a the other week was most welcome and amazing.

I don't really mind them..because usualyl its includes the song you wer waiting for. bit contrived.

But when they did it I think the second encore was an on the spur thing.

Especially The White Stripes, who seem to spend about 15 minutes off-stage before coming back on. Fuck off am I standing here while you go backstage and have a cup of tea.

I just don't see the point. If I ever perform to an audience I'll make sure they know I'm not coming back on.

it's ridiculous going to see a band at the barfly or carling academy and they do an encore. it's alright if you're u2 or something.

anyone agree?

don't do encores.
anyone else?

They didn't do an encore and said: "only Metallica should do encores!" I laughed lots.

that editors song was probably "You Are Fading" - which was the b-side to the original bullets single - they've turned it into some epic at attempt at matching Newborn by Elbow

sometimes Encores can be great but if its predictable its just a bit shit. I guess thats where second encores come in.

only really good encores i remember seem to be from gigs at The Luminaire. Also at The National's instore at Fopp in London on they day Boxer was released- they came back on an did Gospel and it was really quite something

the stupidest encore i remember was Datarock... they didnt have any more songs and just got the dj to play "I've had the time of my life" REALLY loud

The best ones are the mad ones, like the mae shi inviting us on stage and giving there insruments to the audiance. Same with Deerhunter Bradford givin me his guitar to play hehe :)

Automatic egotistical balls.

The bands obviously know when the gig has to finish (as most places have a curfew), so why not just keep playing songs and use those extra couple of minutes to squeeze in more tunes?

so pointless, especially when bands walk in pretty much straight away.

The Wedding Present have never done an encore.

as I'd rather they played everything at once then left so I can go catch my train. Although, the first time I saw the Bronx their encore was 'Small Stone' which only lasts a minute. :D

i hate encores. just smash your equipment at the end and get off stage.

in the bit when they go off stage anyway?

Also, what if everyone just goes?

Not do an encore, quite depressing really. I've never been blown away by an encore either, they are just too predictable and I'm too tired by the end.

that third encore was special <3

if the band don't plan it into a set, i hate looking at set lists i've collected over the years and seeing a dotted line then the songs they're going to play for the encore.

Best encore i witnessed was Bloc Party just after two more years came out. They came on and did the standard encore, then went off and all the lights came on and everyone was leaving. Just as i got to the door they came back on, lights went off, and they played one more song (The Answer) saying "Thanks newcastle, this song is for being better than Middlesbrough last night"! Made me smile for weeks afterwards :)

Are so fake. You know the band is going to come back on because they're not due to end for another 20 minutes.

And when they have I'm pretty sure they've been "proper" spur of the moment encores.

Eels meanwhile seem to be fans of multiple encores - even after the houselights have come up, the equipment has been packed away and almost everybody in the venue has gone. Was awesome when I saw them at Manchester Academy on the Daisies tour when the few people that were left in the venue ran towards the front throwing the chairs out of their way!

but mainly they bore the piss out of me. Bring on the lights and the cheesy jazz.

Most notable exception was eels at the royal festival hall, I think. They did what seemed to be a totally unplanned encore, after the lights had gone up, and the whole crowd piled back in. It's an all-seated venue, so suddenly the only two security guards there had this huge mob up front and were shitting it - but apparently eels fans are lovely, so there was no mayhem. Anhyow, it was great =D

they are pretty much all planned now, so it seems all a bit silly. But still, it's what everyone expects now, and folk would just get disappointed without the seemingly 'extra bonus' songs of the encore.

Eels used to do oodles of encores (three or four?) which was kinda fun- especially after the lights went on, which usually signifies to people that it's hometime. Although it became so regular for Eels, that loads of people knew to just keep hanging around.

