Do anyone have a pic of the t-shirt they sell at these conserts?
Don't have a picture but is was plain black with an Arena logo (black print) on a white oval background above the left breast (if that's of any help). Very subtle!
The ladies t shirt was he same except the logo was on the left sleeve
Arena still have some t-shirts left from this tour so if you want to buy on they will be on sale on the site soon....
Hope they come up with something a bit more adventurous the next tour!
For example, look at: http://www.itbites.com/merch/itbuys-europe-tshirts.html (http://www.itbites.com/merch/itbuys-europe-tshirts.html)
Scroll down to see the long-sleeve one. I wear that one on an ordinairy saturday as well!
I know people say rock-shirts should be black, but personally I've seen a decline in people wearing rock-shirts at gigs, so I think you rather produce a nice piece of clothing.
The girly shirt with the lace-sleeves of the contagion tour was great! Though the girly of the PG tour was way too small (not all are of Wagners size) ;D
yo JJ
The subtle approach was based apon the fans views from the previos tour as i may have told you t'other day.
What i might suggest to Mick for the next tour is on the build up to the next tour (whenever that may be) let the fans design the t-shirt themselve's with a competition of some kind on the bands website.
eg.
Stage 1 - have fans send in their t-shirt design's which will then be short listed by the band themselves down to about 5 or 10 say.
Stage 2 - The 5 or 10 selected will then be displayed on the site for the fans to vote for their favorite disign.
what do ya recon?
very good idea mate...
Ok... this is the address you can sent your design if we start now maybe will have a new album soon and a tour...and I will have a look at it and pass them to Mick
lebreux [at] yahoo [dor] co [dot] uk
thks to you all
N. Pointer aka Wagner *horns*
At the Sheffield gig i was chatting with Clive and the merchandise guy and he said he had sold 20 t shirts. I think they found it a bit disappointing. I didnt see the girly shirts on the contagion tour. I wish i had!
Quote from: Smegal on Tue, 2007-06-05, 13:58:59
yo JJ
The subtle approach was based apon the fans views from the previos tour as i may have told you t'other day.
What i might suggest to Mick for the next tour is on the build up to the next tour (whenever that may be) let the fans design the t-shirt themselve's with a competition of some kind on the bands website.
eg.
Stage 1 - have fans send in their t-shirt design's which will then be short listed by the band themselves down to about 5 or 10 say.
Stage 2 - The 5 or 10 selected will then be displayed on the site for the fans to vote for their favorite disign.
what do ya recon?
GOOD IDEA :o
Quote from: bellanova on Tue, 2007-06-05, 15:18:01
At the Sheffield gig i was chatting with Clive and the merchandise guy and he said he had sold 20 t shirts. I think they found it a bit disappointing. I didnt see the girly shirts on the contagion tour. I wish i had!
Hey dude i have a name. I don't remember this particular conversation but we sold a lot more then 20 by the end of the night so the disappointment turned to joy as once again i'd avoided the long walk to the next venue.
Smeg da merch
Sorry Smegal, i didnt know you were he. But 20 was the number that you said when you were sorting out my 4 cds that Clive suggested to me. It was when most people had left but its great that you sold more t -shirts Thanks for being so sweet that night!
I like the idea. Here my analysis for starters. [I though I posted this before, but it either got deleted or I didn't properly post it]
QuoteThe subtle approach was based apon the fans views from the previos tour as i may have told you t'other day.
I kind of follow where that idea came from, but I don't think this was the right solution.
Just my thoughts on this issue. Not becasue I am an expert (thought I did sell Arena-shirts for years), but simply my views based on using my eyes and ears.
- People used to wear tour-shirts to gigs. these usualy were plan black shirts with teh latest album-cover and (if you were lucky) some tour dates.
- Of this kind black shirts sell better than grey ones
- Girls were never very fond of these shirts, since it doesn't really make them look good, because of the complete lack of shape.
- Guys have been wearing these shirts less and less. It's not really considered 'hip' and if you wear them outside a concert (in everyday life) you might even be considered a 'nerd'.
- Prices have gone up for these black, shapeless shirts, but quality hasn't really approved
- People don't want to feel like a 'advertisment', with the latest album-cover on their belly. Hence I understand the remark on subtlelty
I think nowadays people are willing to by a shirt, but not 'a typical Tour-shirt'. A nice, modern piece of clothing, that one can wear on an ordinary saturday, fits nicely and isn't immediately recognised as a 'band-shirt' is much more what people want to spend their money on. Only exceprtion to this is a shirt of a legendary album, that can be considered a "classic". But even then: the shirt has to look temporary and not from the era the album was created in.
I'll give you some examples that I personally like and that might work.
(http://www.rushbackstage.com/store/assets/images/products/rush/MensApparel/RUFL361000L.jpg)
This one looks modern and shows a legendary album, but in a slight reworked shape.
(http://genesis.trinitystreetdirect.com/upload/product/large/22_30.jpg)
A girly (with shape!) and subtle artwork that reflects a great album but doesn't say "BAND-shirt" all over it.
(http://www.itbites.com/merch/shirt-images/wings-sleevesblue.jpg)
This ong sleeved one looks modern and doesn't look like the ordinary tour-shirt. You can wear this on any occasion
(http://images.cafepress.com/product/3022843_240x240_Front_Color-BlueWhite.jpg)
Like the Rush-one. Though it has an album cover: it's legendary, yet modern.
(http://a248.e.akamai.net/f/248/5462/2h/questmuzic.safeshopper.com/images/b101odqz.jpg)
Another two-coloured one, no album-sleeve, just an icon (anybody remember butterfly man?)
(http://www.meixsell.com/ebayIPOD/beatlesIpodhoodiered.jpg)
No shirt, but a hoody. Iconic, legendary and good to wear everyday. What more need I say?
