"

https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1YuhIfXuWBuNjSspnq6x1NVXaA/Hot-Casual-Kids-Baby-Boy-Girl-Novelty-RAP-T-shirt-COOL-Summer-Tee-Tops-1-6Y.jpg_q50.jpg

I just meant words in general not specifically unfunny memey stuff but I’m just trolling anyway

https://res.cloudinary.com/teepublic/image/private/s--Jm2Ni35h--/t_Resized%20Artwork/c_crop,x_10,y_10/c_fit,w_470/c_crop,g_north_west,h_626,w_470,x_0,y_0/g_north_west,u_upload:v1462829017:production:blanks:qe3008lhp5hquxmwp4a0,x_-395,y_-325/b_rgb:eeeeee/c_limit,f_jpg,h_630,q_90,w_630/v1509003454/production/designs/2001556_1.jpg

i will agree that graphic tees with text worn by anyone who's not old enough to read are almost always kinda lame