Best game ever

My favorite encore might be one time I saw Sincere Engineer. Someone in the audience shouted "play corn dog sonnet!. That's one of their "hits" as far as small bands go.

But the band had already played it earlier in the set, and said so. The audience person shouted back "I was late! I missed it!"

The singer went, "well, I guess we could play it again if everyone wants to hear it again"

The crowd cheered , so they played it again.

Back in college, I saw the meat puppets open for another band. (I think it might have neen deerhoof?) Pretty much the whole venue staff came to see that show, and we all showed upeqrly, psyched to see them play, whereas a lot of the audience filtered in later to see just the headliner. After the headliners played, we semi jokingly started a chant, 'bring back the meat puppets!' And they did it, Using a lot of the headliners equipment, like drums and amps and stuff. I like to think I helped introduce some kids to the meat p I pets that day.

I saw Reel Big Fish a long time ago, and after every single song they said thanks, we were a great audience, and left the stage. Then they'd come back and played "one more". Then one time, they just didn't come back

10/10

Sellout with me oh yeah, sellout with me tonight. The record company's gonna give me lots of money and everything's gonna be all right.
Miss the days when we shit on shills and valued independent thought.
- Right? What I wouldn't give for that feeling again. Maybe it was just youth, but it's so hard not to be salty at tech and the world currently

I saw Metallica this week and they played a killer 90 minute set right through, no encore. It was glorious. They left, we left, everyone was happy.

When I worked backstage, it seemed like that encore period was just a mini break for most bands, so they could finish strong. Often it would be round of shots/ a quick joint, then psych themselves back up for the last 3.
Encores are just giving music away for free; it's basically stealing a concert ticket from themselves. /s
- Found Lars Ulrich's account. Dumme svin!

Or how bands are leaving their biggest hit for the encore. From this summer: Static X left the stage before playing Push It? Well there's no point leaving yet, as they will have come back. And we only had to wait like 30 seconds, since it's a music festival, and every band has their time onstage scheduled to the minute. Leaving Your best song for the end is a good thing. It makes people stay longer, and see the whole show. But an encore, should be something extra not the obligatory song.

Vampire Weekend always closes with Walcott.
Their encores are varied, but you know the show is over after that one.
I've also noticed a pattern of what you're talking about where bands play their most famous song last more recently.
- I think it has always been a thing with lesser known bands. Most people come to Your show for Your one hit so You show them other songs first, so they get to know You.
  More known bands have a different pattern. You start with the single promoting Your new album, then a couple of hits, then You cram in a few other songs from the new album, which nobody wants to hear and then You finish with the biggest hits.
Otsego Amigo is their best song.
- I said biggest hit, not best. Everybody likes a different song best.

Logic did this at aggravating levels. He did that "you're going to have to be louder than that" hype BS, but then he actually left the stage and didn't come back for 3 minutes. Trying to "hype" us.

This was only 10 min into the concert. Worst band ever. We walked out. It was a music festival. Don't ever see Logic.

Don't bother with Lenny Kravitz either. What a pretentious and whiny little bitch. Yes, we know it's raining, but it's also like 25°C and the rain is merely a light drizzle, so stfu about it. Besides part of the stage is dry, we paid for your name to come not your attitude, and we've been standing in the rain for hours, listening to far more talented musicians than you, so just play your two hits and piss off
- I only know him from like one song, couldn't even pick him out of a lineup, so maybe that's his whole thing, but I cant imagine being a whiny bitch like that on stage.
  You're being paid shitloads of money to have people cheer for you as you continue living an incredibly common dream? Better find something to bitch about.

The church I went too when I was a child hosted Christian rock shows from smallish artists. One of them was particularly mid, and after their last song everyone started to leave without a single person calling for encore. The band ran back out for their "scheduled encore" to a silent crowd and started playing another song while everyone left.

I think about how awkward that was every time I go to a show now.

In best encores, Porter Robinson played Cheerleader twice in a row for the Seattle show on his tour last year since it was going to be the last show with this big billboard on stage that they couldn't bring on the world tour, so he got all hooked back up in his harness and they played it again. The second go was more fantastic than the first.

Accidentally found the right spot to stand recently at a small venue to be able to see through the bar to the hallway to the stage. I could see the band "hiding" while the crowd chanted for an encore

You can always tell if they're coming back out based on the house lights. Encores are always scheduled so if the house lights come up, show's over. Another tell is the time. If it's still ten minutes to the hour, they will likely fit in another set. If it's 11pm exactly, for example, they're probably finished.

