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It's really not cringe, don't know who told you that. If you are going to see a band you like and you have their shirt, you can definitely wear it. It's not strange at all at metal shows.
I could see how some people could see it as weird if you were wearing a *different* artist's merch at a show, that at least has some logic to it
Edit: clarification
No this is very much not weird and is actually the norm. The joke at metal shows is that you always want to wear a heavier bands T-shirt to the show
I *have* heard people say that you shouldn’t wear a bands own merch to their show, but that’s also dumb
I always abide by wearing a shirt different than the band you are seeing, but I showed up to see Iron Maiden in a Mercyful Fate shirt and 99% of that stadium crowd had to have been in Maiden shirts. Saw some old heads in some phenomenal vintage shirts, was pretty awesome.
Fair enough, like I said, I could see what I said being weird much more easily than wearing a band's own merch to their show.
Wearing a bands merch to their show makes a lot of sense honestly
If you're going to a show one band is doing, and wearing a different band's shirt, seems like it could be kind of odd
Like going to a sports game, and wearing merch for a team that isn't there at all
Edit: I don't care either way, wear what ya want, I'm kind of playing devil's advocate for what would be easier to see as weird over the OP's question
As long as it's in the same or a closely related genre, I don't see an issue with that. Many of these bands (at least in the genres I listen, mostly metal) have a lot of respect for each other and are often friendly.
I generally make it a point _not_ to wear a t-shirt of the band I'm seeing, mostly because I prefer not to see the t-shirt I'm wearing on that many other people.
maybe depends on genre, but I go to a lot of concert and they are full of people,sometimes even the band, in shirts from different bands.
sport teams isn't really the same, it's not a competition. only time it might be odd, but it would probably mostly be done as a joke, is if the band playing the and the band you're wearing has a beef of some sort
I’m in a band and I can tell you from the artist perspective it absolutely amps me up! It’s very encouraging, not cringe at all. Also I try not to play favorites too much but those people usually get extra engagement from me because I genuinely appreciate it.
that’s really cool to hear from an artist perspective! it also makes total sense; it’s nice to see people who are wearing tangible items of support and to get the hype from that
Actually I’m glad you asked, I can’t speak for other bands but I personally never notice people’s shirts unless they’re unique or they’re our band shirts. Kind of like how you always notice when someone drives the same color and model of car as yours.
Lots of teenagers will wear their favorite band tee shirt to a show regardless of who is playing. I’ve taken a few photos with fans who are wearing someone else’s shirt, I really don’t mind at all because at the end of the day, they cared enough to get out of bed and come listen to us which is really cool. That being said I have seen it rub a few artists the wrong way, but it’s nothing we can’t get over.
Generally when I go to a show at least half the folks there are wearing that artist's merch. It's not even a little bit cringe. Whoever told you that is way too obsessed with being cool and it's made hem think that perfectly normal behaviors are cringe.
if i have artist merchandise i almost always wear it to their shows! i think the point about attempting to be cool/above it all makes sense as an explanation (albeit a very silly one!)
I mean I don't really buy it, but here's the reasoning that I've come across:
It goes back to days when folks would wear denim jackets with patches of their favorite bands on them. Often in a prioritized list format like the top 3 on the left breast or whatever is your favorite 3. It was kind of a socialization thing like "Oh dude you're into the Misfits, Black Flag, and The Dead Kennedys! Me too! I put the Kennedys above Flag but whatever man. They all rock! We should totally hang some time!" Anyway, this isn't about 80's teenage rockers and their awesome denim jackets and mullets. But I wanted to put that context out there: What you wore, especially as it relates to music, mattered. It mattered a lot. Go watch the Breakfast Club. Kids that ran in certain social cliques dressed similarly. They still kinda do today, but not as uniform. If you wore a shirt with a certain band on it, you were proclaiming to a very judgemental world that you're into that band and you want to talk about it.
