Reyno Rants: You're playing an encore? How incredibly unexpected
You know what really pisses me off? Encores
or at least the idea of an encore.
If you’ve been to a concert in the last 50 years you’ve probably stood in a crowd of sweaty fans hooting and hollering after the headliner has left the stage. The lights are dimmed and a middle-aged guy in the back starts booming “one more song” Quickly, a chorus of cult-like chanting overwhelms everyone in the venue, “One more song, one more song” and the only other audible noise is a 16-year-old squealing at the top of her lungs leaving you with permanent hearing loss in your left ear.
The people in the front row are squished like pancakes while the entire crowd tries to mob the stage. As if the band can’t hear 600 people chanting in unison while they stand four feet to the left of the stage having a drink and laughing at how stupid the entire routine is.
At last, the band returns (what a surprise) and the stage lights up again. The band begins their biggest hits accompanied by rehearsed stage antics and a perfectly co-ordinated light show. Wow, what a spontaneous encore. I’m sure that no one planned to do those last one or two songs that were purposely left out of the regular set. Give me a damn break.
Perhaps I wouldn’t be so bitter about the whole experience if encores really were a spontaneous and genuine act. If I was going to see Elvis Presley back in the day (famously known for not playing encores) and he came back on stage after saying goodnight, I’d probably lose my mind.
Unfortunately we live in an era where encores are anticipated and counted on by artists worldwide. I’m sure when your favourite band planned their tour one of the guys said, “Hey, we shouldn’t play ‘Stroke my ego please’ at the beginning of the night, we should leave it for the encore.”
The encore is as inevitable as the pain of buying an $8 beer at that same concert. It’s as inevitable as a six-foot dude with a hat stepping right in front of your perfect view just seconds before the show starts. It’s as inevitable as the person beside you dropping their beer on your foot and standing with one soaked shoe for the rest of the night. It’s damn inevitable and I’m sick of it.
Fans are just expected to stand there and stroke the band’s ego, as if forking over $40 for an hour of music wasn’t enough. What are we supposed to think while we wait? That the band left for New York, heard about the cheers coming from Budweiser Gardens and decided to come back real quick? I doubt anyone said, “Heck, I was about to start my evening meditation but that middle-aged dad in the back has a real boomy voice.”
Sure it’s exciting when an artist comes back onstage but let’s not kid ourselves, whether we scream ourselves to death or not, they’re coming back out to play a few more songs. Save your breath and be patient.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
If you’ve been to a concert in the last 50 years you’ve probably stood in a crowd of sweaty fans hooting and hollering after the headliner has left the stage. The lights are dimmed and a middle-aged guy in the back starts booming “one more song” Quickly, a chorus of cult-like chanting overwhelms everyone in the venue, “One more song, one more song” and the only other audible noise is a 16-year-old squealing at the top of her lungs leaving you with permanent hearing loss in your left ear.
The people in the front row are squished like pancakes while the entire crowd tries to mob the stage. As if the band can’t hear 600 people chanting in unison while they stand four feet to the left of the stage having a drink and laughing at how stupid the entire routine is.
At last, the band returns (what a surprise) and the stage lights up again. The band begins their biggest hits accompanied by rehearsed stage antics and a perfectly co-ordinated light show. Wow, what a spontaneous encore. I’m sure that no one planned to do those last one or two songs that were purposely left out of the regular set. Give me a damn break.
Perhaps I wouldn’t be so bitter about the whole experience if encores really were a spontaneous and genuine act. If I was going to see Elvis Presley back in the day (famously known for not playing encores) and he came back on stage after saying goodnight, I’d probably lose my mind.
Unfortunately we live in an era where encores are anticipated and counted on by artists worldwide. I’m sure when your favourite band planned their tour one of the guys said, “Hey, we shouldn’t play ‘Stroke my ego please’ at the beginning of the night, we should leave it for the encore.”
The encore is as inevitable as the pain of buying an $8 beer at that same concert. It’s as inevitable as a six-foot dude with a hat stepping right in front of your perfect view just seconds before the show starts. It’s as inevitable as the person beside you dropping their beer on your foot and standing with one soaked shoe for the rest of the night. It’s damn inevitable and I’m sick of it.
Fans are just expected to stand there and stroke the band’s ego, as if forking over $40 for an hour of music wasn’t enough. What are we supposed to think while we wait? That the band left for New York, heard about the cheers coming from Budweiser Gardens and decided to come back real quick? I doubt anyone said, “Heck, I was about to start my evening meditation but that middle-aged dad in the back has a real boomy voice.”
Sure it’s exciting when an artist comes back onstage but let’s not kid ourselves, whether we scream ourselves to death or not, they’re coming back out to play a few more songs. Save your breath and be patient.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
