Why do people think wearing a t-shirt of the band you are seeing is a no-no?

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  • mrwalkerb wrote:
    ok I think the idea is that if you are at the show you're clearly a fan and wearing the shirt is redundent. Like if I'm at a PJ show I'd wear another tour shirt from someone else that implies "I like Pearl Jam but also all this other stuff",
    :) that's the way I'd see it too. I don't see anything wrong with wearing a pj tshirt to a pj concert... but yep, it's pretty obvious I kinda like them anyway if I'm there. I like wearing one the night before or day after though to meet other fans.
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  • i think at huge shows (arena and so on) it doesn't matter if you wear a shirt from the band you're there to see. if you're going to a small club, i would say don't do it. i used to wear a t-shirt that said 'your favorite band sucks' and i was amazed that anyone even cared i was wearing it, but some people got really pissed like i was actually directing it at them. people do pay attention to what you wear and judge you, so if you want them to think you're cool, wear a mother love bone or green river shirt to a pj show and they'll swarm to you!
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  • There was a movie called PCU - check it out. Not a bad flick, but so far as I know, that's the origin of the faux pas.
    Quote:
    Jeremy Piven as Droz addressing John Favreau as Gutter: What's this? You're wearing the shirt of the band you're going to see? Don't be that guy.

    Wasn't that also the origin of "Don't be that guy"?
    Such an influential movie.

    Ok, hypothetical situation: Let's say I show up for the concert, buy a t-shirt from the merchandise stand as soon as I get there, and put it on over the t-shirt I was already wearing - just so I don't have to carry it around. Is this acceptable, or am I still "that guy".

    In my opinion, trying too hard to make some kind of statement with your t-shirt is even worse than wearing the t-shirt of the band you're seeing. Like wearing a Cubs jersey to a Pearl Jam show, just because Ed's a Cubs fan, or wearing a Fugazi t-shirt because Ed has cited them as an influence. Also, there's a dude on the Live at the Garded dvd wearing an Atlanta Hawks jersey.

    Worst one yet: I saw a guy at a Pearl Jam show in 2003 wearing a Gas Huffer tshirt. This apparently is a band containing former members of Mudhoney, who were previously in a band with members of Pearl Jam, or something like that. The point is, get a life dude.
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  • I don't buy concert T-shirts, buttons, pins, hats, posters, or hoodies so I don't run into this problem. I do follow the other faux pas though. I don't listen to the band I am about to see while tailgating in the parking lot. I always went along with that one and like it. Listen to some other crap and have a nice fresh palette when its time for the show. I feel like that one is as well known as the t-shirt one.
  • walkunafraidwalkunafraid Posts: 2,601
    The reason it is considered a faux pas is because somehow it has become uncool to be a hardcore fan of a band. I mean, how many people here have been mocked or scoffed at for having multiple PJ shirts, a large catalog of bootlegs, and for listening to PJ 80% of the time? I have.

    I know a TON of people younger than I am who go to shows primarily for the social aspect of attending a concert. It's like adding notches to a belt -- but they know so little about the music that their experience is very different from ours.

    For instance, my girlfriend's sister (who is the person who introduced me to the "no shirt of the band you're seeing" and "no listening to the band you're seeing on the way to the show" faux pas) was raving to me a few months ago about seeing the Arcade Fire twice last year, and about how great they were. Then I asked her what she thought of their studio albums, and she had no clue that they had more than one, had no idea what the names of any of their songs were, and knew pretty much nothing about the band. She also expressed no interest in knowing any of these things, because it is supposedly "dorky to follow a band that much" (her almost-exact words).
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  • donniedonnie Posts: 15
    Love the band, love the t's and look forward to any opportunity to wear 'em. It's not to make a statement or look "cool". And as was said already - I love the fact that I can identify the "community" in the hours or days surrounding the show, by their t's. Have met plenty of great people that way!
    *the lucky ones*
  • i think it's funny how the people who say its lame to wear a shirt of the band you're seeing are the same people who buy a shirt before the shows starts and start wearing it immediately and then there's a sea of people all wearing the same shirt that they just bought.
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  • CAN YOU BLOW ME WHERE THE PAMPERS IS!!??!!

    People,
    Quit taking movies for gospel!
    Though it is a GREAT movie!
    PCU
    :D:D:D
    If I was to smile and I held out my hand
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  • rival.rival. Posts: 7,775
    CAN YOU BLOW ME WHERE THE PAMPERS IS!!??!!

    People,
    Quit taking movies for gospel!
    Though it is a GREAT movie!
    :D:D:D

    chips! chips! chips! chips!
  • fanch75fanch75 Posts: 3,734
    hrd2imgn wrote:
    From time to time I see people ripping on fans who wear attire of the band they are going to see. It was on some top ten list I read on some website(maybe Rollingstone.com which says it all) that wearing a t-shirt of the band that is performing is a fopaw(not sure how to spell this word)

    personally if I love a band I want them to know it I'm wearing that t-shirt. I don't think of it as being a mark anymore than being on messgae pit, in the fan club etc.

    what do you all think?