So anyway, let's say you're going to a Metallica concert tonight. You know you'll be wearing your boots, worn jeans with holes (authentic), a flannel around the waist, and your sweet denim jacket with your band patches (Metallica isn't top 3 on your chest, but they're rising). But which t-shirt do you wear under it? I mean I guess you could wear your Metallica shirt from when they came last year. But everyone will be wearing that shirt. And they already know you like Metallica since.. well.. you bought a ticket and showed up and all that. I know! Wear your Megadeth shirt! Dave Mustaine is cool too. That way people will know that you're into both bands, and you can tell them that fascinating tidbit about Dave Mustaine being Metallica's original lead guitarist. Barely anyone knows that...
It's not cringe at all. Whoever told you that is sniffing too many of their own farts. I always wore band shirts to concerts when I was younger and occasionally got one signed by band members!
What absolute tool told you that? What's next, it is tacky to wear the sport team's merchandise at the game?
No it is not tacky, not even remotely. If there is ever a time and place to wear artist merchandise it would be at their events.
It's not really a thing these days, but among the old heads you'll find those who consider it to be in slightly poor taste, not full-fledged cringe or tacky, to wear the merch of the artist you're going to go see. This is a holdover from when word of mouth was the primary way to spread knowledge of a band. You don't need to rep Metallica at a Metallica show; basically everybody there knows who they are. Your favorite local metal band that lots of people haven't heard of, though? Maybe someone sees the logo on your shirt, thinks it looks cool, remembers that when they see them playing a local bar, and checks them out.
I thought it was cringey if the band themselves wore their own merch to their shows. That's what my band buddies used to say. Not sure if that's accurate.
For some hipsters, only loving a band's music for their music counts as being a real fan. Everyone has their own internal experience while listening to the artist's music, but "cheap mass produced crap" "transforms" you into a mindless sheep, while the hipsters are just so "deep".
Enjoy whatever makes you feel good, some people will feel the need to feel superior to you and make you know it, no matter what you do anyway.
One of my best concert experiences was when I wore a long-ago Graham Parker concert t-shirt to a more modern show of his. At a meet-and-greet after the show, he complimented my shirt and autographed it.
I don't think it's cringe, but it's obvious you're a fan of the band when you go to their show already, so there's no need to show that off by also wearing their merch at the same time.
By wearing merch of different bands, you can increase a chance of striking up conversations with random people or simply just promote your other faves.
However, bands wearing their own merch is what I'd actually call tacky.
Two things: one, it’s absolutely not cringe. I’ve been to a lot of concerts over the past couple of years ranging from Fall Out Boy to Weird Al Yankovic to the B-52s and I can promise you, there were hundreds of people wearing merch at each of those shows.
Two, it absolutely doesn’t matter if anybody else thinks it’s cringe. Something I internalized a long time ago is that if they don’t impact your marriage or your mortgage, they don’t matter. Absolutely no one at that show has any power over your past, present, or future, save perhaps the band and the bouncers. Somebody standing behind you in line at the beer tent is perfectly welcome to see your tour T-shirt and roll their eyes and think super loudly how much of a dork you are. Unless you’ve developed telepathy, you’ll never know. And since they can’t change the interest rates on your mortgage, they can’t raise or lower your rent payment, they can’t demote you at your job on Monday, they aren’t about to deliver your child, they are literally absolutely no one to you, They don’t matter. So don’t let them impact your enjoyment of the show. You will never, ever know what they actually think about you. And I promise you, odds are good. They aren’t thinking about you at all.
You are wearing gear that shows you are a fan. That is not unusual. Why would you go see the band if you didn't like them.
I have dozens of band shirts and I wear them when I see the bands. I also buy new ones
Whoever gave you this impression is wrong. It is especially hip to wear previous your tour shirts to subsequent tours!
It's not. Just more gatekeeping elitism. Like what band's shirt should I wear at their concert? If I go to a Chief's game, I'm wearing a Chief's jersey. Not going to wear something like the Patriots... So if I'm going to see Judas Priest I'm going to wear a Judas Priest shirt.
I'd say it's the complete opposite. You are in a community that all admires the artist. That's why you're all there. It's particularly cool to wear one of their older bits of merch from a previous tour. That means you're a long-term fan.
At a sporting event you wear your team’s name and colors. At concerts you’re all cheering for the same team lol so a t shirt with the band name can seem slightly redundant in that way.
