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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
