that's outrageous!

Welcome to a new feature here at Mad City, where I gripe about some particular thing or other that bugs the heck out of me. Tonight's topic: bands who invite the opening band to come join them in a song during the encore.

So, I went to see Yo La Tengo tonight at the Barrymore Theater here in Mad City. Good show, good show. I like those Yo La Tengo guys a lot. So I applauded loudly when they played their last song, and happily Yo La Tengo came out to play an encore. But then, the lead singer was all like, "You know what? Let's bring Times New Viking out here to play a song with us."

Now, I disagreed with this on many levels. First, in principle, this is just not a good idea. The headline band and the opening band rarely if ever rehearse with each other, so their joint collaboration is usually a step down in quality compared to what the headline band would have played otherwise. Also, it usually takes them about 10 minutes to figure out which song to play. I'm a busy guy! I don't have time for that. And finally, it's typically a mess visually. You've got two drummers, and about 8 guitar players, and they're handing maracas to the extra singer etc etc. Way too many people on stage. If I wanted to see that many people on stage, I would've gone to see Polyphonic Spree.

And then, I just have a grievance with this particular opening band. I was eating dinner when they were playing, and got to the show right after YLT started, so I have *no idea* what their music's all about. And then the name. I don't really care for bands named after fonts. I wouldn't follow a band named Arial, or Helvetica, so I'm sure as hell not going to start with Times New Viking. Lastly, the lead singer was wearing a sweater and a button-down shirt. I shit you not. For a show.

That's outrageous!