# the rules of concert t-shirts **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 27, 2010, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rules-of-concert-t-shirts/551685 "2010-08-27T16:39:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rules-of-concert-t-shirts/551685/21 "2010-08-27T21:02:57Z")
> [@fusoya](#): > > - If they have multiple designs available, the first one you must buy is the one with the concert dates on the back (which will always be the most expensive). If the band is REALLY out to make a profit, they will have a specific shirt made for just that one city. If you choose to buy multiple shirts, THEN you can get the one with the album artwork on the front or back, and the one with a joke logo or whatever. Just remember that these are more often than not available from their website for much cheaper prices. I prefer to buy tour shirts, but I don’t think it’s a hard rule. Sometimes a tour shirt is absolutely hideous, but there’s another shirt from the band that I really want. Of course, in most cases I’ll end up buying both, but a couple times I’ve passed on the tour shirt because it was just awful and I’d truly never wear it. In fact, I regret a few of the shirts I’ve bought from shows and have just never worn because they’re that ugly. > [@](#): > > - NEVER, EVER under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES are you to wear the shirt from that same band and same tour to the show. This especially includes the shirts you just bought. Yes, yes, a thousand times, yes. I know you like the band because, well, you’re they’re to see the show. It makes it look like you don’t know or appreciate anything else in the genre or it’s one of the first shows you’ve ever been to and you just don’t know that it’s bad. In either case, you won’t get much appreciation from other fans because they won’t have anything to talk to you about. > [@](#): > > - You MAY wear an old, out of print concert shirt of the performing band to the show, but you won’t earn any points with the other fans unless it’s an authentic shirt from a really old tour. This I could see, but only in a few rare cases like an old Ozzfest t-shirt maybe, though it would still look stupid if it was from 2008, but might be okay if it was maybe 2002 or so. I’d still generally avoid it since, if you’ve been to that multiple times, you ought to have other shirts you can wear. I could maybe see it too if it’s a band that’s been around forever and it’s a shirt from a LONG time ago, like a Judas Priest shirt from a tour in 1986. I think this is acceptable because, though it doesn’t show your breadth, you still have something cool to talk about because you were there that long ago and you’ve been in the scene long enough that, chances are, you still know other stuff. > [@](#): > > - As soon as the show is over, and you are off the property, THEN you may wear the shirt you just bought. However, if anyone on the subway/bus/reststop/etc asks if you just saw that band, then you are to give a smartass answer about how everybody around you is coincidentially wearing the same band’s shirt. I disagree. The way I’ve always heard and practiced it was that it was forbidden at any time during that day, defined as when you wake up that morning until you eventually go to sleep. If you’re wearing an appropriate t-shirt on the bus/subway, then it should be sufficient for anyone interested to infer that you probably just left the show for the similar band. > [@](#): > > - You are also to wear the shirt to work/school the next day. In THIS case, you are expected to brag about how awesome/awful the show was and give whoever asks way too many details. If possible. I work in an office, so I can’t get away with wearing a band shirt. I will, however, generally wear it at the next reasonable opportunity that I’m going to be in public and it’s appropriate. > [@](#): > > - Pretty much the only profit that the opening act earns is from merchandise sales, and chances are they will remind you over and over of this. Therefore, think wisely about whether or not you want to support them, or if you just want to throw more money at the act you really came to see. You should support an opening act unless they sucked. I generally would advise against shirts though unless you really liked them. Generally, buying a CD or some stickers or whatever is enough. > [@](#): > > - Please, for the love of God, stop wearing that backstage pass you got when you saw that band 5 years ago. Unlike your vintage shirt, it isn’t going to win you any fan points, and it’s just going to piss off security, who will assume you’re trying to sneak in. I’ve honestly never seen this, and I’ve been to over 100 concerts. This must be something that goes on in another scene. Anyway, some other, related rules. - You can’t just not wear the shirt of the band you’re see, you must wear an appropriate shirt for the type of show you’re going to. Don’t wear something from a completely unrelated genre. Particularly in the metal scene, don’t wear a shirt from a genre that is looked down upon by most of the one you’re going to see. For example, if you wear Slipknot to an Amon Amarth show, be prepared to get ridiculed; don’t wear a progressive or power metal shirt to a death metal show or vice versa. If you don’t have an appropriate band shirt, just something generic and not in bright colors. - Corollary to not wearing the band shirt to the concert is also to not listen to their music. It is every bit as bad if you’re waiting in line to get in and have your car stereo blasting the music we’re about to see in an hour. It is only acceptable if someone is tagging along who hasn’t heard them before and needs some exposure beforehand (eg, you finally convinced your girlfriend to see Opeth with