Going to a Lot of Nostalgia Concerts + Buying Vintage Band Tees

Hello, WNVM-ers!

So few people deserve the designation of “icon,” but we lost three of them over the weekend. Shannen Doherty, Dr. Ruth, and Richard Simmons occupied very different echelons in the ‘80s and ‘90s, but all were omnipresent during those decades. We hope Shannen is introducing everyone to Luke Perry (sob). (By the way, if you find Simmons fascinating, we highly recommend this podcast for the story of his life and mysterious disappearance from the public in 2014.) 

This week, Cheryl wonders whether she is a total loser because of the sheer number of throwback concerts she’s been attending. She went on a deep dive into the purpose of nostalgia and tries to figure out whether there actually are a lot of ‘80s and ‘90s musicians touring right now or if she has just managed to find every single one of them and purchased tickets. 

Then, Fawnia talks to an expert who risked his own life sourcing authentic vintage concert t-shirts for tips on how to spot your own. (She’s also working on a feature about the demand for vintage band tees, so stay tuned.) 

At the end, find newsy tidbits about Winona, the Beastie Boys, and slouchy boots.

So Put Another Dime in the Jukebox, Baby

Don’t feel bad about wanting to see the musicians of your youth

By Cheryl

Some of the tour shirts I’ve purchased recently. Yes, there are two from the Madonna Celebration Tour. Photo: Cheryl Wischhover

Over the past few years I’ve been to see Depeche Mode, the Violent Femmes, New Order + Pet Shop Boys, Madonna, Liz Phair, and Barenaked Ladies (grudgingly). I had Erasure tickets, but they cancelled. I’m seeing Jane’s Addiction and OMD in the fall and am trying to convince my friend to see — go ahead and make fun of me here — Air Supply. (Yes, I’m an AirHead. The pop ballad is a dying art!)

No matter what your preferred genre, there’s a good chance a favorite artist from the ‘80s or ‘90s is touring now or has recently. Many are celebrating career anniversaries and album milestones, and not necessarily touring to support new music. Here’s a partial list: 

Cyndi Lauper, Blink-182, Janet Jackson, Mötley Crüe, Debbie Gibson, Cypress Hill, Rick Springfield, Green Day/Smashing Pumpkins/Rancid, Joan Jett + Alanis Morissette, Skid Row, New Edition, Journey + Def Leppard, Foreigner + Styx, Weezer, NKOTB + Paula Abdul, Spin Doctors (will they just play that one song for 90 minutes?), Billy Idol, Garth Brooks, Jewel + Melissa Etheridge, Wu-Tang Clan, Heart, Enrique Iglesias + Ricky Martin, Missy Elliott 

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The whole purpose of our newsletter is to explore how brands and entities are monetizing ‘80s and ‘90s nostalgia: the Nostalgia Industrial Complex. Are all these throwback tours the work of that shadowy collective?

I used to work for Vox, so I dug into my explainer toolbox to help me with the two concepts at the heart of it. First, I wanted to really understand why nostalgia is such a potent — and potentially money-making — force. (There’s definitely a part of me that thinks it might be bad to indulge in it. *Carrie Bradshaw voice* Am I out of touch because I care more about Brats than “brat”?) And second, I needed to find out if there actually are a lot more legacy acts touring than there were five years ago, or if I am just noticing them all now because I inexplicably have the urge to belt “All Out of Love” at the top of my lungs in a theater.

ALWAYS SOMETHING THERE TO REMIND ME

To understand how nostalgia works on our psyches, I called Dr. Clay Routledge, a psychologist, researcher, and the author of Past Forward: How Nostalgia Can Help You Live a More Meaningful Life. He’s studied and published academic papers on the concept and also consults with entertainment and media companies (he is staying mum on which ones) that are interested in harnessing it in their programming. 

Routledge, who is a Gen X-er, explains that nostalgia is rooted in the concept of self-continuity. “I want to be connected to myself. I want to evolve, but at the same time I want to feel like there's some part of me that remains stable across time,” he says. “We do this by looking back at our memories.” Few things evoke memories like music does. 

A shot from my vantage point at Madonna’s show at Chicago’s United Center. Photo: Cheryl Wischhover

The reason a throwback concert is so appealing is because a lot of our experiences happen to be shared more broadly. “We're not just individuals living in our own heads, we're social and cultural creatures. And so we also have what's referenced as ‘cultural continuity.’ We want to feel like we're part of a broader narrative that extends beyond the self,” says Routledge. 

I am likely not the only one who stared at the “Like a Virgin” album cover and imagined what my life could be like if I had that bustier. When I went to Madonna’s “Celebration Tour” a few months ago, I was not the only one in my row crying my mascara off. 

I teared up at the Liz Phair concert, too. Both artists were formative for me during chaotic times: I found Madonna when I was a young teen uprooted from a city to the suburbs, suddenly without friends in a bizarre new land. Phair, of “Fuck and Run” fame, was a beacon in my tumultuous early 20s, when I was working three jobs and trying to figure out how to pay my rent and not date bad, bad men. Going back to them for comfort at another messy life stage makes sense. 

