I’ve been to a number of concerts this summer and one thing keeps rubbing me the wrong way - encores. Why do bands feel the need to use their biggest hits as an encore? It’s so predictable and overdone. Surely the people who only came to hear that one hit song don’t want to wait until the very last second of the band’s performance to hear it. Put it somewhere in the middle of the set already; let the fans hear it and leave if that is all they really want. Make more room for us diehard fans that came to rock out.

Being squeezed in like sardines is definitely not as enjoyable an experience as you might think - we need some room to breathe. Seriously, if people have already paid their money for the ticket, why should you care if they don’t stay until the end of the show? This isn’t a sporting event where you have to make sure that the people stay tuned until the end, jamming in the commercials to sell products. You should be more concerned about pleasing the true fans – the ones that have supported you through it all and are still coming to the shows. Why not make the encore something that it used to be – a little unplanned extra…songs that might not have normally made it into the set. A little present for the crowd, a chance for the obscure to come out and play, a jam session, a cover tune from a band you idolize, something rockin’. Is this really too much to ask?

It seems that the whole concert going experience has changed drastically over the years. An encore used to be earned by the crowd, and for that matter, earned by the band. Not every show deserves one. And not every crowd is “the best place to play” either. I wish bands would stop telling that to every city. We know that you say it at every show, so it no longer has any meaning. I’ll tell you this – there have been several opening acts that I’ve seen that should have been allowed encores, but because of “the rules” - the politics involved - they never get the opportunity and that’s just wrong.

Please, stop patronizing us - It’s time to make the encore special again.

-Christine Herb