you). However, unlike the tshirt rule, you may listen to a newly purchased album on your drive home. - If you see someone in your immediate vicinity wearing a shirt for a band you’ve seen live OR is a relatively obscure band that you like, you are expected to comment on it. The relative part is important as, if you’re at an Iron Maiden show and see someone wearing a Nevermore shirt, you should comment on it; if you’re at a Dimmu Borgir show, you shouldn’t. This is also true in everyday circumstances too, where the level of expectation is in inverse proportion to how well the band is known. For example, I’m unlikely to comment if I see a Dream Theater shirt, but will absolutely say something if saw someone wearing an Agalloch one. On Preview: Yes, fusoya, I can’t stand it when bands wear their own merchandise. However, bands are the only ones allowed to wear merchandise for other bands performing that night, though generally only if they perform after them. It’s really cool to see the headlining act wearing a shirt for one of their supporting bands, but not so much the other way around. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rules-of-concert-t-shirts/551685/22 "2010-08-27T21:14:28Z")
I have too many T-shirts, especially considering that nowadays I can only wear them on weekends, and not even all weekends. So I’m much more selective about buying new ones. Despite what the OP says, sometimes I’ll go to a concert and not buy ANY T-shirts. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rules-of-concert-t-shirts/551685/23 "2010-08-27T21:23:51Z")
The rule of thumb I have heard is that the shirt you wear should be from a band a little “harder” --or more obscure-- than the one you’re going to see. ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rules-of-concert-t-shirts/551685/24 "2010-08-27T21:46:22Z")
Bicycle racing has similar rules about jerseys and shirts. It’s cool to wear one from an old race, not cool to wear it during that race though. ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rules-of-concert-t-shirts/551685/25 "2010-08-27T22:14:02Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > > [@Student\_Driver](#): > > > > Yeah, that’s how it worked around here. Don’t come to the show wearing a shirt for the band(s) you’re about to see, but it’s okay-- and practical-- to put on the shirts that you buy at the concert. It was obvious to those around you that the shirt came from that show > > Wait a sec…so I’m not allowed to wear my bands shirt from a previous tour, to the next show of theirs that I see? Or am I allowed to? Around here, no, it was not kosher to wear a previous tour shirt of the band you’re seeing (unless it’s a show at a big festival). There might be a few exceptions-- if had a 20-year-old shirt or something, that might be okay, and give you “I liked them when they were new” scene points. I forgot about the points available for “genre cred” shirts. Good call, **GargoyleWB**. Ironically funny shirts also win you points if others get the humor. In my punk-rock days, I often showed up wearing New Kids on the Block or Debbie Gibson tour shirts, advertising shirts for Seventeen Magazine or Girl Scout Lock-In parties, things like that. One winner that seems peculiar to punk rock is the anti-band shirt. Home-made shirts telling the band that you’re there to see that they suck, even if it’s just Sharpie on a white shirt, can earn you points, but only if you’re known in the scene as already being hardcore/crusty/gutter/'77. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rules-of-concert-t-shirts/551685/26 "2010-08-27T22:40:31Z")
This whole “don’t wear the shirt of the band you’re seeing” nonsense is an American thing. Every band I’ve met in England likes to see people wearing their shirt, and if some twat thinks they’re better than me because of the shirt they’re not wearing, they are an elitist tard and should fuck off before they end up wearing a mike stand. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rules-of-concert-t-shirts/551685/27 "2010-08-27T23:01:46Z")
> [@I'm Not Dennis Bergkamp](#): > > You are violating the Sports Corollary to the rule, which is: never wear more than one (1) instance of a sports team logo on your body at any given time. So, if you’re wearing the Yankees jersey, don’t wear the hat, and vice versa. But two different, non-conflicting logos are okay. It wouldn’t make sense to wear logos of two different teams in the same league, for example. But wearing the cap of, say, an affiliated minor league team, or an international team, could be cool. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rules-of-concert-t-shirts/551685/28 "2010-08-27T23:59:18Z")
I don’t have a band shirt. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2010, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rules-of-concert-t-shirts/551685/29 "2010-08-28T00:06:00Z")
Super-bonus-extra points: Wearing a shirt which peripherally pertains to the band, without actually being one of the band’s shirts. Example: wearing a _Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!_ to a Faster Pussycat show. > [@fusoya](#): > > - if you are IN THE BAND, for Christ’s sake do not wear your own damn band’s shirt on stage. Iron Maiden, I’m looking your way. We refer to that as the “Don’t be like Joe Elliot” rule. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2010, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rules-of-concert-t-shirts/551685/30 "2010-08-28T00:11:50Z")
My question could have been misinterpreted…let’s try again… If I am seeing a band 2 weeks from today…am I allowed to wear their 2008 tour shirt (one of which I attended and purchased the shirt at) to the concert in 2 weeks? ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2010, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rules-of-concert-t-shirts/551685/31 "2010-08-28T00:20:14Z")