I have no problem with encores. Some of you are being a bit too cool for school. Band goes off, everyone applauds, band comes back on and does one of their songs acoustically then bangs out biggest hit. It's FUN. Seriously, I knew one guy when I was at Uni who crossed him arms when the band went off and looked around him contemptuously saying "everyone knows they'll come back and play (whatever)". He had this genuine feeling that he was superior to all the other pathetic people in the room. He was the most humourless bloke it was ever my displeasure to meet. Which isn't to say that I think people are bad just because they don't like encores, but you take my point.

Broken Social Scene said that "this is the encore" but they couldn't be bothered going off, but after they'd done It's All Gonna Break, people still cheered for more, and Kevin came back on to ask exactly what else they wanted to hear, and then gave a long list of songs they wouldn't play. That seemed to be a "proper", unplanned encore.

And then NIN at Reading last year.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2jrixQT454

on their last tour didn't do an encore, just 10 mins of drum&bass at the end of the set and walked off. quite liked that.

especially when a band saves the one song they're obviously going to play, till the encore. its so contrived.

six organs of admittance did a good encore at 93 feet east. ben chasny looked genuinely surprised and happy that the crowd kept requesting more. after coming back about three times he had to say that they didn't know how to play any more songs, (due to not practicing i'm assuming)

Although Arcade Fire's "Wake Up" on the steps of church was probably one of the best moments of my life.

Don't.. Or didn't when I saw them at The Roundhouse.

The fact that they deafened the audience for 20 minutes and then walked off without returning made it even more memorable.

An encore there would have been the obvious choice for many bands but sometimes it's best to leave you wanting more.

(This may have been mentioned already)

Some of the most notable encores I've seen:

Arcade Fire at one of their church gigs taking their instruments from the stage out into the street to play Wake Up.
Ozomatli doing something similar at Glastonbury years before.
Pitchshifter as they never did encores.
Beck as he'd always make it something creative and work it as part of the set, like when he had tea and sandwiches at the back of the stage with the other band members only to start using the crockery and cutlery to start tapping out a beat which he then performed Clap Hands to.

but in most cases it might have been cause i was watching the support band. possibly. someone mentioned the cribs, and yeah i don't THINK they did an encore when i saw them, but i'm not entirely sure.

did an encore when I saw them earlier this month and it was so amazingly amazing it was untrue, and Chris Corsano came on and played drums with them, sex!

don't do Encores. I think they did one at the Scala gig.

Also, Arctic Monkey's - aren't they anti-encore?

Maybe it's mostly a mind game to get audiences to leave the venue in a timely and orderly fashion because I remember back in the seventies crowds would hang out and cause trouble after shows if band wouldn't come back to the stage and play another one.

I've seen some bands do some rather awesome encores - e.g pearl jam, brmc's 40 minute odd one back at the astoria in 06, but then again it kind of pisses me off when a band says 'This is out last song' when it's obviously not.

Only band i've seen this year do a encore that wasn't on the cards was Howling Bells at Hoxton and they even asked the crowd what they wanted to hear which was nice of them.

I would rather bands just did the whole set in one hit then fucked off though, someone's mentioned it earlier but The White Stripes do seem to enjoy disappearing for 5/10 mins after there mainset before coming back on.

They have been for the last 20 years pretty much. I used to feel cheated if I didn't get one, now I'm happy for a band to just finish and only play an encore if it's really really justified. Doesn't happen very often.

Although when I saw Elbow, they did Grace Under Pressure, it was utterly incredible

But generally, I don't like planned encores, you could fit another song in that time they've gone offstage

Although when I saw Joanna Newsom doing one of her orchestral Ys gigs, she seemed genuinely shocked that they audience wanted another song, so that seemed like an unplanned encore, so that was fine

was Belle and Sebastian in about 2001 in Cardiff. I think they were going through their pre-Isobel-leaving hating-each-other's-guts stage so that could have explained it.

Badly Drawn Boy always used to do a really long encore, or at least three encores. he'd usually keep playing until someone unplugged him. great stuff, as long as you're not dashing for the last train...