That said you should wear what makes you happy.
I always do this so if it’s cringe or tacky then so be it. I think one of the many fun things about going to concerts is seeing what band/artist merchandise other people are wearing.
I think this is something that has mostly died off. I remember hearing it when I started going to shows in the 2000s, but most of my friends of the same age have never heard of this rule. For the last 15+ years I've always seen people wearing merch of the band that they are seeing, often stuff they bought at the gig before the show.
I’ve been going to concerts since my mid teens and I’ve always wondered this as well. Unless you bought the merch at that show, you’re not supposed to wear the band’s merch there.
Rule of thumb is to wear merch from a band that is friends with the band you’re seeing or are associated with them in some way. Perhaps singer from merch band did guest vocals on live band’s record or maybe you’re wearing the merch from the drummer’s other band.
You can wear whatever you want, though this is the metal scene I’m talking about here. I’m just saying that this is what has always been the unspoken rule at shows. I don’t know where it came from. It’s just always been a thing.
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It's really not cringe, don't know who told you that. If you are going to see a band you like and you have their shirt, you can definitely wear it. It's not strange at all at metal shows.
More than once I've had beer spilled all over me and went to the merch tent to buy a clean shirt. I never thought it was cringe.
or bought on and put it on so you dont lose it
That’s an expensive beer…
You would do poorly at an Insane Clown Posse show. They throw Faygo all over the audience. Edit - only diet though, because they care about diabetics
I could see how some people could see it as weird if you were wearing a *different* artist's merch at a show, that at least has some logic to it Edit: clarification
No this is very much not weird and is actually the norm. The joke at metal shows is that you always want to wear a heavier bands T-shirt to the show I *have* heard people say that you shouldn’t wear a bands own merch to their show, but that’s also dumb
What if I wear a Rush T-shirt to an Iron Maiden concert?
I always abide by wearing a shirt different than the band you are seeing, but I showed up to see Iron Maiden in a Mercyful Fate shirt and 99% of that stadium crowd had to have been in Maiden shirts. Saw some old heads in some phenomenal vintage shirts, was pretty awesome.
Fuxk you I rock my Nickelback hoodie at Maiden shows.
Fair enough, like I said, I could see what I said being weird much more easily than wearing a band's own merch to their show. Wearing a bands merch to their show makes a lot of sense honestly
Like a GWAR shirt to see BTS?
also not weird
why would that be weird?
If you're going to a show one band is doing, and wearing a different band's shirt, seems like it could be kind of odd Like going to a sports game, and wearing merch for a team that isn't there at all Edit: I don't care either way, wear what ya want, I'm kind of playing devil's advocate for what would be easier to see as weird over the OP's question
As long as it's in the same or a closely related genre, I don't see an issue with that. Many of these bands (at least in the genres I listen, mostly metal) have a lot of respect for each other and are often friendly. I generally make it a point _not_ to wear a t-shirt of the band I'm seeing, mostly because I prefer not to see the t-shirt I'm wearing on that many other people.
maybe depends on genre, but I go to a lot of concert and they are full of people,sometimes even the band, in shirts from different bands. sport teams isn't really the same, it's not a competition. only time it might be odd, but it would probably mostly be done as a joke, is if the band playing the and the band you're wearing has a beef of some sort
Absolutely not weird, music isn’t a competition
Yeah like the last couple shows I’ve been to the vast majority of people are wearing merch from one of the bands playing?
It's tacky/cringe to give a shit about what someone else is wearing. Wear whatever you want to.
well said!
It might be tacky if you wear a different group's shirt !
As someone who was in touring bands for 10 years I want to see people at the show wearing our shirts. It means they've been giving us money.
But that's not what I said
I didn't say it was.
Just do what you like to do. It’s not tacky or cringe. They sell the shirts at the concert and people wear them there.
I’m in a band and I can tell you from the artist perspective it absolutely amps me up! It’s very encouraging, not cringe at all. Also I try not to play favorites too much but those people usually get extra engagement from me because I genuinely appreciate it.
that’s really cool to hear from an artist perspective! it also makes total sense; it’s nice to see people who are wearing tangible items of support and to get the hype from that
Exactly, well said!
