MOG

Ooh, I would almost consider that an ironic T-shirt, because if one didn't know any better, they would think you were dissing the band.

It's not almost ironic, it IS ironic! That's what made me buy it & since I'm a huge Pixies fan it's even more ironic.

You know, I take my statement back of not having any t-shirt wearing protocol. I don't wear a band's t-shirt to their own concert. Actually I don't have that many band t-shirts anyway. I think I have two, my other being The Orb, oh & I have a Lollapolooza t-shirt from '94(When Jane's Addiction, Siousxie & the Banshees were there). I think that's it. I just don't buy them cause they are too much $ for a stupid t-shirt!

I love that Pixies T-shirt, and I'm so annoyed that I didn't buy one when I saw them in Tucson in '92. I think the rules are a keeper, can't think of any to add. I used to have a bunch of concert shirts, from when I was in college and had spare coin, but they've since faded. I now am the owner of a Interpol T I got at Curiosa in '04, and a Smiths The Queen Is Dead shirt Melissa bought me for Christmas '05. I've just now been able to fit into them.

I love concert tee-shirts almost as much as I do concert posters. My only rule for both is not to buy (or steal off the bathroom wall) unless you've actually seen them. Well, that's a rule I have for myself. But I have many many shirts and I wear them often. I often wear my Ted Leo and the Pharmacists tee to work and most think its a professional organization shirt (I'm a pharmacist). But usually its on a day off. I wear them often and I wear them proud.

I am such a goon when it comes to concert ts... but my friends & I always make sure to bust on the _"THAT GUYS"_ in the crowd or during our tailgating festivities... the ones in the shirt either from the last tour, the current tour, or from 20 years ago - when they were -3 years of age.

I think I can count on my left hand the times I've been _"THAT GIRL"_ & it's never obvious - one Phish show I wore my Gamehenge Ranger shirt. Or it's covered either by the short sleeve - yeah - got outta that habit for the most part - if I do it - for humor. I also wore the MCR hoodie I had just purchased as I had to walk a good 1/2 mile in some blizzardlike conditions & it was ballz to the wallz cold with me in a short sleeve thinking we could get into the closer entrance & they send us around the to the other side of the venue... good times ;)

My only set in stone rule is never wear a shirt advertising a particular album while you are actually buying that album. A couple of years ago I was wearing a King Crimson Starless and Bible Black shirt while music shopping. I only had the album on cassette at the time (this is more than a few years ago, I guess) and found it used on CD, so I decided to upgrade and buy it. I felt like a complete tool while at the counter, and almost tried to explain it to the guy behind the register, who sort of had a snarky smile on his face. I'm sure he didn't know who they were, anyway.

I too, though, make fun of people who buy the shirt at the show and wear it right then. My rule at shows is to pick a really obscure band (relative to the band actually playing) to see if anyone recognizes and comments. Then, when no one does, I secretly lord my superiority over the rest of the crowd! :-)

Excellent post, was discussing this the other day with fellow moggers. You've kind outlined the rules already. I've broken two of those rules in the past hangs head in shame but I was young and over enthusiastic much to the derision of my friends ;)

lol i have that dark side of the moon shirt. got it like 6 years ago. i don't wear it anymore because everywhere i go someone seems to have the same one, which makes me want to go up to them and school them in classic rock knowledge, but i dont. maybe i should start.

anyways, the last music shirt i bought was of silversun pickups. it's kind of a light brown and it's got this man that's growing into a tree or something. weird, yet nifty i guess

August, would you wear an Erykah Badu shirt? No, go for the head wrap... Dale - faded vintage shirts! What more could you ask! And that "The Queen is Dead" Tshirt makes me green with envy. Amber, I know you have a special bond with Ted and I'm sure you want to wear him close to your heart. Lizzie, those hoodies are f-ing expensive! That was an investment, not an impulse buy! Groon, LOL, funny story. When you choose an obscure band shirt to wear to a concert, do you try to choose a band that is related to the performing band in some way? (one of their previous opening acts, same genre of music) or totally random? Boy Flood, we need details! Which sins did you commit? We will forgive you (snicker) Todd, that Pink Floyd shirt would have been retro and ironic up until about a year ago when it suddenly became a best seller among middle-school kids who have never heard their music. You get in on the grandfather clause!...well, you do if you OWN "Dark Side of the Moon."

I mostly only buy concert t-shirts for my son, that way I don't have to worry about whether they're sincere or ironic (and I'm pretty sure it's boosted his art grade, cos his teacher knows who the Ponys are).

My favorite concert shirt, though, is a Man Man shirt with absolutely no Man Man ID on it. (It's esp. cool because Ryan gave it to me.) You'd have to have bought one to know what it is. And it's a nice flattering cut, but not too slutty, so I can wear it without making a statement.