Even if it's something completely different I think "the rule" is: modern, shape, iconic or legendary.
Personally I think the Butterfly Man (because of it's iconic nature) and The Visitor (because of its exceptionally great artwork) were the best Arena-shirts, along with the great contagion girly.
Just produce a polo shirt - you know,with collars etc and with a simple small Arena logo on the breast,perfect for concerts and everyday wear.
And not just in black ! Grey is the in colour ( according to my missus ! ),but a dark/navy blue or green/olive/khaki colour would go down well too.
Then again,we have to have some UK dates before we can buy them - c'mon boys.....and don't forget Cardiff ( or somewhere near ).
On the other hand, as much as I would like to have everyday wear, too, the standard black tour T-Shirt with artwork on the front and tour dates on the back is simply a must-have! Too many wishes, probably...
Quotethe standard black tour T-Shirt with artwork on the front and tour dates on the back is simply a must-have!
Do you really think so? I really am of the impression that this kind of shirt is on it's way out.... unless it's extremely well done (or in the metal-scene, where people sometimes don't seem to give a sh*t what they look like).
I think sales of the kind of shirt you describe have gone down over the years... at least in our music-scene...
Quote from: JJ II on Mon, 2007-06-11, 16:44:09Do you really think so? I really am of the impression that this kind of shirt is on it's way out.... unless it's extremely well done (or in the metal-scene, where people sometimes don't seem to give a sh*t what they look like).
:D That should be the quote of the week!
By the way I LOVE the The Lamb Lies Down shirt! Do you have it?
Or do you know where to get it?
At the moment, it's so hot that I'm going around without a shirt. My fiancée thinks that's art, but I don't know about everybody else.
Nicky.
I love coverart black T-shirts! They are more recognisable for other fans who might see you in the street. It won't be the first time I got into a conversation with a total stranger because I was wearing an Ayreon-shirt for instance! But I must say that a decent black or grey shirt with a small logo is also nice. Something you can wear to church ;D
Quote from: JJ II on Mon, 2007-06-11, 16:44:09
Do you really think so? I really am of the impression that this kind of shirt is on it's way out.... unless it's extremely well done (or in the metal-scene, where people sometimes don't seem to give a sh*t what they look like).
I think sales of the kind of shirt you describe have gone down over the years... at least in our music-scene...
I buy those shirts as fan articles, not to wear them... ::)
Correction: I've been wearing the Ayreon long-sleeve quite a few times...
I only buy t-shirts/longsleeves/etc from the bands i'm a fan of. I have some Ayreon shirts, DT-shirts (well, actually allot. ;D) and i do wear them occasionally. Arena is the one missing. I saw quite a few nice ideas there, JJII. Longsleeves are cool but seem to get very expensive. Black T-shirts are good but are maybe a more metal-thingy. The thing is with black t-shirts that people tend to..ehm..stereotype them if you know what i mean. A bit lighter would do for me. Like the 'Rush' Shirt by the way although i don't think the colours would match with Arena.
The long sleeved girly shirt for the Pepper's Ghost tour is great. I wear it alot and it still looks as good as new. They always seem very well made and it was only £10 which i think was a bargain. Obviously they are a bit smaller than bloke T's but i was happy! And still am!!
What ever the shirts will look like, get some XL's this time ;)
QuoteI buy those shirts as fan articles, not to wear them...
That's my point: people will stop buying them, when they have a closet full of shirts. "why are you buying shirts, when you're not wearing hem, the wife asks?'"
QuoteLongsleeves are cool but seem to get very expensive.
Not so much more. The It Bites shirt was not that expensive, at least not more than an average shirt in a shop.
QuoteIt won't be the first time I got into a conversation with a total stranger because I was wearing an Ayreon-shirt for instance!
I think Ayreon works a bit different, because a) his audience is a bit more in the metal scene as well and b) his artwork is really stunning. That's a plain album-cover on your belly, but a piece of art!
Quotethe standard black tour T-Shirt with artwork on the front and tour dates on the back is simply a must-have!
Well, I think people tend to think about it like that less and less... that's where my original post came from. :D
Quote from: JJ II on Tue, 2007-06-12, 12:15:04
Well, I think people tend to think about it like that less and less... that's where my original post came from. :D
Hmmm, I don't know, I bought a black Toto shirt online recently and I surely will also buy a DT black shirt when I see them on tour on june 26th if it reproduces the Hugh Syme artwork :P
I still have a few of those old shirts that I still wear, i.e. a Joe Jackson
Big World Tour shirt. Well, Ok, this one is a little bit worn out with a few holes and it is more grey than black now ... ;D
I mainly use them for sports (running, climbing) and to attend concerts, or under jackets or pullovers. I admit it is not very fashionable, though ...
By the way, anyone interested by a brand new Toto IV shirt that is too short for me (medium) : my girlsfriend almost broke up when I proposed it to her as a gift ? Teunis ? Warning : it's red ... 8)
Well, Bupie, I think we -here on the board- are some of the most fanatic concert goers, you and I among them... we'll buy black shirts anyway. Mainly because we're dedicaded fans and there is no choice anyway.
My point is: can a band still sell a big amount of T-shirts, if they keep aiming at us hard-liners, or do they need to change the shirt-concept to reach a wider audience?
Imo, the extra's like shirts, badges or even dvd's are for the diehard fans, not for the wider audience.
Quote from: Bupie on Tue, 2007-06-12, 15:20:52
By the way, anyone interested by a brand new Toto IV shirt that is too short for me (medium) : my girlsfriend almost broke up when I proposed it to her as a gift ? Teunis ? Warning : it's red ... 8)
I'm afraid it's too short for me as well. I always buy XL :)