What kills me is music acts (Taylor Swift, Eagles) charging over $1000 for a ticket just to lip-sync to their audiences. Fuck that noise.

Eeehh, I agree on the prize thing. But it's like paying for a theater play, or a circus act. You are paying for the whole performance package. Stage, wardrobe, lights, dancing troupe, choreography, etc. Not just the music and the artist singing, I go to my local cafe for that sort of shit. For what is worth, pop artists usually include both lip sync and live singing sections in their performance depending on the venue and event type. Like, Taylor Swift has sections of her tour shows where she sings just with her guitar, those are live voice. But asking her to keep a perfect pitch while she is being hurled in the air by acrobatic hydraulics, or while jumping in what is essentially a high intensity aerobic routine is a bit much, no one can do that (OK, maybe Britney in her prime could).
Also, doing a two hour show daily for weeks straight is fucking taxing on the everything. Any touring artists will tell you how demanding and body crushing it can be. The alternative for live singing only shows is that, when the body is unwilling, the show gets cancelled. "You paid hundreds and asked for your vacation time to travel and sleep here tonight? sorry, tough luck. Top artists has a sore throat, we will mail you the refund terms." While artists who lip sync at least some section of their shows can usually tour for longer with fewer cancellations.
That said, this is not an endorsement of Taylor Swift, she is a rich privileged and entitled cunt. But damn she can sing.
- I mean, idk about you but when I pay money to see a musician showcase their music, I kinda of expect them to, you know, use that skill. It's why I'm here. If I wanted to hear a recording, I could do that on my own. I dont need to see the musician dance. Or be super well lit with a AAA light show. Or have choreographed anything. Im there to see the musician do the musician thing and play the music. If you can't do the stunt or choreography while performing, it's a poorly designed stunt or routine.
  And yeah, when the body is unwilling the show gets canceled. That's the way it works. Or if they're part of a larger set, they may just get replaced. I'd rather deal with that than show up for essentially an overpriced pre-made DJ set. Had Black Sabbath get replaced by Judas Priest for a show I saw. Couldnt be mad, Ozzy was having health issues and i bought the tickets like 10 months out. Not likeq the band or promoters thought it was likely. And if i got there, and they said "Hey guys, Ozzy couldnt be here but heres the rest of the band with some vocal tracks" I'd be pissed.
  It's a rough job being a touring musician, and fans undertake certain risks when they get tickets. It's not a company with 1500 employees who can call someone else in when someone is sick with uninterrupted service. It's at largest a small group of individuals who are each integral to the main service being provided, working a very stressful job. For singer/songwriters it's a person. Expecting the consistency and adaptability of a large company from a small group of individuals is just setting yourself up for disappointment. Support the artist, but recognize they're just humans and be understanding when shit happens.

Leprous informs you they don’t do encores.

When it’s over they turn the lights on.

People still stand for an encore.

There was a special episode of this comedy show in Germany. And they had planned a song for the encore. And they started playing it while people were about to leave. And there was a part in the song where the audience were supposed to sing along and shout "encore" and nobody shouted anything.

It was really depressing to watch.

sounds like fine German comedy to me
- German humour is serious business.

I like it. I visit classical concerts more than pop ones, but there it definitely isn't automatic, but a light-hearted "artist's choice" response to a genuinely enthusiastic crowd after the approx. 3rd round of applause. Not a given. My favourite is still when the soloist did a jazz encore and the audience swapped from "no applause even between movements" classical mode to "applaud good solos" jazz mode.

At my local symphony the crowd always applause between movements 😭 it doesn't really bother me too much but I do wish they'd make a polite announcement about it or something. But on the other hand I get that they don't want to make things seem stuffy and imposing.

Went to see Pulmonary Fibrosis recently. There were like 30 people inside including bartenders, and we cheered then not for one but for two encores. That's what I call a good gig.

... and then there are bands that go like "That's all, thanks, bye." and that's really it.

I'm probably a grumpy old man at this point, but I'm so socially worn out after 45 minutes of the same band, my heart sinks when the lights come back up for another song.

If I still did drugs I'd probably sing a different song.

Me too, but then I would be the worn out old dude singing the wrong song at the end of the show.
<sigh>
I don’t exactly miss it, but it is nice to look back on feeling as if I was cool at some point in the past…

When they leave the stage everyone should legit get up and fuck off and they come back on stage like "hey, didn't you want to hear us some more...? :("

I was just at a small, niche concert where the conductor left and returned 5 times. When the rest of the band is still siting there it loses some of the trill.

