My friend Eddie and I have a tradition when we go to shows. We count how many people are wearing brand new t-shirts they purchased at the concert. The last one we both attended (Flogging Molly at the Vic in Chicago) we counted 45 new shirts being worn(no repeats).
If I buy a shirt I prefer to wait until after the show is over so I have something thats not sweaty and smelly to put on.
Do you sport your new gear as soon as you get it or do you wait?
No. I don’t do it at hockey games either.
I’ve always considered that about the uncoolest thing ever. (The absolute uncoolest thing ever is to wear your t-shirt from the last concert to stand in line to buy tickets for the upcoming concert. Of course, with online ticket purchasing, you don’t see that much anymore. Maybe those guys put on their concert t-shirt before they log on or something…)
No, but that’s because I like to wash new clothes before I wear them, cuz I’m a clean freak like that.
Nope. If I’m going to buy a t-shirt I wait 'til the end of the show, so I don’t have to carry it aroung all night.
No dissing intended, but after 30 odd years of concert-going it’s kinda funny to me to see people still wonder or worry about this sort of thing.
I would usually buy the T-shirt either before or after the show, but I never wore it, either.
Save those concert t-shirts! They are really fun to look at (and wear!) years later.
btw
White Stripes have really cool t-shirts for their current tour.
I’ve been known to do it, but only because I only bought the damn thing in the first place because I was cold.
Absolutely not.
I saw My Morning Jacket a few months back, and made it a point not to wear my old MMJ shirt, too dorky. Similarly, I have a bunch of comic book related T-shirts, and make sure I am not wearing one for my weekly comic shop visit.
Now, as a wee lad at all those Rush concerts early-mid-eighties, ya had to be wearing your Rush gear (and your mullet :smack: ).
Jeremy Piven as Droz from PCU:
Ha! I came in to say that the only time I did this was the last time I saw the Stones. I bought two t-shirts and put ‘em both on over the turtleneck I was already wearing, and then put my jacket back on over it all. It was cold that night! (I was also grateful for the pyro part of the Stones’ stage set.)
I’ll wait until later except for the last concert; Willie Nelson/Bob Dylan in Jacksonville, FL. It was outdoors and rained like a mo-fo during the opening band.
It was lovely to have a nice, dry tee to put on once it stopped.
I think it’s time for a hijack. WHY do so many people feel obligated to buy concert tshirts? I used to occasionally pick one up, only if I saw something that I could actually see myself wearing.
And then in 2001 I saw Eric Clapton. I went to check out his tshirt stand. I’ve seen shirts selling for as little as $5, with the usual price $15-25, occasionally reaching $35 or even $40. His were $60!!! Not only that, they were SHIT! And yet, people were still lining up to buy them. WTF?
I don’t care how nice the shirt looks, I don’t care if the band I’m seeing needs new golden jets, I don’t care if I’ll be able to show off to complete strangers that I saw some certain artist, I will NOT pay more than $20 for a tshirt. ever.
Here in PhilaPa you can usually pick up a nice quality shirt from a “neighborhood entrepreneur” outside the venue for as little as five bucks. I got a tie-dye White Zombie shirt, with glow-in-the-dark ink no less, beck in '97 and it still looks good. The ink still glows, even!
Now that’s value.
Dammit, Dewey, I came in here specifically to post that quote!
As to the OP, I like to buy the shirt for the band that I’m seeing (in fact, I don’t buy band t-shirts except if I see them in concert, and only buy the shirts at the concert), but I refuse to wear them at the show…
Only if someone’s thrown up on the previous shirt I was wearing.
Me too! It sucks to be third.
I rarely buy concert shirts these days, but I did buy shirts and wear them at the show sometimes when I was a teenager. It was usually because I was afraid that the one I wanted would sell out if I waited until after the show and I didn’t have any place to put it if I didn’t wear it.
It’s analogous to donating to public TV or radio and getting a gift in return. The markup on concert t-shirts is astronomical, so I view it as a way of giving some extra money to the band and getting a souvenir in return. Note that I listen to indie bands who actually do need all the money they can get–they aren’t exactly getting rich out of the deal.
Not as bad as being fourth!
I have been able to adapt that quote to a real life situation. Going to a Cubs game with my sister, she needed to get a Cubs shirt. I liked the same one, and got one myself. She was going to put hers back, because she figured I was going to wear it so we matched. However, I promised her I just wanted the shirt, I wasn’t going to be “That Guy.” [/hijack]
I’ve always thought one should never wear a band’s t-shirt at a show by that band. This is based on many years (decades) of concert going.
Scary thought - if my first concert was the Beatles in 1966, I’m now in my 5th decade of concert going. Yikes!