This last weekend, the bf and I went to see the Cold War Kids in concert at the Fox in Oakland. The show was great, although I found earplugs are now necessary for these old ears, and that I enjoyed my seat in the balcony as opposed to standing in a mass to get closer to the stage. As the end of the show grew near, I knew we were about to participate in the lame tradition of....the encore.
How did this whole thing get started? The band plans for the encore, the crowd assumes that the end is not the actual end, but that they will be required to stand, clap and yell, so the band will grace the audience with their presence once more. Why not just play a great show, with a full set list, and accept that when time is up the show is over.
What other situation would one expect the audience to beg them to come back on stage, regardless of the quality of the performance? I say we start the movement to end the ego driven madness. When the set is over, and the band says goodnight, everyone should just walk out. Nobody will wait for the secret "lights on" signal to know if that is really the end, or just the pretend end. Let us preserve the encore for what it was originally intended. For a performance that is so mind blowing that we just can't imagine it ending. How great will a performer feel when they know they have actually earned that adoration of an entire audience, rather than some contrived routine in which the crowd blindly participates.
I was trying to reflect back on shows that I have attended to see when this trend started, but my first concert was NKOTB...so perhaps my history is skewed. But, there is a worst offender of the encore abuse, and it pains me to say it.....Sir Paul McCartney. We waited 2 hours for him to start, no openers, and he did a whopping three encores. Or at least that is what I heard...Jakob and I left after the last song. I have to admit, this was probably not the concert to exercise my anti-encore movement, but it was cold, and sf traffic sucks. Time to take a stand people...end the automatic encore!
How did this whole thing get started? The band plans for the encore, the crowd assumes that the end is not the actual end, but that they will be required to stand, clap and yell, so the band will grace the audience with their presence once more. Why not just play a great show, with a full set list, and accept that when time is up the show is over.
What other situation would one expect the audience to beg them to come back on stage, regardless of the quality of the performance? I say we start the movement to end the ego driven madness. When the set is over, and the band says goodnight, everyone should just walk out. Nobody will wait for the secret "lights on" signal to know if that is really the end, or just the pretend end. Let us preserve the encore for what it was originally intended. For a performance that is so mind blowing that we just can't imagine it ending. How great will a performer feel when they know they have actually earned that adoration of an entire audience, rather than some contrived routine in which the crowd blindly participates.
I was trying to reflect back on shows that I have attended to see when this trend started, but my first concert was NKOTB...so perhaps my history is skewed. But, there is a worst offender of the encore abuse, and it pains me to say it.....Sir Paul McCartney. We waited 2 hours for him to start, no openers, and he did a whopping three encores. Or at least that is what I heard...Jakob and I left after the last song. I have to admit, this was probably not the concert to exercise my anti-encore movement, but it was cold, and sf traffic sucks. Time to take a stand people...end the automatic encore!
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