I also have a Posies t-shirt that I bought in solidarity after Stringfellow finished a show practically naked. Anybody who will go that far deserves the merch bucks.

And I have a Sonic Youth/J. Mascis/Sebadoh t-shirt from a concert to benefit autism a few years ago. I figure some of the money probably went to the kids and their families, so that seems all right.

I hardly ever wear them to shows though, and no one I know ever recognizes them.

Shit dude you got me.. Shot me down..I'm currently wearing that Pink Floyd T-shirt! Ha. That makes me uncool..I guess so. Oh well I would like to point out that Pink Floyd are British maybe this accounts for Americans not getting them?.. The Floyd were a massive influence on Mr Johnny Greenwood aka Radiohead guitar/genius and Syd Barrett from the early Pink Floyd, well that's an entirely different matter.. beyond genius.. Does it matter what music T-shirt you wear? really? My best rock T-shirt is my Joy Division one. Only credible because he had regular epileptic fits and fame drove him to suicide? Sounds familiar doesn't it?

I am on a mission to break cool Underground bands despite my Pink Floyd T-shirt. so if that's uncool call the thought/ karma police..

Darmuzz: . Well, that was slightly tongue in cheek, but I can't deny that I have done that in the past. It usually tends to be same genre (most of my shirts are in the prog-rock vein, so that's rather easy to do, but if I'm going to go to a non prog show, I have a couple of those as well). If I'm going to see Yes, for example, I might wear King Crimson, who is only slightly more obscure. If I'm going to see a more obscure band I'll bust out the Magma shirt, which amost never gets a nod from anyone. I now have an Explosions in the Sky shirt for my next post-rock type show.

I have to admit, though, that the older I get the less important it seems to me to have the coolest shirt around. Except a couple of years ago when I went to NEARfest, which is a huge prog convention in New Jersey. EVERYONE was wearing the most oscbure shirts they could find (proggers like to lord it over each other, sometimes) and at was actually a sort of light-hearted game amongst the crowd there.

Also funny about your middle school comment. I teach 8th grade an I can't tell you the number of Pink Floyd and Beatles shirts I see on a daily basis. Like ZZTodd, it makes me want to keep them all in during lunch and teach them a thing or two about the bands they claim to love so much.

Groon's got my vote on wearing a tee that would somewhat introduce another band people might like...and please never wear a tee you just bought, that's rule of thumb! (unless like lizzie you may be cold-then it's understandable)

Hubby, friends & I all found it a bit disturbing to see ages ranging from 10-17 wearing Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd at a Wolfmother concert back in the fall. Not that I should be so worthy to have actually been to any of those shows or have gone to a CD release party for the mentioned, but surely they couldn't have been schooled on all of that classic music at such a young age. We were happy not to see them in like Nickelback or something worse though, so there's hope for them, at least.

Ooops, well there I go showing my age, maybe I should've said...album release party...? Please forgive.

Jenny, your shirts are certifiably cool. Zadkiel, ha ha, anyone who actually listens to Pink Floyd is allowed to have it. Groon, yes, my daughter says at least 6 guys in Grade 8 at her school have the Pink Floyd shirt. Sunshine, when speaking with my daughter's friends, I am actually surprised at how many of them do know and have listened to not only The Beatles, but Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, Led Zeppelin etc. The way it works with my daughter is that she will listen to new music, read about the artists, and then look up their influences. So, for example, AFI led her to The Cure and Joy Division. A lot of kids who play instruments will learn classic rock riffs like "Smoke on the Water" and then look up Deep Purple (etc.)

Personally I like to giggle at the messages people think they are sending with their Tshirts, for instance, a 12-year-old thinks they are retro cool with a Beatles shirt and a 40 year old like me thinks they are cool with an Alexisonfire shirt. If that actually makes me laughable, well, I am in on the joke, and I don't mind!

I have to dress well for work so I can't wear my shirts then but most other times I have a music T on...

my only learned rule...don't wear your Rage Against the Machine shirts whilst camping with more than five conservatives unless you plan on taking shit/arguing the entire trip

Lyrikhan, ah, that is something I forgot about. I have learned not to wear my H.I.M. T-shirt some places because a lot of people think the heart-o-gram logo is satanic! (The rest just think I am trying to pass myself off as a 13-year-old.)

darmuzz- I gottcha. Well it is def good to know someone who knows they research before they represent. But still hopefully they haven't gotten too experimental...there's a little more behind some of that music in certain situations. ; )

any tshirt, any time any place

Look, I'm 35 and still frequently buy band tees. Get 'em for my wife too if she likes 'em. I agree about the black shirts; that's fine, but they really do make all different colors now. And girls' sizes/fittings too, so the ladies can actually look cute when wearing them now. I like to mix my tees with dressier clothes sometimes so it's not just the standard tee and jeans thing, but since I also have to do business casual during the week, sometimes there's nothing better than to just have the tee and jeans (or shorts) after work's over.