Years ago, when DS9 was still new, my uncle made a corny joke when they killed off Jadzia Dax: The Trill is Gone.

How long it took me, that this post wasn’t about him 😂:

https://song.link/i/1711132423

I went to an Elton John concert where the crowd cheered for an encore for about 10 minutes.

He did not come back.

I went to a Willie Nelson concert where he just ignored the countdown timer on stage and kept right on playing for at least another 30 minutes. That was a good concert.
You are allowed to be a dick to your audience when you're a superstar.
- You're allowed to be a dick at any level of fame. I'm not famous at all and I told both dudes at my show to go fuck themselves.
- Kinda rough that encore is so expected that if they don't come back people think you're a dick. It's like Americans and tipping
- Is it being a dick if they already did all their set? You want them to repeat a song? Artists get tired too idk.
Elvis has left the building
Had that experience with ZZ Top
I honestly like that so much more than bands hiding behind stage giggling.
- They are not always giggling, most of the time they are drinking tons of water and standing under the AC.

I also don't like it, because it feels just like a play and fake.

Like a societal norm that just has to happen, but all the entertainment effect of it has gone (as it is so common to come back)

I've seen bands not come back out. If the crowd isn't into it, they can just leave.
The best I’ve seen it handled was by The Pixies. One show they did the whole thing backwards. One song encore, the a three song encore, then the main set. The other, the did their set then stayed on the stage encouraging the crowd to cheer louder, the did the encore.
I saw a band, i cant remember who maybe we were promised jetpacks? Anyway whatever band it was just finished their last song, asked the audience if they wanted to hear more and when they cheered said 'okay this is your encore' played two more songs and then left. I feel like thats a good way to handle it.
Fans should do a flash mob and instantly start to leave, when the band leaves the first time

Always kinda bums me out when the band straight up says, "this is gonna be our last song, none of that encore stuff".

I genuinely don't like the whole fake encore shit. Like a band won't play their greatest hit during the set and you just know they will be back for an encore. But I've been to plenty concerts where there was hardly a demand for an encore. Just play your main set including those popular songs and if there is a high demand, then play an encore, but if not, just leave ffs.
- Yeah, this is the right way to go about it. Don’t hold onto your big hit song for the encore. I’ve been to shows where they did the fakeout standard encore leaving the stage and the crowd stayed pretty quiet; then they had to sheepishly come back onstage to little applause to play the big hits.
  Artists should prepare an encore in case the crowd wants it, but don’t hold onto your big songs for that - encores should be deep tracks that are rarely played or acoustic/re-arranged versions of popular songs. One of the best encores I saw was Devildriver (heavy/death metal band) whose encore consisted of a three-song acoustic/piano medley. Super cool way to end the night!
Go to a festival where you know when they are finishing (5 mins before the next one) and you'll get sick of 5 encores a day for 4 days...
Bro it's 3am I like your music but I'm tired AF and the camping is next to the venue so I can't really sleep unless I pass out from drunkenness. Don't give me hope to the do an encore goddammit.
Nah I fucking love it. Stage time is limited often by when a venue has to close due to noise ordinances, if the band respects your time enough to not pretend to walk off stage you actually get more music.
- I mean, it's also about having a bit of fun. It's definitely fair that you don't like it, but I feel like enough people enjoy the little dance, so that they do demand an encore.
  At the very least, you often feel like a clap-activated jukebox throughout your performance. And then when you're about to leave, the audience suddenly wakes up and showers you in applause.
  Believe me, lots of musicians find encores silly, too, but when you're given so much love at the end of your performance, you feel bad not answering that with an encore.
- Yeah it depends. The venue I go to definitely doesn't have to shut down due to noise (it's in the middle of the city where there's tons of bars and clubs), but I get that every minute of a show costs someone money. I don't think the kind of shows I go to would result in more music if encores were skipped, and it's a good feeling when your chant brings the band back out (even if I know it was planned). But, I understand the aspect of not wanting to be click-baited irl.

Whenever a band doesn't come back for an encore, I feel like they're telling us we were a bad audience. 😔

You cheer when they say the city name dont you?
- Fuck yeah.
I can't tell if this is a joke or not and that bothers me

I've always found this whole ordeal at the end of a concert hugely annoying. Like play another or leave but make up your mind for god's sake. But this post makes it sound fun. Maybe I should give encores another shot.