jackelpdw Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 I've always wondered about the modern day application of the encore break. Is it just a planned rest period for the artists, to build to a killer end? Is it really an avenue of escape from a bad crowd? How do artists gauge how long to wait, how much applause is worthy? Has there ever been a band that was standing off the stage and said, "hmm, not loud enough, good night." ? I was pondering this as I screamed at the top of my lungs for the black keys in san fran this past saturday, and it made me wonder @_@ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aricandover Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 Has there ever been a band that was standing off the stage and said, "hmm, not loud enough, good night." ? I wish more bands would do this. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
froggie Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 piss-break! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bjorn_skurj Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 I wish more bands would do this.Probably not since the Sex Pistols. Everybody's so fucking EARNEST these days. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Silent Assassin Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 I love it when bands just take a few requests and explicitly state that they are not coming out for an encore. John Vanderslice, Beulah, and Elliott Smith (judging from live recordings) do/did such a thing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
remphish1 Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 I always thought the encore break was just so they can retune everything! Since you know everything was intune for 20+ songs but the instruments just couldn't stay in tune that last song!? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aricandover Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 Probably not since the Sex Pistols. Everybody's so fucking EARNEST these days. I've seen Mike Patton do it plenty of times. especially when assholes art yelling for Faith No More songs at non-FNM shows. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Atticus Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 just curious--have you ever been in a band that played gigs? I know that even with the miniscule cover bands I was in during college and after law school, at times I was dying for a break--although many times it was clear to the audience that it was a set break and not an encore, so this post may not be applicable. There's the "take care of shit" side, including usually taking a much-needed trip to the urinal, restocking on beer or shots or whatever... but also, there were times where we would decide to change things up because of the crowd and/or crowd reaction, or when a player seemed off or out of tune, or sometimes just to have a chance to relax a bit and come back strong. A lot of times (for us) there may be technical issues as well, although with the bigger bands these matters should by and large be taken care of by crews. I certainly think that having pure obligatory breaks for adoration alone is a bit silly. I would guess that for the most part the band wants to assess the crowd and how the band's feeling, and decide how they want to say goodbye (musically) as it were. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
brianjeremy Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 I thought it was for an ego-stroke. When I saw Evan Dando three years ago, I thought he wouldn't come back..but he did. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
anodyne Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 i've only been in one band where people wanted an encore, but we didn't have anymore songs because we played them all (not expecting an encore). we just played some covers we all knew and never practiced together. that was a really fun show. i wish more bands would do on purpose what we did off the cuff. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
wheelco Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 piss-break!that's it, plus a quick puff Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 Some bands should simply not come back. Convention now dictates an encore even when one is not asked for or needed. Mostly encores are not real encores they are simply a way for a big finish. I was impressed with Camper Van Beethoven a few years back when they played two long sets, with a short break between, and then announced near the end that when they were done they were done. LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MattZ Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 Rock concerts are as much theater these days as anything. The encore is the perfect example of that. I always feel a little uncomfortable when bands leave the stage after a set and then the crowd doesnt cheer that loud, but yet they come back out for the encore anyway. Its sort of presumptuous in a way to pretend that you are coming back because the crowd demands more, even though you are really just coming back because you purposely ended your set 10 minutes before the venue's curfew. And dont get me started on the bands that do 2, 3 or 4 encores. I agree with most folks posting on this. Encores should be a privilege, not an entitlement. That would add mystery, intrigue, real excitement, etc. Most people use the encores to sit and/or start making their way out of the venue to beat traffic. If you knew that the louder and longer you cheered the more likely the band would keep playing, how awesome would that be? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Smokestack Joe Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 i thought it was for the drugs. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bobfrombob Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 The last time I saw U2, Bono said something to the effect of "this is the end of our set and we are supposed to walk off now and come back for an encore but we'll just play some more" and they didn't leave the stage. Still not exactly what earlier posts asked for but a little more honest anyway. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lammycat Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 I thought it was for an ego-stroke.On the contrary, I always believed it was a way to thank the audience for their applause. This isn't related to strictly rock concerts, but orchestral/symphony shows, as well. I always like the two-set shows. A nice hour plus for the first set, a nice 30-45 minute break in between to beer-up, bathroom break, chat, whatever, followed by the lengthier 1-2 hour second set. The encore being the "thanks" from the band to the crowd fot their participation/applause. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
