If there's one thing I dislike about live shows, it's an encore. The modern day encore consists of 4/5 songs, typically the artists older material and better material. This involves a small break and time to discuss what they're going to play. Some artists have it scripted what they're going to play, the set list is already written. Others decide during the break what they will play to end the show.
In the past, some artists used the encore for tuning instruments and a break to then play a second half if you'd like. Artists such as Bob Marley & The Wailers took advantage of this, leaving the stage half way into the show to do exactly what I stated above. I think this is great, they need a break and time to re tune, it's a good idea to split a show in half like this, having an interval so to speak. In a way, this ruins the atmosphere which i can understand.
Modern shows are different, it's written that an artist will have an encore, they nearly always will. The encore is written into the show. It's something artists need to look at because it really does make the show incredibly scripted and not spontaneous at all. I cant stand waiting around for 5 minutes whilst the band says goodbye when everybody in the venue knows full well they will return to an arousing applause, like they're doing us a favour... It hurts my eyes when I see the empty stage and the lights flickering, with people stomping on the ground.
Wouldn't it be far more intimate and enjoyable if a band just tunes on stage and then discusses what they will play next, or even ask the paying audience. This surely makes sense, how has nobody caught on to this shit!
I'm certainly not the only person that despises predictable encore's, I think it's a common trait for a number of avid music fans. Don't get me wrong, I do love a little unexpected encore. Just recently I saw Belle & Sebastian live, where they asked the audience what song to play to close the show. It's good as a paying listener to see an artist show a spontaneous attitude, it's even better if that artist then plays a rare unreleased track or a cover song.
I hope that one day it will get to the point where artists will stop playing encore's, unless it's actually deserved. They will play what they want and then just go, leaving the audience wanting more. But if the audience truly does deserve an encore, then the artist will get back on stage and play a request or something of the sort. But right now, at this moment in time, it's making me sick knowing the hits are coming last. People will and are starting to show up to shows late just because of this. When I went to Latitude this year, people were hopping around to see the last 10 minutes of each set because that's the period where artists will play their better material. Live shows should be an experience, it doesn't matter if it's a 30 minute festival slot or a 90 minute show, for the the actual experience, they really do need to bring in an enhanced look on live shows.
