Love the band, hate the fans
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Do you ever love a band, but hate its fans?
If so, is there self-hate involved, since you're a fan also?
Recently I was walking and passed by fans exiting a Lamb of God show: dozens of young men with Affliction t-shirts and no necks. I shuddered and thought, "Man, I'm glad I wasn't there." Which is unfortunate, as I actually like Lamb of God. Then I shuddered at another thought. As a fellow fan, am I really like them? Am I somehow at heart a neck-less, Affliction-wearing young man?
Given Lamb of God's popularity, their fans are actually probably quite diverse. More power to LoG, that they can bring otherwise unconnected people together under one roof. How much should we be around people who are like us, anyway? Maryland Deathfest (review here) was a fun immersion in a world of metalheads. But I'm glad it ended. A world full of people in agreement is a boring one.
Henry Rollins has a good story about seeing the reunited Van Halen with David Lee Roth. He's a big fan, but so are many others, literally. He makes fun of their obesity and their Velveeta-smothered snacks. Yet he's singing along and having a great old time. He isn't insecure about hipsters or fat people or Affliction-wearing people liking the same music he does. Maybe it really is just about the music.
18 Comments:
I went to a LOG gig a couple of years ago and all it made me feel was old. Not that this bothers me, when you're into this sort of music, it's a common issue.
Recently I went to an Opeth gig directly from work. I'd had an important meeting that day so was dressed semi smart. I didn't have time to get home and change, so I just turned up in that stuff. I was a little worried that I'd stand out like a sore thumb along side a bunch of greasy metalheads. Actually, a good proportion of the audience were dressed just like me.
I've stopped worrying about this stuff now as heavy music attracts all kinds. I'll let the kids worry about fitting in as that what they do, I'll just enjoy the music:-)
Do you ever love a band, but hate its fans?
We're not bound together like metal brothers because we all like Manowar or some shit, we are all bound together because we're all human beings.
I don't hate anybody. I can see a lot of issues in a lot of metalheads I've talked to and I try to understand them as I hope they try to understand me. I don't expect to agree, and most often I don't, with anyone on the matters of taste in Heavy Metal as the ethos of this type of music is highly individualist. Not a lot rests on "are you one of us? yes/no". In fact when you go to large shows or festivals you can spot how while metalheads appear to be uniform, their body language shows they feel on their own even in the seas of denim. They stick with the friends they got there with (and there's actually a lot of metalheads that go to shows on their own), usually don't make a lot of acquaintances, and if they socialize (read: debate the merits of bands and albums) they assume crossed-hands positions that are hostile to deeper emotional interface.
Brief explanation: Heavy Metal is music that comes from, and constantly refers to, the feelings of adolescence. For some that period is marked by use of alcohol, cheap relations and behaving like a jerk, and there's some Heavy Metal that speaks to that jock-ish adolescent archetype (destroyer 666 comes to mind) but as far as I've noticed, the archetype that most metal lives on is of the isolated, ingressive personality. Alone in a bedroom, waiting for a life to start while the spectral mind wanders. All these DEEP OCCULT bands are coming from that innocent place, really. Those were my teenage years also and HM has helped me reconcile with the gifts and traumas inherent, so all the 'metal brothers, beers and fucking and parties' types of HM understandably are outside my experience.
Most lifelong metalheads are either in conflict with their adolescent personas, or in the process of reconciliation with them (there is a lot of self-loathing when someone listens to music that brings the adolescent psyche on the forefront but they are at odds with that period of their life, usually marked by weakness, existential indecisiveness, acne... a lot of "why am I even listening to this stuff anymore?"), but in either case, their aim is not to belong in a wide pool of likewise-dressed people, not to belong in a 'scene', it's not really why this music has an effect. This is why I find scenesterist reportage of HM-related issues completely uninteresting. I don't give a shit who said what about whom, I'm in my bedroom and an Omen record is playing and I'm waiting for a life to start, here, who cares about the gossip?
I've never had a problem with fellow metalheads, other than in the last couple of years feeling out of place at certain shows because I'm old enough to have fathered half the people in the audience, but that's obviously about me not them.
