# Wearing a band's t-shirt to their concert. Bad. Why? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 29, 2005, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wearing-a-bands-t-shirt-to-their-concert-bad-why/328482 "2005-10-29T18:52:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2005, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wearing-a-bands-t-shirt-to-their-concert-bad-why/328482/41 "2005-10-30T22:12:57Z")
> [@Ukulele Ike](#): > > Yeah, that’s rule number one of coolness. If you’re a Princeton student, NEVER be caught dead in a Princeton tee-shirt. “Acme Academy of Air-Conditioner Repair” would be a perfectly acceptable substitute. On the other hand, if you attend the University of Michigan, I wouldn’t recommend wearing an Ohio State sweatshirt before the big game. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wearing-a-bands-t-shirt-to-their-concert-bad-why/328482/42 "2005-10-31T04:08:34Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > …and whatever you do, DO NOT wear a band’s T-shirt to their concert and then order a well-done steak. And don’t stop at the club’s bar to buy a tall glass of milk. ---
**Author:** ![Othersider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/cab0a1/32.png) [@Othersider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Othersider)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wearing-a-bands-t-shirt-to-their-concert-bad-why/328482/43 "2005-10-31T04:18:30Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > …and whatever you do, DO NOT wear a band’s T-shirt to their concert and then order a well-done steak. …Okay, I’ll bite. Why? ---
**Author:** ![parthenokinesis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/cc9497/32.png) [@parthenokinesis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/parthenokinesis)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wearing-a-bands-t-shirt-to-their-concert-bad-why/328482/44 "2005-10-31T04:28:28Z")
> [@Othersider](#): > > …Okay, I’ll bite. Why? Apparently you missed [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=341096). Warning, here there be sarpents. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wearing-a-bands-t-shirt-to-their-concert-bad-why/328482/45 "2005-10-31T04:50:50Z")
I would wear my Marilyn Manson Tshirt to a Bernadette Peters concert. THat would be cool. And I would wear a Bernadette Peters concert to a Marilyn Manson concert. But I would not wear a Bernadette Peters Tshirt to a Bernadette Peters concert because that. Would be gay. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wearing-a-bands-t-shirt-to-their-concert-bad-why/328482/46 "2005-10-31T05:04:20Z")
So basically the rule is “I’m too cool to be part of anything I’m a part of”? ---
**Author:** ![myskepticsight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@myskepticsight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/myskepticsight)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wearing-a-bands-t-shirt-to-their-concert-bad-why/328482/47 "2005-10-31T05:12:30Z")
> [@Ukulele Ike](#): > > Yeah, that’s rule number one of coolness. If you’re a Princeton student, NEVER be caught dead in a Princeton tee-shirt. “Acme Academy of Air-Conditioner Repair” would be a perfectly acceptable substitute. People at my school ALWAYS wear school gear. Shirts, hats, hoodies, everything. It’s weird when YOU don’t wear something that says Mizzou at least sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wearing-a-bands-t-shirt-to-their-concert-bad-why/328482/48 "2005-10-31T05:24:38Z")
> [@Little Nemo](#): > > So basically the rule is “I’m too cool to be part of anything I’m a part of”? Zackly. See my post above. ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wearing-a-bands-t-shirt-to-their-concert-bad-why/328482/49 "2005-10-31T06:23:38Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > I would wear my Marilyn Manson Tshirt to a Bernadette Peters concert. THat would be cool. And I would wear a Bernadette Peters concert to a Marilyn Manson concert. But I would not wear a Bernadette Peters Tshirt to a Bernadette Peters concert because that. Would be gay. I almost hate to admit it, but I do sometimes make it a point to wear completely inappropriate shirts to concerts (e.g., a Visqueen shirt to a Dusty 45s concert, or a Jesse Sykes shirt to a goth show). It gets me quizzical looks from the other concertgoers, but the band members often think it’s a hoot. (In my experience, the musicians usually have much more open minds and exposure to different types of music than their fans do.) ---
**Author:** ![Nutty\_Bunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d07c76/32.png) [@Nutty\_Bunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nutty_Bunny)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wearing-a-bands-t-shirt-to-their-concert-bad-why/328482/50 "2005-10-31T13:47:45Z")
> [@Snooooopy](#): > > If you’re going to wear the band’s T-shirt to the concert, it should be one that you bought 10 years ago when the band was a little-known opening act. It shows you were a fan way back when. Yeah, I did that at a Tragically Hip concert and got a comment from one of the T-shirt sellers that he hadn’t seen that shirt in _years_. I think it’s dorky to wear the shirt you just bought, especially if it’s over the clothes you wore to the show, but I didn’t know that it wasn’t cool to wear a band shirt to a concert at all. At least I wasn’t one of those obnoxious Canadians waving their huge Canadian flags as if to say, “Look at the big fans we are, we travelled all the way to Albany from Montreal!” :rolleyes: Oooh, your car can travel 4 whole hours? Color me unimpressed. It’s like me showing up at a Green Day concert in Montreal and waving an American flag. Personally, I think it’s cooler to be an American fan of theirs than Canadian. I don’t think you can swing a dead cat in Canada and not hit a Hip fan, can you? American fans are much harder to come by. What was the topic again? Oh yeah, t-shirts. Just don’t wear the current tour shirt or you’re a dork. ---
**Author:** ![Ichbin\_Dubist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/51bf81/32.png) [@Ichbin\_Dubist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ichbin_Dubist)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wearing-a-bands-t-shirt-to-their-concert-bad-why/328482/51 "2005-10-31T15:03:30Z")
The thing to do is to go to the concert in a white button-down shirt and a red tie and then buy a brand-new band shirt at the concert and put it on _over_ the shirt and tie combo. You’ll have that I’m-a-politician-on-campaign-at-a-street-fair look, which is so uncool that you come around the other side as cool again. Plus people will shake your hand for no reason. As another hijack, “Led Zepagain” is an truly awful name for a band. The rules state that cover bands are supposed to be named after a well-known song or album by the band in question that sort of sounds like it could be a band. Eg, a Doors cover band should be named Crystal Ship or Peace Frog but not Cars Hiss By My Window or You’re Lost Little Girl or some weird concoction like The Screen Doors (That Are Right Behind The Actual Doors). ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wearing-a-bands-t-shirt-to-their-concert-bad-why/328482/52 "2005-10-31T18:25:11Z")
I think the OP raises a more important question: is it possible to attend a concert by a tribute band and look cool, no matter what you wear? I say no. And I should know: I’m an expert at not looking cool. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wearing-a-bands-t-shirt-to-their-concert-bad-why/328482/53 "2005-10-31T21:58:23Z")
Once, at the Vogue Theater, a Bonnie Raitt t-shirt vendor offered to trade me a new Bonnie shirt for my threadbare antinukes Bonnie t-shirt. I was a damn fool, so naturally I turned down the offer. My old shirt fell apart a month later. :rolleyes: Oy ;j ---
**Author:** ![wnorthr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecccb3/32.png) [@wnorthr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wnorthr)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wearing-a-bands-t-shirt-to-their-concert-bad-why/328482/54 "2005-10-31T23:20:04Z")
Can we do this all over again with polos? (obligatory smilie) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wearing-a-bands-t-shirt-to-their-concert-bad-why/328482.md?page=2)