Tonight, I drove out to mouse town with some friends to see Against Me!, Cobra Skulls, The World / Inferno Friendship Society, and some horrible white rapper (Sage Francis). The show was at the House of Blues in Orlando, which is a pretty easy drive, good parking, and a pretty solid venue. I rather enjoyed the music (Sage Francis is not music. He’s horrible, and should never take the stage again). However, I must make reference to something.
The Rule
We’ve all seen PCU. Jeremy Piven as a college student…great casting move there. But anyway. The scene were Gutter is getting ready for the concert, and it moshing it up in his room. Jeremy Piven comes in and reminds him “You don’t wear the shirt of the band you’re going to see. Don’t be that guy”. Well, tonight, I counted no less than 20 people proudly wearing their new Against Me! shirts. Nothing against getting some merch. And, in a pinch, wearing it. However, these people were putting the new shirts over the existing clothing they were wearing, then walking around. One girl had a shirt from one band (Cobra Skulls), then put an Against Me! shirt on OVER it. That’s a double negative, right? Well, besides the fact that going to the show reminded me that I’m now one of the old guys at shows, it also reminded me of a time when we had rules. Sadly, these seem to no longer exist.
What I find even more irritating: Before going to an ‘07 show, rummaging around in your closet and pulling out your shirt from the ‘05 concert you went to and wearing that…because being at the show isn’t enough to prove you are a fan. You need everyone to know, this isn’t the first time you’ve seen them. You may as well be wearing a pink polo with a popped collar; they say the same thing…douchebag.