I do remember having one of those "the scene has changed and I don't like it" moments, though...back in 1990, I went to see the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I'd seen them a year or two earlier, and the audience had been all freaks and punk kids, at least that had been my memory of it. This time, though, they were touring in support of Mother's Milk, an album with actual MTV airplay (when that still mattered), and the audience was full of thick-necked dudes in backward Duke U. caps who were using the pit as an excuse to get drunk and punch people in the head. These frat apes had no idea of pit etiquette, they were just their with their bros to kick ass. I moved to the back of the crowd, somewhat depressed over having "lost" a band I had liked quite a bit until that point.
Pantera. I love the band but I can't stand the redneck meatheads that comprise the majority of their fanbase.
I unabashedly adore Green Day, who I saw last night. Madison Square Garden had a big screen that fans could text messages to before the show, and while I'm happy that Green Day has such a huge fan base, I was a little embarrassed to be in an arena full of people texting "i <3 billyjoe 2 :)!!"
In general, metalheads are the friendliest fans that I meet, whether or not they wear Hot Topic t-shirts. Also, I'd rather go to a show that was inclusive of such fans than one where the band has pretenses of being too cool for whatever mall kids, jocks, hipsters or yuppies are in the audience.
Another great post! It reminded me of when I went to see Rodrigo y Gabriela. I was expecting a night of witnessing cerebral musicianship, but the crowd caught me completely off guard. It was like a frat / sorority mixer; loud drunks not even watching the performance, etc. I ended up leaving 1/2 way through...
Tool is a big one. Like LoG, their fanbase is legion and bound to include some...tools.
thats what i feel like whenever i go to see a good hardcore band that crusty kids are into. I dislike being grilled by super judgemental 18 year olds who think not washing their hair is political. then again I still tolerate it (for now), so it must be about the music because Im certainly not there to check out people's t-shirts and bum change.
Here is one reason I hate going to arena/ampitheater concerts:
I remember going to the Sounds of the Underground tour in Tinley Park, IL back in 2005. High On Fire (one of my favorite bands) were slated to play before Lamb of God (I still like them even though I kind of outgrew their appeal). HoF were running many hours late because of van issues but the LoG guys were cool about it. Most of the people in the audience thought LoG was playing so when Matt Pike and Joe Preston (this was during the Blessed Black Wings cycle) were soundchecking and immediately went straight to Cometh Down Hessian, the crowd was caught off guard. People started booing HoF and chanting "LAMB OF GOD! LAMB OF GOD!" during the set. Randy Blythe came out after the 2nd song and chastised the crowd with "FUCK YOU GUYS! THIS IS REAL METAL RIGHT HERE!" I thought that was really cool of Blythe to do and was slightly ashamed that some people who liked the same band I liked were complete morons.
Slayer fans are always interesting, especially in the past decade or so. I wouldn't say I hate them, but they are pretty much the only band that has fans which will do almost anything, including jumping over fire, to be closer to them.
Now, what exactly is Affliction? Is that a Hot Topic - specific brand of rock shirts? We don't have either in Canada as far as I know...
Excellent post. Always thought about it, you know? Being South American and having spent years living in the midwest with no metal friends sucked. One time I was leaving a Monster Magnet show and this drunken fat buffoon came up to me and said something to the effect that he didn't like tacos nor people who ate tacos. I guess I was Mexican by association. For the record, I had never tried a taco until I came to school in the States. Anyway, we had the music in common but that was it. Plus, the dude was like triple my size, I am not stupid enough to fight him. His plus size girlfriend told him to chill, I told him to chill and the Asian cop staring at him sent him a telepathic message instructing him to chill.
Anyway, I love metal music, but I gotta say, and it may because I am getting old and boring, I find most of the shows to be thoroughly annoying because of the audience. You can always count on the stupid ass drunkards starting fights, shoving people and just trying to be smart. Sure is metal, it's bit dumb and violent, but close mindedness and proud ignorant meatheads seem to be the vast majority. This of course, varies according to the band/sub genre/location.
