The crowd is cheering. “One more song! One more song!” is the rhythmic chant echoing throughout the densely packed audience. A few minutes pass and the crowd begins to wonder if their pleas will go unanswered.
Then, all of a sudden the band is back on stage playing that song that you were sure they had forgotten. This is the magical entity that is the encore.
Recently, I’ve noticed that there has been a serious lack of encores going on, and this is a sad miscalculation. The last few shows I’ve been lucky enough to go to have had me mystified. Groups have been saving their best/most popular songs for the encore. However, the last few times the crowd has either not cared enough to chant those prolific three words, or just haven’t been loud enough in its exclamation. This has resulted in a tragic loss of being able to see the best songs of a group performed.
Take the Best Coast show I went to on Jan. 22. Bethany crooned and pouted her way through her songs (in typical Best Coast- lo-fi driven fashion), sang a decent Dolly Parton cover, all to disappear off stage never to return. Songs like “Each and Every Day” and “Our Deal” were not to be heard much to my (and I’m sure others) disappointment.
Fast forward to last week’s “Devilpalooza” where there was uproarious chanting for more ( fun. sadly didn’t have time for an encore, so the terrifically grand “Be Calm” wasn’t performed) and then there were quiet, uninspiring yells for Motion City Soundtrack which unsurprisingly did not result in an encore, even though the roadie on the stage tried to tell the crowd to “be louder."Yeah, well the crowd didn’t, and I missed out on my favorite “Fell In Love Without You."
In comparison to the Passion Pit concert I went to in San Diego this past December, the zest and energy of the crowds at both these shows were barely above average. This brings me to my point. Wasn’t there a time when encores weren’t planned? When every song was not accounted for and the encore was a true surprise? I feel that artists need to get back to this. Play all of the important songs for your set, then if the crowd is into it come up with an original tune to play to make their concert an original experience. This would appease the people whose solitary voices do not induce the encore, and would ensure that fans would get the most out of a show. What’s the point of going to a concert when not all of the best songs will be commemorated? Artists shouldn’t let the lame, non-dancing, barely there members of the audience decide whether great songs will be played. Give the true fans what they want: all of the songs they have grown to love, and buy to support the music. Trust me, the fans will appreciate the gesture.
