I frequently go to concerts. I like all forms of music and try to see as many artists perform in person as possible. However, while at a recent concert, a curious thought dawned on me: the encore is dead.
 
      Sure, all concerts still have encores. The band exits the stage leaving the fans chanting their names in the dark except for the glow of cigarette lighters and cell phones. Then, after a few minutes, the band comes back onstage and performs a popular song they did not perform during their main set.
 
      Does this sound familiar? If you have been to a concert in the past decade, then it should. After a band’s main set, they leave the stage and then come back on for one, maybe two encores, before the house lights come up and everyone is required to leave the venue.
 
     Most performers these days treat the encore as a given instead of a tribute to their performance. Bands plan on coming back for an encore, and they usually hold over one of their more recognizable songs for it. Gone are the days when a cheering audience can bring a band back onstage for multiple encores. Now, after their two hours are up, a band is ready to leave, and a cheering audience cannot sway their decision.
 
     During the past month, I went to two concerts: Prince’s Musicology Tour and Toots and the Maytals. Both of these groups gave entertaining and spontaneous performances, but both of them only came out for one encore before leaving their cheering audiences still wanting more.
 
     In fact, I have seen more than 100 concerts during the last decade in genres ranging from country to rap, and the only group to give the audience multiple encores that felt like genuine fan appreciation instead of obligation was Hootie and the Blowfish.
 
     I saw Hootie after their album “Cracked Rear View” came out. At this point in their career, the group did not have a significant amount of material, but their show still lasted more than two hours and featured a blend of covers and original music. By the time I left the show—it was starting to get a bit late for me—the band had just finished their fourth encore and was beginning a fifth.
 
     I wish more performers treated their fans this way. Instead of treating the encore as an obligation to the fans, performers should realize an encore is really an audience’s tribute to the performer. It should not be taken as a given. More artists need to realize this and give their fans the respect and the concerts they deserve.