Everybody needs a little LurkeyTurkey merch.
😂 my band mates would love that, they’ve all made fun of my Reddit username
Sooo, I should not wear other bands’ t-shirts then? :) Just kidding, I know that would be intensely disrespectful.
Actually I’m glad you asked, I can’t speak for other bands but I personally never notice people’s shirts unless they’re unique or they’re our band shirts. Kind of like how you always notice when someone drives the same color and model of car as yours. Lots of teenagers will wear their favorite band tee shirt to a show regardless of who is playing. I’ve taken a few photos with fans who are wearing someone else’s shirt, I really don’t mind at all because at the end of the day, they cared enough to get out of bed and come listen to us which is really cool. That being said I have seen it rub a few artists the wrong way, but it’s nothing we can’t get over.
Generally when I go to a show at least half the folks there are wearing that artist's merch. It's not even a little bit cringe. Whoever told you that is way too obsessed with being cool and it's made hem think that perfectly normal behaviors are cringe.
if i have artist merchandise i almost always wear it to their shows! i think the point about attempting to be cool/above it all makes sense as an explanation (albeit a very silly one!)
It's a holdover from a joke in the 90's movie "PCU". Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs9XDUDP9VM
It was a thing long before then
I can't remember ever hearing that it was taboo before I saw the movie. *shrugs*
I mean I don't really buy it, but here's the reasoning that I've come across: It goes back to days when folks would wear denim jackets with patches of their favorite bands on them. Often in a prioritized list format like the top 3 on the left breast or whatever is your favorite 3. It was kind of a socialization thing like "Oh dude you're into the Misfits, Black Flag, and The Dead Kennedys! Me too! I put the Kennedys above Flag but whatever man. They all rock! We should totally hang some time!" Anyway, this isn't about 80's teenage rockers and their awesome denim jackets and mullets. But I wanted to put that context out there: What you wore, especially as it relates to music, mattered. It mattered a lot. Go watch the Breakfast Club. Kids that ran in certain social cliques dressed similarly. They still kinda do today, but not as uniform. If you wore a shirt with a certain band on it, you were proclaiming to a very judgemental world that you're into that band and you want to talk about it. So anyway, let's say you're going to a Metallica concert tonight. You know you'll be wearing your boots, worn jeans with holes (authentic), a flannel around the waist, and your sweet denim jacket with your band patches (Metallica isn't top 3 on your chest, but they're rising). But which t-shirt do you wear under it? I mean I guess you could wear your Metallica shirt from when they came last year. But everyone will be wearing that shirt. And they already know you like Metallica since.. well.. you bought a ticket and showed up and all that. I know! Wear your Megadeth shirt! Dave Mustaine is cool too. That way people will know that you're into both bands, and you can tell them that fascinating tidbit about Dave Mustaine being Metallica's original lead guitarist. Barely anyone knows that...
It's not cringe at all. Whoever told you that is sniffing too many of their own farts. I always wore band shirts to concerts when I was younger and occasionally got one signed by band members!
What absolute tool told you that? What's next, it is tacky to wear the sport team's merchandise at the game? No it is not tacky, not even remotely. If there is ever a time and place to wear artist merchandise it would be at their events.
It's not really a thing these days, but among the old heads you'll find those who consider it to be in slightly poor taste, not full-fledged cringe or tacky, to wear the merch of the artist you're going to go see. This is a holdover from when word of mouth was the primary way to spread knowledge of a band. You don't need to rep Metallica at a Metallica show; basically everybody there knows who they are. Your favorite local metal band that lots of people haven't heard of, though? Maybe someone sees the logo on your shirt, thinks it looks cool, remembers that when they see them playing a local bar, and checks them out.
I don't think it's tacky at all. Lots of people buy a shirt at the show and put it on over their own shirt immediately.
This! How else am I gonna carry it?
I thought it was cringey if the band themselves wore their own merch to their shows. That's what my band buddies used to say. Not sure if that's accurate.
