Don’t be “that guy” when you attend concerts

I’ve heard of people who have superstitions about certain things in their lives. It’s true,… I’ve heard of people who have superstitions about certain things in their lives. It’s true, you know, that I have a few myself. When I play baseball I don’t step on the chalk while going on or off the field. I wore the same undershirt and socks for every game during my high school football season, (which wasn’t very lucky for the team — we went 0-9.)

A lot of people are against listening to the music of the band they are going to see, because they think it will jinx the night’s performance. I, on the other hand, listen to every album by the band I am going to see over and over again before I see them.

There’s nothing like the car ride to the show playing the band’s first album as loud as you can, singing along to all of those songs that the poser fans never heard of. Nothing quite like sitting in the parking lot for five extra minutes just to hear your favorite song one last time before going into the venue.

On the way to the Rolling Rock Town Fair last summer, my roommate and I had a rotation of CDs by every band that was performing that day (with the exception of Finch, Staind and Velvet Revolver, for good reasons), and we would play through the CDs until we hit the point where we looked at each other and were in the mood for some Disturbed. Rolling into the parking lot blaring N.E.R.D. with herds of people looking at us like we were nuts, we prepared ourselves for one hell of a show.

The day of a big concert I tend not to do anything, and that includes going to classes. I hang out in my house and blare the music that I will hear a few hours later. Beer in hand, I am motivating myself even more for the show that I’ve been waiting several months for.

It’s been two months since we bought tickets for the Breaking Benjamin show, and as soon as this column is written, I will get into pre-concert mode, as rock music awaits my attendance.

As much as I am all for listening to the rock before the rock show, I am against wearing the shirt of the band you are going to see. My roommate posed the question, “What about the hat?” Well, I don’t know if wearing the hat of the band you’re about to see is cool or not, let’s just go with not, for the sake of being consistent.

There’s nothing more bothersome than walking around the venue and seeing hundreds of people sporting those tour shirts from three years ago, or even worse, the tour shirt they just bought.

If you buy a shirt at a show, either carry it, rather easily draped over your shoulder if you’re a guy or wrapped around your waist if you are a girl, or wait until the end of the show to buy it. Please, do not buy a shirt as soon as you get there and throw it on your torso; that’s unprofessional as a fan.

Fashion tips for concert-goers to help those who are tempted to wear that shirt with the band logo on it: Wear a plain black shirt and jeans, or wear a shirt with a funny decal on it — they sell a lot of those these days, and who knows, one of them might help you start a conversation with a pretty lady. “Hey I like your ‘Pedro for President’ shirt.”

I know it might be hard for some people to resist wearing the shirt of the band. But listen, you don’t have to wear the apparel to show you are a fan; save that for baseball or football. Just being at the show and rocking out with the band proves that you are a fan. Enough said.

So when you are prepping for that next rock show, feel free to rock out, but whatever you do, don’t be that guy.

Brian Palmer refuses to be that guy, and will be happy to tell you how many of those guys he saw at the Breaking Benjamin show last night if you ask him at bkp8@pitt.edu.