I’ll go so far as to say that it’s generally uncool to wear a band’s T-shirt to that same band’s show. Even if it’s a vintage one, you’re really just being another variation of “that guy”. Of course, the rules go out the window in the world of jam bands. You can certainly wear a Phish t-shirt to a Phish show, even if it’s from that very tour. Jamband fans also like bootleg t-shirts in which corporate logos and other familiar images are altered to include the band’s lyrics, and those are certainly acceptable. (Anywhere else, they’re really confusing.) You can’t go wrong with a shirt from a related band, and it’s often a great conversation starter. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2010, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rules-of-concert-t-shirts/551685/32 "2010-08-28T00:22:48Z")
Do not buy the shirt from the guy in the parking lot. Yes it’s only $20 (or $15 or $10) but it’s still only worth about $5. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2010, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rules-of-concert-t-shirts/551685/33 "2010-08-28T01:06:00Z")
I’ll wear any damned shirt I want to see a band. If people think I’m breaking some “rule” they can fume about it if they need to. Are these “rules” actually given credence by anyone? ---
**Author:** ![dada2fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ccd318/32.png) [@dada2fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dada2fish)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2010, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rules-of-concert-t-shirts/551685/34 "2010-08-28T01:09:24Z")
How about this: You can’t wear a band t-shirt (not a concert shirt) unless you can name off at least 5 of their songs and 2 albums. All you 16 year old hipsters wandering around with Led Zeppelin t-shirts, get ready to be quizzed. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2010, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rules-of-concert-t-shirts/551685/35 "2010-08-28T01:17:54Z")
What about wearing a shirt from the local radio station that plays music in the same genre? ---
**Author:** ![dzeiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@dzeiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzeiger)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2010, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rules-of-concert-t-shirts/551685/36 "2010-08-28T03:12:29Z")
So when I went to see Yes in 2002, the merchandising people recognized that nobody there wanted to advertise “Magnification,” and I ended up buying a T-shirt featuring the cover from “Tales from Topgraphic Oceans.” I don’t recall if I wore it or not, but would I have still been “that guy” if I wore a just-bought T-shirt featuring a near-30-year-old album? ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2010, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rules-of-concert-t-shirts/551685/37 "2010-08-28T03:20:55Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > My question could have been misinterpreted…let’s try again… > > If I am seeing a band 2 weeks from today…am I allowed to wear their 2008 tour shirt (one of which I attended and purchased the shirt at) to the concert in 2 weeks? One or two tours isn’t really enough time for a band T-shirt to amass any coolness points. It might not be too terrible if that tour was in support of an album from before the band broke through to the public, because you’d give off a bit of the I-knew-them-when vibe, but you probably have plenty of better options in your closet. Give that shirt some time to age, like a fine wine. ---
**Author:** ![moejoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@moejoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moejoe)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2010, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rules-of-concert-t-shirts/551685/38 "2010-08-28T03:34:18Z")
> [@Suburban\_Plankton](#): > > I recall from my prime concert-going years (which are, sadly, long since passed) that the best t-shirts were always the ‘unauthorized’ ones being sold by the guys in the parking lot. They were extra crappy quality-wise, but bought extra cred because there was no way you could have bought them anywhere else but the concert. White vinegar soak and 30 minutes in a hot dryer makes them last a lot longer. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2010, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rules-of-concert-t-shirts/551685/39 "2010-08-28T03:44:08Z")
> [@I'm Not Dennis Bergkamp](#): > > > [@ZipperJJ](#): > > > > I was just thinking about the “don’t be that guy” rule the other day. I am totally into this rule and mock my friends when they break it. > > > > But, when I go to a sporting event I am completely covered in regalia for the team I’m there to see. Somehow, this is different 🙂 > > You are violating the Sports Corollary to the rule, which is: never wear more than one (1) instance of a sports team logo on your body at any given time. So, if you’re wearing the Yankees jersey, don’t wear the hat, and vice versa. Tattoos don’t count, though. I take it you’re not from Pittsburgh, are you? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2010, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rules-of-concert-t-shirts/551685/40 "2010-08-28T03:58:35Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > What about wearing a shirt from the local radio station that plays music in the same genre? No. No you may not. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rules-of-concert-t-shirts/551685.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rules-of-concert-t-shirts/551685.md?page=3)