Encore Values

I went to a concert last night - Spoon, at the Hollywood Palladium. The show was good and all that, but then, after a little over an hour, the lead singer said "This is our last song." The band played a song, the singer said "Thank you Los Angeles," and the band left the stage to raucous applause.

Then, predictably, Spoon returned not more than two minutes later and started playing again.

Does anyone else think this charade is a little played out? We all get it: every band plays an encore. But nobody even tries to make you believe the show is over anymore. The art of the encore has deteriorated into nothing more than a very brief intermission, accompanied by this half-hearted lie that "this is our last song." No it isn't. Everyone in the building knows it isn't. Why even say that it is? Just say "We'll be right back."

The purpose of an encore is that you, the band, were so good, the audience simply has to hear one more song. They should be cheering, begging, praying you come back out, the deafening noise of the crowd refusing to let the band leave. Let it build for a few minutes. Don't just walk offstage, then stroll back on immediately, practically uninvited. Hell, if I had gone to take a piss, I wouldn't even have known you were gone.

And one other thing: an encore shouldn't consist of another seven songs. It's a sendoff, not a sequel. The longer you go on and on when I thought you were close to being finished, the more I wish the show would just end already. Kind of like the third LORD OF THE RINGS movie.

Jesus Christ, I should've been a rock star. I'd be so perfect at it.