    I vote wearing a PJ shirt to a PJ concert is the right thing to do by golly!

    People who have a problem with wearing a t-shirt of the band you are seeing are either:

    1) 16 years old and don't have real shit to concern themselves with. Keep it real, yo!

    2) Pretentious and don't have real shit to concern themselves with.
    Do you remember Rock & Roll Radio?
  • THAT IS A CRY FOR HELP!

    God.
    i need to buy this and watch it again.
    I always think about this movie once or twice a year.

    My favorite part, besides "We're not interested in your penis!", is the shit where Piven is handing out thesis papers to people, and the one guy says he needs one in sanskrit ... and he is like "Your majoring in a 3000 year old dead language! here, Latin! Take it! Get out!"

    ROFL!
    If I was to smile and I held out my hand
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  • halszka123halszka123 Posts: 1,109
    Since '91 wrote:
    I'd feel naked if I went to a PJ show without a PJ shirt. The older, the better, in my opinion, but regardless--it's support for the band.

    When I met Matt (at a coffee shop in Seattle), he was wearing a PJ jacket. That says it all.

    So i feel naked IN a PJ shirt... And i'm not 16 and pretentious (i hope so). But i love when people wear them...
    For me - i keep for myself my music taste. I feel no need to show people my admiration of PJ
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  • restlesssoulrestlesssoul Posts: 6,951
    this rule has been pissing me off for a while now. wearing a shirt to the band you are seeing is lame? cmon. what nonsense. i will always wear a pj shirt to the shows. always. i used to wear my alive shirt to "represent" at other shows too!

    wear the shirt.
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  • RockKingRockKing Posts: 431
    I didn't read this thread, so I dunno if anyone already mentioned this or not, but what makes a concert different than a sporting event? You wear a jersey or shirt of the team you root for when you go to see them play. I think the same is kinda true of concerts if you really think about it.

    That being said, though......c'mon, don't be that guy! :)
    --"I'm like an opening band for the sun"

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  • hrd2imgn wrote:
    From time to time I see people ripping on fans who wear attire of the band they are going to see. It was on some top ten list I read on some website(maybe Rollingstone.com which says it all) that wearing a t-shirt of the band that is performing is a fopaw(not sure how to spell this word)

    personally if I love a band I want them to know it I'm wearing that t-shirt. I don't think of it as being a mark anymore than being on messgae pit, in the fan club etc.

    what do you all think?

    I vote wearing a PJ shirt to a PJ concert is the right thing to do by golly!

    It's fine to wear the band's t-shirt. I'm more concerned with your attempt to spell faux pas. That wasn't even close....lol.
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  • RockKing wrote:
    I didn't read this thread, so I dunno if anyone already mentioned this or not, but what makes a concert different than a sporting event? You wear a jersey or shirt of the team you root for when you go to see them play. I think the same is kinda true of concerts if you really think about it.

    That being said, though......c'mon, don't be that guy! :)
    very good point... I usually compare the whole PJ thing to a football or rugby obsession or something. If people don't understand I explain about how there are people who travel to every single away rugby or football game and it's not considered in the least bit weird and people often envy them (especially rugby). They seem to understand what I'm talking about then... so yeh, I guess PJ IS a sporting event :)
    The Astoria??? Orgazmic!
    Verona??? it's all surmountable
    Dublin 23.08.06 "The beauty of Ireland, right there!"
    Wembley? We all believe!
    Copenhagen?? your light made us stars
    Chicago 07? And love
    What a different life
    Had I not found this love with you
  • lowlight1lowlight1 Posts: 273
    I wear something PJ almost everyday.
  • SENROCKSENROCK Posts: 10,736
    lowlight1 wrote:
    I wear something PJ almost everyday.

    yeah so why should it be different for shows right??? either way, i always wear a custom made shirt, so its all good! :D
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  • pjfan31pjfan31 Posts: 7,334
    It's fine to wear the band's t-shirt. I'm more concerned with your attempt to spell faux pas. That wasn't even close....lol.


    :D haha at least they got hte f bit right :D It is a tough word. Plus it is french, so i will let it slip
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  • What if my whole wardrobe consists of PJ shirts?
    "I wish I was the full moon... you kept your house keys on" - Wishlist (Melbourne '03)
  • Why does anyone care what others think about what you wear???? Be comfy! Wear your favorite clothes! Do what you want, you aren't hurting any other people!

    That reminds me of the Borgata Night 1. I was with my best bud (I'm a girl, he's a guy) and we were about 5 rows back waiting for the show to start (and we were SOOOOO excited!) So my friend and I were talking about what was going to open. I said I wanted Of The Girl, but I figured Long Road. He agreed.

    The guy standing next to me was listening. He says "Excuse me, what do you know about Pearl Jam?"

    I gave him a blank stare.

