Question of the Week: What’s the best encore to a concert you’ve ever seen?

Local Spins’ Question of the Week (Aug. 15, 2024)

What’s the best encore to a concert you’ve ever seen?

Last week’s winner from email subscribers who responded to the Question of the Week was reader Michael Hamm. To be placed in a drawing for concert tickets or a Local Spins gift pack, sign up for email updates and the weekly newsletter here: https://localspins.com/subscribe-local-spins-mailing-list/

THE READER RESPONSES:

Jerry Kolb – When The Accidentals performed on my old television show, they came out into the audience after the show and everyone huddled around them. The band formed a small circle with them all facing out. They played “Nightlife” and rotated “one position”after each verse. It was magical.

David Ellyatt – One memorable one was Frank Turner at the Intersection in 2019. There had been no plans to do an encore, but the crowd would not go. So he came back out after the house lights went on and the PA was off and sat on the monitors and played one song acoustically with the crown handling vocals.

Michael Larry Hamm – A show at Cobo hall in 1967 with the Doors and the Lovin Spoonful. Jim Morrison refused to stop when they turned the lights on. They finally allowed it in order to prevent a riot and John Sebastian joined them on stage for the next 30-40 minutes. Amazing night. I believe that was the year he died in Paris. Sadly.

Vanessa Clark – One of my current faves was when Luke Winslow King came back for his encore at last weekend’s Hoxeyville Music Festival. He “ended” on a song that was heartbreaking (I was sobbing in my tent). Johnny rose begged Luke to not end on that note and he came back with something more funky. It was so fun!

Don Clapham – Olympia Stadium, Detroit, 1975: “Echoes” by Pink Floyd. After playing “Dark Side of the Moon” in its entirety, with the audience screaming “Echoes,” the band came back on stage and played the song from start to finish – all 23 minutes! During the first half of the concert, they played a couple of songs from “Wish You Were Here,” which hadn’t been released yet. I believe they played “Shine on You Crazy Diamond” and “Have a Cigar.” Sure wish I could go back in time and see that concert again.

Len Kotterman – Todd Snider once played a 90-minute encore in Bloomington, Ind.

Sean E. Miller – Would’ve been back in 2012(?) at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Billy Joel played for almost 3 hours straight then came out to do an at least 30-40 minute encore.
There’s that and then, of course, Gregory Alan Isakov at Red Rocks. That was more for the venue and setting than it was the music.

Thomas Leonard Saxe – Genesis at GV. February, 1975. Encores were “Watcher of the Skies” and “I know What I Like.” Whew!

Chad Michael Wedeven – Guided By Voices, 2002, at the old Intersection. Phantom Planet opened, then GBV played for two hours, then they went backstage….then Bob stumbled back out, said, “GIMME A BEER” and proceeded to play another hour. In Bob We Trust.

William Hahs – Actually it was at a very small festival in northern Michigan. I was watching a bluegrass band called The Chapmans and for their encore they did. This bluegrass turns to Gypsy jazz turns back to bluegrass etches its way sort of over to Rock with amazing harmonies and some of the best guitar and mandolin playing I’ve ever heard in my life. It was just mesmerizing.

John Sinkevics – I don’t know if it’s the best, but my earliest memory of an encore that blew me away was the first time I saw Bruce Springsteen — back in the 1970s at Wings Stadium in Kalamazoo. Sweat-drenched, he even came out after the houselights came up to play yet another song.

Dale J Dreyer – I interviewed (Bruce) and the Big Man for that (Kalamazoo) show…had front row seats. He flew into the audience on the first song…When I asked for the interview when I found their hotel, Bruce just looked up at Clarence and said “Tell him.” Clarence looked down at me and said, “NO!” End of interview. Best Encore? Bruce with special encore guest, Gary U.S. Bonds…Detroit.

William Hahs – The other one would have had to been one of my first concerts I’d ever been to and that was a band called coliseum they featured at that point in time they had. Dave Clemson from humble pie dick heck stallsmith of John Mayall Fame John Heisman on drums. They were very big in Europe and The encore well was an absolutely great vocal battle of the sax player against the vocalist that was just killer and just as a side note, the opening act was free in one of their first concerts after all right now broke.

Barbara Hass – John Denver at Red Rocks in front of 1500 person company event (first time he ever played one). Just him and his guitar under the Colorado stars. Goose bumps still!

Mike Haken – Heart did three straight Led Zeppelin covers for an encore.

Jack Kooreman – I’ve had that experience of Bruce in 1978 in the palladium in nyc. House lights are up and people are beginning to make their way to the exits when we hear a gravelly, “Where are you all going?” Then some classic rock standards.

Ryan Burkholder – Smashing Pumpkins, 1997. The crowd was mildly engaged, barely, actually. SP walked off the stage before the show was over. The crowd started cheering and clapping for about 10 minutes and didn’t stop until the band came back out. They blew the roof off the place for the rest of the show. Maybe it was staged? But it was pretty cool to see the crowd get rattled into the right mood.