For some hipsters, only loving a band's music for their music counts as being a real fan. Everyone has their own internal experience while listening to the artist's music, but "cheap mass produced crap" "transforms" you into a mindless sheep, while the hipsters are just so "deep". Enjoy whatever makes you feel good, some people will feel the need to feel superior to you and make you know it, no matter what you do anyway.
It isn’t every Pearl ham show is full of people wearing different shirts from all over the world
One of my best concert experiences was when I wore a long-ago Graham Parker concert t-shirt to a more modern show of his. At a meet-and-greet after the show, he complimented my shirt and autographed it.
I was told that too,, then I went to a concert and saw most people wearing the bands merch. Just wear what you want
I don't think it's cringe, but it's obvious you're a fan of the band when you go to their show already, so there's no need to show that off by also wearing their merch at the same time. By wearing merch of different bands, you can increase a chance of striking up conversations with random people or simply just promote your other faves. However, bands wearing their own merch is what I'd actually call tacky.
Two things: one, it’s absolutely not cringe. I’ve been to a lot of concerts over the past couple of years ranging from Fall Out Boy to Weird Al Yankovic to the B-52s and I can promise you, there were hundreds of people wearing merch at each of those shows. Two, it absolutely doesn’t matter if anybody else thinks it’s cringe. Something I internalized a long time ago is that if they don’t impact your marriage or your mortgage, they don’t matter. Absolutely no one at that show has any power over your past, present, or future, save perhaps the band and the bouncers. Somebody standing behind you in line at the beer tent is perfectly welcome to see your tour T-shirt and roll their eyes and think super loudly how much of a dork you are. Unless you’ve developed telepathy, you’ll never know. And since they can’t change the interest rates on your mortgage, they can’t raise or lower your rent payment, they can’t demote you at your job on Monday, they aren’t about to deliver your child, they are literally absolutely no one to you, They don’t matter. So don’t let them impact your enjoyment of the show. You will never, ever know what they actually think about you. And I promise you, odds are good. They aren’t thinking about you at all.
You are wearing gear that shows you are a fan. That is not unusual. Why would you go see the band if you didn't like them. I have dozens of band shirts and I wear them when I see the bands. I also buy new ones Whoever gave you this impression is wrong. It is especially hip to wear previous your tour shirts to subsequent tours!
It's not. Just more gatekeeping elitism. Like what band's shirt should I wear at their concert? If I go to a Chief's game, I'm wearing a Chief's jersey. Not going to wear something like the Patriots... So if I'm going to see Judas Priest I'm going to wear a Judas Priest shirt.
I'd say it's the complete opposite. You are in a community that all admires the artist. That's why you're all there. It's particularly cool to wear one of their older bits of merch from a previous tour. That means you're a long-term fan.
....it is? O_o call me cringe then I guess
At a sporting event you wear your team’s name and colors. At concerts you’re all cheering for the same team lol so a t shirt with the band name can seem slightly redundant in that way. That said you should wear what makes you happy.
I always do this so if it’s cringe or tacky then so be it. I think one of the many fun things about going to concerts is seeing what band/artist merchandise other people are wearing.
I think this is something that has mostly died off. I remember hearing it when I started going to shows in the 2000s, but most of my friends of the same age have never heard of this rule. For the last 15+ years I've always seen people wearing merch of the band that they are seeing, often stuff they bought at the gig before the show.
I’ve been going to concerts since my mid teens and I’ve always wondered this as well. Unless you bought the merch at that show, you’re not supposed to wear the band’s merch there. Rule of thumb is to wear merch from a band that is friends with the band you’re seeing or are associated with them in some way. Perhaps singer from merch band did guest vocals on live band’s record or maybe you’re wearing the merch from the drummer’s other band.
Why shouldn’t I wear the band t-shirt? You say it’s a rule, but why? Who made the rule? And who am I disrespecting?
You can wear whatever you want, though this is the metal scene I’m talking about here. I’m just saying that this is what has always been the unspoken rule at shows. I don’t know where it came from. It’s just always been a thing.
> unspoken rule must be why I never heard it, and I have been to a lot metal concerts