quarter23cd Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 The "encore break" is what you hipsters get for frowning upon extended instrumental solos. Would it kill you to sit through a couple minutes of a drum solo while everyone else goes and sits down for a couple minutes? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SarahC Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 i know that the 97's/rhett write their encore in, though they will skip songs/forego the encore completely if they are tired or the crowd sucks... they did this in memphis and rhett did an abbrivated encore in nashville. i like when they write the encores in like that most the time, but then bands like flickerstick will come out if the crowd is loud or the show went well. other times they play 12 songs and pack it in. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bobfrombob Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 Would it kill you to sit through a couple minutes of a drum solo while everyone else goes and sits down for a couple minutes? The story goes that on occasion, when Bonahm would launch into his drum solo, other members of Zeppelin actually left the building (back to the hotel, across the street for a drink). Even if it's not true, it's a good story. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jhc Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 It's become expected now, so bands go through this charade of leaving the stage when they know they have more songs to do. It's kind of silly, especially the bands that go off stage for 30 seconds and come back. At least grab a beer/smoke/Diet Coke or something. I saw James Brown in college with a pretty apathetic white audience. After the set, his promoter/handler/enroutage guy came out and tried to lead a "James Brown" chant to get him to come back and do an encore. The response was weak that JB never came back out. And then everyone booed him. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 In point of fact encores are usually rather short in their original incarnation. If you go to a symphony concert it is rather unusual to get an encore, but if a performance is unusually good and the audience isn't leaving the hall, sometimes they will do another 5 minutes of something they already did. (Or at an opera the diva will resing a favorit aria.) In the old days musicians played a set and left the stage and came back later for another set or two or three. People were there to dance or were there in a night club and knew they had to either leave or hang around for more music after the musicians took a break. (Of course there was a musicans union that enforced some of this stuff too.) Now it is simply an expected part of the show. Wilco certainly has their encore planned prior to the show (because of course everyone wants to see them again.), but we all have been to even Wilco shows where the encores are practically as long as the set itself. They know the drill and they go with it. I guess what sort of gets me is when opening acts think they are entitled to take an encore. Generally they aren't, but that rarely stops them. LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
froggie Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 The "encore break" is what you hipsters get for frowning upon extended instrumental solos. Would it kill you to sit through a couple minutes of a drum solo while everyone else goes and sits down for a couple minutes? probably how zeppelin did 3 hour shows in 1977 every night... no quarter and moby dick give the band a break and the acoustic set gives bonham a break.. some of those no quarters went on for half an hour whereas moby dick was always at least 20mins long Quote Link to post Share on other sites
into the white Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 I feel kind of weird about the whole thing. On one hand, I think the encore should be something special that sets one show apart from others. It would be much cooler if it wasn't something that is all but guarenteed. At the same time, if I saw a band headline and they didn't do an encore, I'd probably be disappointed. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jahilia Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 One show I was at (I'm thinking it was either David Byrne, Steve Earle or Richard Thompson - but don't remember exactly) said at the end of the show "I'm gonna go off stage for a few minutes and then come right back on" - I took it as them making fun of the whole encore thing and how everyone knows that they'll come back on regardless of applause Quote Link to post Share on other sites
quarter23cd Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 probably how zeppelin did 3 hour shows in 1977 every night... no quarter and moby dick give the band a break and the acoustic set gives bonham a break.. some of those no quarters went on for half an hour whereas moby dick was always at least 20mins longI bet. Its interesting to see how those older bands handled it (even back then when they were young!) Watching the Allman Bros earlier this year, I thought it was interesting how they "rotated" members during the 40+ minute Mountain Jam. Everybody was there for the beginning and end of the song, but in the middle they kind of rotated and everybody got to take a break for at least a couple minutes. And the song still cooked. But I was joking about Wilco filling up time with having the guys come out and noodle by themselves for a while. I mean, I bet Glenn and Nels could make it very interesting, but I'm not so sure it would fit the mood of a Wilco show. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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