    So he proceeds "From one look at you, I'd guess you are "one of those" whose daddies got comp tickets from being a high roller at the casino, you're not a real fan"

    "Oh, really? That's a pretty ballsy statement based on someones appearance" I said back

    So, he tells me to list 5 songs NOT on records as a "test".

    I shouldn't have, but I do...and just keep going. Just to prove a point that looks are deceiving. So, he gets really excited to meet a girl fanatic.

    Turns out, he wasn't soooo bad after all. Once we got talking, he was OK. But I was pretty pissed that because of how I "look" (I'd driven from Upstate NY FROM work to go to the show) he tagged me as a "comp girl".
    "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. "
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  • ajedigeckoajedigecko Posts: 2,430
    vital5 wrote:
    Mike McCready even wore a Pearl Jam shirt on stage.... That's gotta make it okay ;) I wonder which band member is his favourite? :eek:
    what????.....the next time i see mike wearing a pj shirt to his own show i will inform him that he looks silly and it is not wise.
    live and let live...unless it violates the pearligious doctrine.
  • glasshouseglasshouse Posts: 1,762
    don't forget not to where white socks with dark trousers. lol
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  • Why does anyone care what others think about what you wear???? Be comfy! Wear your favorite clothes! Do what you want, you aren't hurting any other people!

    That reminds me of the Borgata Night 1. I was with my best bud (I'm a girl, he's a guy) and we were about 5 rows back waiting for the show to start (and we were SOOOOO excited!) So my friend and I were talking about what was going to open. I said I wanted Of The Girl, but I figured Long Road. He agreed.

    The guy standing next to me was listening. He says "Excuse me, what do you know about Pearl Jam?"

    I gave him a blank stare.

    So he proceeds "From one look at you, I'd guess you are "one of those" whose daddies got comp tickets from being a high roller at the casino, you're not a real fan"

    "Oh, really? That's a pretty ballsy statement based on someones appearance" I said back

    So, he tells me to list 5 songs NOT on records as a "test".

    I shouldn't have, but I do...and just keep going. Just to prove a point that looks are deceiving. So, he gets really excited to meet a girl fanatic.

    Turns out, he wasn't soooo bad after all. Once we got talking, he was OK. But I was pretty pissed that because of how I "look" (I'd driven from Upstate NY FROM work to go to the show) he tagged me as a "comp girl".

    What a douche.... some of these Pearl Jam freaks are so elitest. I'm sure the spaz posts here.
  • JaneNYJaneNY Posts: 4,438
    People are awfully suggestible if they take their clothing ideas from one line in one movie. Where whatever the fuck you want. The people around you at the show are either drunk, stoned, making out, and/or getting into the music. They're not looking around going omg he wore a pj shirt to a pj show.
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  • fanch75fanch75 Posts: 3,734
    ajedigecko wrote:
    what????.....the next time i see mike wearing a pj shirt to his own show i will inform him that he looks silly and it is not wise.

    Yeah, what a dumbass :rolleyes:
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  • I wore my Cheap Ones t-shirt when I was in the front row in Pittsburgh, Mike obviously dug it. Hell he threw me a pack of M*A*S*H* trading cards.
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  • yield2meyield2me Posts: 1,291
    hrd2imgn wrote:
    From time to time I see people ripping on fans who wear attire of the band they are going to see. It was on some top ten list I read on some website(maybe Rollingstone.com which says it all) that wearing a t-shirt of the band that is performing is a fopaw(not sure how to spell this word)

    personally if I love a band I want them to know it I'm wearing that t-shirt. I don't think of it as being a mark anymore than being on messgae pit, in the fan club etc.

    what do you all think?

    I vote wearing a PJ shirt to a PJ concert is the right thing to do by golly!

    "don't be that guy" - PCU
    “May you live to be 100 and may the last voice you hear be mine.” - Frank Sinatra
  • I read that same top ten list, it was on AOL a while back. I thought, who cares, I wear my PJ shirts to all their concerts, sometimes I wear an older one to see if anyone else notices it or is wearing the same one. I saw a guy in Chicago last time around wearing my sister's favorite Yield shirt, that was in 1998. In fact, I'm wearing my '06 tour shirt right now. Wear em and be proud.
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  • yeh, i've heard that before. I think it's stupid too. I definitely wear a PJ tshirt to every PJ show. Hell i wear pj shirts to almost every concert, pj or not! I like to let my freak flag fly!

    hrd2imgn wrote:
    From time to time I see people ripping on fans who wear attire of the band they are going to see. It was on some top ten list I read on some website(maybe Rollingstone.com which says it all) that wearing a t-shirt of the band that is performing is a fopaw(not sure how to spell this word)

    personally if I love a band I want them to know it I'm wearing that t-shirt. I don't think of it as being a mark anymore than being on messgae pit, in the fan club etc.

    what do you all think?

    I vote wearing a PJ shirt to a PJ concert is the right thing to do by golly!
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