I don't mind the kids wearing older bands' shirts, I just hope that they're checking them out. I think most people do; I mean, if a current band lists someone as an influence, you're probably going to check them out if you're unfamiliar.

What I don't like is the band simply as fashion statement. You and/or your significant have to at least be a fan.

Also, check this out:

http://mog.com/Misstee/blog_post/90890

I had a MMBT t that I got at a show in '94.

The shirt had some hysterical diatribe about how much the MightyMighty Bosstones SUCKED & there might have been a _FEW_ curse words on it. Some woman comes & stands behind me at Staples & I can feel her eyes burning a hole in my back. She says in this really pissed tone - YOU have A LOT of nerve wearing something like that in public - what if children were reading it ???

She got me on the wrong day & I said, "Lady, you got an issue - DON'T READ IT !!! America - you may have heard of it, it's a FREE COUNTRY !" Paid for my... now _that_ I don't remember - let's say - STAPLES ;) & I NEVER wore that shirt in daylight hours again I did to a few shows. It's since been demoted to a jammy t... poor thing. Dag did I think it was hyserical at the time though - the shirt, & how pissy she got - that was funny too !!!

Mitchy, I like your attitude! I was hoping someone would say, "There are no T-shirt rules!"

River, I like to wear band shirts with dressier clothes too, it works surprisingly well. I wish more bands would donate designs or proceeds from T-shirt sales to charities! I know that they probably make more money on merch than on ticket sales, but the mark-up on shirts is unbelievable!

Lizzie, I don't think I have any T-shirts that are blatantly offensive to most people, but I reserve the right to buy them if I should ever feel like it! (In reality I don't like to call attention to myself so I probably wouldn't wear a shirt that would make strangers scold me).

I agree with rule # 4. It's always extremely disappointing when you approach someone with a band shirt on and they have no idea what or who you're talking about. I wish I worked with you so I could see your buttons. We could discuss.
This happens mostly with The Clash and The Stones, as mentioned.
Nice post. :)

Hey you should become a librarian like me!

I thought of another rule: anyone under 18 is exempt. Lots of time to be educated, as ZZTodd says. I sure would not want to be judged by band Ts I wore when I was 13!

I only have 2 rock t-shirts though they're from newer artists rather than classic bands. I have my Within Temptation one (I may have broken one of the rules with this one. I'm more of a casual fan, but the picture on it was so pretty and cool!) and my Olivia one, which I really love, I wore to the concert. I'm looking forward to wearing my Olivia to work when we have our dress down day!

milkshake, I liked your review of the Olivia show; it would be great if you could post a song or two on your page

^Will see what I can do! I wish mog would accept wmas!

Fabulous pin collection!!

darm..thats a great rule & point to exempt under 18, your absolutely right.

girlcrawl, thanks, I left out the embarrassing ones (although I like "cute" embarrassing ones like Adam & the Ants, even though I don't much listen to 80s pop...)

Sunshine, I bet there are kids who buy Tshirts for bands they think might be cool, only to listen to them later and go "Blecch" - so they don't count - live and learn!

Exhibit A: My current favorite faded black concert t-shirt. It is a Medeski Martin and Wood (MMW) shirt that I got several years ago....obviously.

I aggree with the never wear a bands shirt to their concert rule. I will not listen to a bands cd the day of their show either because I think that it will jinx the show for some reason.

I am a big supporter of wearing an opposing style of music T. I love wearing jam band t-shirts to indie snob shows...like TV on the Radio, I wore my Phish shirt.

Great post.

Marigold - not listening to a band's cd the day of their show - I am with you on that! And especially not in the car on the way home from the show - cos it will instantly erase the live experience!

I haven't heard MMW but I see you are using their look from the Note Bleu CD.

Opposing style of music, ha ha, wish I had thought of that!

ha. funny. You know, MMW is one of my all time favorite bands and I never even thought of that. I do kind of have the Note Bleu look going on don't I? Ha, I will tell people that is the avatar look I am going for. (if you don't mind)

It looks like you were doing a little who is MMW research...Note Bleu is a great place to start with MMW. Let me know if you need to be hooked up.

Fashionably late to this discussion -

How about these rules:

1. Don't wear a CBGB's t-shirt unless you bought it at CBGB's.

2. Of course don't wear the t-shirt of the band you're going to see (you learn this one quickly) and a sub rule to this one is Don't Wear a reincarnation of the band you're seeing - so, no Nirvana shirts at a Foo Fighter's show, no Sebadoh t-shirts at a Dinosaur Jr. show, and definitely no Smiths t-shirts at a Morrissey show.

All the rules you covered are good.  I've broken a few back in the day AND I had a Beatles sgt. pepper's t-shirt but it is because I really love that record.