Stephen Aldrich – Neil Young brought his much-debated Greendale show to the arena in 2003. Being more of a theater piece, than a concert, it was a test of wills for some, but I loved it, and as we would see, so did most everyone here. Playing the album, start to finish, with the actors doing their thing, the highlight of the show came with the solo/acoustic number, Bandit. Sounding like a classic, lost track from the Harvest era, our crowd erupted with a lengthy standing ovation, which seemed to catch Neil off guard, he seemed a bit emotional, and took it all in. With that, we earned our reward. Despite the fact that this was also a Crazy Horse show, in most cities, no encores were done, with some dates getting 2 songs. But because we were so good with Greendale, we got 7 encores!!! Full-throttle, wild-ass noisy, Crazy Horse, all the Rust Never Sleeps hits, as nasty as I have ever heard ’em, what a treat!

Isaac Powrie – 10/16/2014 Pearl Jam’s encore was essentially a 2nd set. Umphrey’s McGee 2/1/2014 was a 16 minute Puppet String; Greensky Bluegrass Last Waltz tribute in 2016? during there Kalamazoo Thanksgiving Run.

Richard Krueger – Los Lobos at the Michigan Theatre in Ann Arbor, back in the early 1980s. They played a looong slooooooooooooooow blues, and I honestly got bored and got up to leave. But before I could get to the exit, they broke into “La Bamba” — and the whole place started dancing!

Mark DeWitt – Grace Potter-Zeppelin’s “Your Time is Gonna Come” at Meijer Gardens.

Karl G. Mickna – Billy Strings on Halloween last year at the Van!

Bill Seppla – Enjoyed Isbell doing GIMME SHELTER the week Charlie Watts died.

Obe VanderTol – ELP in Baltimore in 1972 while I was in the Army. As they were playing their last song the stage filled with dry ice smoke. When the smoke cleared they were gone but the music was still playing. They never did come back out.

Russell Olmsted – Nickel Creek years ago at Calvin College. They came out for their encore and brought as many people as they could fit to sit around them on the stage. Then they played completely unplugged, no PA, no mics, just them singing and playing acoustically. You could hear a pin drop in the auditorium with how intently everyone was listening. The closing number was an old spiritual and the crowd started quietly humming the refrain towards the end of the song. Brought me to tears. It was one of the most incredible musical experience I’ve ever been a part of.

Drew Phillippy – Pearl Jam at the Van Andel. Can’t remember the year. They came out for a 3rd encore after the lights and house music came on because the crowd was still demanding it and they responded. Closed with Yellow Leadbetter. Not the most impressive musical encore for me ever, but vibes was — it was amazing.

David Barrenger – Agree, Springsteen.

Don Small – Neil Diamond every tour! My other favorite has to be Boston at the old Silverdome in 1978. People were sitting on top of the speakers.

Wendy Dykman Baker – Most recently, Chirp at Shagbark Music and Arts Festival…thus coining the new Festival phrase, “Getting Chirped.”
Evan Woots – Vulfpeck doing the funky duck dance with all their mom’s on Mother’s Day in Ann Arbor

Justin Stover – Tom Waits, Detroit Opera House 2006

Meegan Holland – Don’t hate me. I really dislike encores. Just put together a show of solid song choices, and then end the concert rather than playing the silly encore game. Always leave the audience wanting more …. rather than itching to get out of there.

JR Scott Weaver – Crèedence Clearwater Revisitted in 2000 at Muskegon Summer Celebration. Three encores.

Michael Packer – The best “encore” I ever saw was when an artist (can’t recall the name) said, “I know you’ll clap for an encore – so this is it” and continued playing. Encores are sort of silly. Technically, an encore means “play the same song again.” I’ve only seem one true encore and it was The Meridian Art Ensemble in Ann Arbor. Coming back to play other songs is not an encore. (“a demand for repetition” – Merriam-Webster)

Pete Bruinsma – Fall 1996 – Butter08 (a band too old and short lived for tags) in NY, which was a collaboration between Cibo Matto and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion on Grand Royal records, which was the Beastie Boys label in its best years. For the encore the Beasties came out in Yoda masks and performed…either because of copyright issues or theatrics, or because they weren’t the Beasties. I dunno, it was just coolest encore ever.

Brenda Lavengood – 100% Agree with you John Sinkevics! Bruce does it the BEST!

Jennifer Alexander- I seem to recall Greensky Bluegrass doing a 45-minute long encore in a raging thunderstorm in Empire, MI at [probably the last] Dunegrass festival. ✨

Ann McPhail Britt – Jackson Browne – Santa Barbara Bowl – 2022 with Lori Welch. Amazing concert.

Jennifer Zaragoza – I went to see Spoon, Beck and Cage the Elephant, the final encore, all three lead men came out and covered David Bowie’s China girl. Amazing.

Shelly Anderson – The Avett Brothers at Red Rocks…that feeling that you never want it to end. City lights in the distant view, stars above in the cool mountain sky, and a smile on every face in the crowd. The best!

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