Ask the indie professor: why shout for a song the band will never play?
When a guy yells for an obscure B-side the band haven't played in 17 years, he isn't talking to them; he's talking to you
Hi Prof ;-)
At almost every gig an audience member will shout the name of a particular song, in the hope that the band play it. Ninety-nine percent of these requests are completely ignored by the band and, furthermore, the audience member generally knows this, being an avid concertgoer. Why then do fans persist in yelling out the name of their favourite track, often multiple times within a set?
Michael Kuge, via email
For some audience members, a gig isn't just a chance to hear and see a band perform live but a chance to express their status as a committed fan. A set list means the specific songs and order are decided in advance of a show. Superfans know about set lists. Half the time, they are the same ones who beg crew members for the copies taped to stage or ask the sound man for his/hers before the set starts (I'm just letting you know how to get a set list in case you want one). The songs superfans yell out tend to be little-known B-sides or other rarities. These call-outs aren't really to get the band to play the song but to demonstrate to everyone present that s/he knows every song the band has ever written. Occasionally, if the request is sufficiently obscure, someone in the band might react by laughing or even having some personalised banter with the audience member. Shouting out esoteric requests differentiates that person from the rest of the audience to instantiate s/he knows the band better and with more depth than other audience members. It's a way to be special.
Less experienced or drunk fans tend to call out the big hits that are going to be played at some point during the set anyway. They persist in yelling out that one song over and over, because they want it now. Fundamentally, they are clueless about the culture of shows, but that doesn't stop them from expressing themselves. They often end up being the same people who on aeroplanes get up and try and get their luggage before the plane has come to a complete stop. This is what happens when you are impatient, don't know how to follow the explicit and implicit rules of social conduct and think your needs are more important than anyone else's. I know most people just try to ignore them, but generally I just swear at them, grab a couple beers, then deploy the aeroplane slide to get away from the unpleasantness as quickly as possible.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2010/aug/16/indie
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