Shit man, I went to see Gogol Bordello two days ago. I've never seen an audience having so much fun together and being so civilized. Why can't metalheads be less retarded? I had more in common with those concert goers than with the midwest Monster Magnet fans? And I like Monster Magnet (first four recordings) a hell of a lot more than Gogol Bordello.
I love the idea of a large Opeth crowd, all smartly dressed...and screaming "We love you, Mikael!"
Sean - Affliction is an MMA brand (unfortunate since I like MMA), like Tapout and such. It's not Hot Topic so much as Macy's. It has entered the mainstream and is worn by those who popped their collars during the previous trend.
bacon - Nice story about LoG. Over the years, I've come to appreciate their down-to-earth-ness perhaps even more than their music.
Ignacio - The vast majority of my metal show experiences are not annoying in the way you described. As others point out above, metalheads are usually friendly or introverted or nerdy. None of these qualities infringe upon other people's space. It's only when different types mix in larger audiences that things get heated.
Also, choice of band matters. An instrumental math rock band attracts a different crowd than a band like Monster Magnet, whose appeal is as much chemical as it is musical.
the worst is when you go to a show and everyone looks like you, which in my case means fat and old. i will still go see sunn0))) and merzbow every time i get the chance though.
I like metal (and many other 'indie' genres, particularly early 90s noise and math rock [Chavez, Polvo, Slint, etc]), so occasionally I will wear a Swervedriver shirt to a Skeletonwitch show or a Carcass shirt to a Constantines concert. I think it is amusing to see all types at both shows... it adds a certain 'grab bag' variety to the venue and between set boredom. That said, the one thing that is NOT amusing at any concert is ingorance and excessive drunkenness to the point of mocking bands and/or other concertgoers... or physically assulting them. That is pretty much my only standard. It all comes down to respect.
Also, I wrote the following over at MetalSucks (who linked to this article), but I'll repost it here (I read this this morning but didn't have time to weigh in then):
A) Why do so many people associate “muscular” with “retard / can’t-actually-know-what-they’re-talking-about / poseur / violent”? What if you need to be muscular for excellence in a certain profession (law enforcement, military, athlete, fire fighter, etc)? Just because you work at Kinkos and I am (potentially) one of the above doesn’t mean I “don’t get it,” “want to fight you for sure,” or that I “only listen to Korn, Slipknot, LoG, Disturbed or any of the other stereotypically-associated-with-jocks-and-frat-guys bands.” Take a look at the truer-than-you Glenn Danzig / Doyle (especially) / Jerry Only lineup circa 1981 and get back to me. Respect for your own body shouldn’t be a disqualifier for taste.
B) If you really think about it, we’re all trying to say something with the band / brand we’re repping. Listen to Carcass’ “Polarized” and realize that truly it doesn’t matter. I’m always amazed that in a genre that abhors dependence and sheep-like following, there is nothing more homogenous than the look of a metal crowd. I have a true metalhead friend that wears (no joke) N’Sync and-the-like shirts to concerts because it is even more of an “F-YOU!” than any Anal Blast shirt could be. His library of metal is wide and deep, but he (correctly) is toying with you and doesn’t care what you think, ironically making him much more “metal” than any of your vintage Darkthrone shirts.
C) Darkthrone shirts are always a good choice, though.
Well put, Tom, on all counts. I'm reminded of the guy at MDF who wore a bright blue shirt just so he could stand out. A bit of individualism never hurt anyone.
I never saw a Darkthrone shirt that wasn't horribly oversized.
Currently wearing a bright pink My war shirt, btw. The knife falls after the 2nd act.
I could say I agree with this in almost every way when you consider that I like quite a few Oi bands. Go to the shows and 95% of the people there are just complete over aggresive dumbasses.
Any NYHC bands too. Sick Of It All and Agnostic Front will always draw a legion of fans that want to cause fights.
Rollins Bands used to draw the same kind of crowds. A bunch of tough guy assholes that all wanted to be tough like Henry. The best thing was though that everytime I saw Rollins play he made sure to call these people out as the insecure assholes that they were.
Mayhem fans these days are massive retards... but then again so is Mayhem at this point so I guess that doesn't count.
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