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Obviously Covid was and still is a traumatic event for everyone, and we are living in terrifying times generally. But on top of that, a lot of Gen X-ers are moving through menopause (which is a psychologically and physically, uh, challenging time), facing their kids leaving home, dealing with ailing parents and partners, and fighting ageism in their jobs. It’s not surprising that some of us just want to rock out to Def Leppard. 

“People tend to become more nostalgic when they're experiencing distress or uncertainty about the future,” says Routledge. Aging pushes us there, too. He points to research showing that around 40, “revisiting our nostalgic memories makes us feel younger than our age. It's what's sometimes referred to as ‘subjective age.’ There's like a fountain of youth in our nostalgia, and I think we are wanting to pull energy from that.”

LET THE MUSIC PLAY

In 2023, researchers published a study on Spotify listening habits during the pandemic lockdowns. It showed that a lot of people were listening to throwback music, particularly when they felt lonely. While the study did not break out which decades were most popular, the researchers found there was a renewed appetite for retro music compared to 2019. 

Routledge says he’s not sure that we are in a particularly nostalgic moment compared to any other time in the last two decades, but what is true is that, thanks to streaming, it’s a lot easier to see and hear old stuff. And Gen X-ers are greenlighting ideas and writing more of the checks now. Routledge has consulted with some of them about which nostalgic projects might be appealing. 

“I'm over-simplifying it because there's obviously a natural feedback loop between what the market wants and rewards and what the creators put out,” he says. “But there’s a lot of people our age, whether it’s filmmakers or executives or musicians, that are in a position to be like, ‘Oh, I want to see this.’” (To wit: Ted Sarandos and Michael Rapino, the CEOs of Netflix and Live Nation, respectively, are both 59.) 

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When I started to look at concert archives, a lot of the artists I’ve seen have been touring fairly regularly since the 2010s, when streaming fully took hold. So I needed hard data about whether we are actually in a Gen X touring golden age. 

I reached out to Pollstar, which tracks the global concert industry, and was told the stats I was seeking were “custom research and that takes a lot of time and is very expensive.” We are not the New York Times over here, so that was not an option. (We don’t have a paywall up yet, but we do have paid subscriptions available here if you’d like to support our reporting and writing, so that someday we can commission super niche research.) However, they were kind enough to send me a list of the 200 top grossing tours for the first half of 2024, so I did some low-tech counting. 

The top 50 highest grossing tours include Madonna (#2), U2 (#3), Billy Joel, Billy Joel + Sting, Billy Joel + Stevie Nicks (tour with Billy Joel if you want to make money!), Tool, Mariah Carey, Depeche Mode, and Enrique Iglesias + Ricky Martin, among others. This data is not that helpful without comparison years and doesn’t address smaller artists, but it shows me that there is demand. But I still wanted more answers. 

Jake Rudh, a DJ in the Twin Cities, makes a living serving up Gen X musical nostalgia. He hosts a longstanding sell-out ‘80s dance party as owner of Transmission Music, DJs at Minnesota Public Radio, livestreams ‘80s alternative/new wave sets on Twitch (which attracted the attention of the music supervisor for “Euphoria”), and is a micro-influencer on Instagram and X. He has also had a literal front row seat at hundreds of shows for the same bands he plays and loves, often hired as the warm-up DJ when they hit town. So I asked him if he thought more ‘80s and ’90s bands were out on the road now. 

“We were starting to see more interest in it pre-pandemic. But after the pandemic, it's just been [open] floodgates,” Rudh says. In particular, he’s seen an uptick in “packaged tours,” where several smaller acts band together, like Totally Tubular, Abducted by the ‘80s, Lost Eighties Live, I Love the ‘90s, and competing new wave festivals Cruel World Festival and Darker Waves. Plenty of larger acts are also doubling up. 

But “it’s not just legacy artists,” he says. “Everyone is out on the road because that's how they earn their money.” Statistics support this touring boom.  

It’s been well documented that artists make a pittance from streaming. In 2023, Spotify paid an average of $0.004 per stream, or to put it another way, a million streams is equal to about 115 t-shirts sold. Touring is not a guaranteed money maker. Musicians have to pay everyone, from promoters to roadies. Then there’s the Ticketmaster/Live Nation alleged monopoly, which gouges both the musicians and their fans. Plus, smaller venues sometimes try to control their soaring costs by taking a cut of merch sales. But touring definitely gives musicians their best chance at making some money. And obviously it’s a great way to connect with fans. 

I’M STILL STANDING AFTER ALL THIS TIME 

So. Annoyingly, I can’t conclusively prove that more acts from my youth are touring. It could well be the Baader-Meinhof effect, the theory whereby you notice something once and then start seeing it everywhere. But, outrageous ticket prices and reseller scams aside, you can pretty easily see a favorite musician from the ‘80s or ‘90s now. With everyone out on the road, it stands to reason that means an increase in our old faves, too.

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As far as the nostalgia of it all, I’m finally convinced it’s not a negative force. Going to shows is a joyful experience. Dancing with friends, singing the songs whose lyrics I will remember on my deathbed, and communing in a venue filled with people my own age who GET IT has been really cathartic for me. It feels so good, in fact, that I’m spending a small fortune running after that high over and over. Worth it! 

Rudh talks to a lot of these musicians, and it seems to be worth it for them as well. “I've heard this from a lot of the artists that we love: ‘It means so much to me to see the fans, what joy these songs bring to the fans.’”

So go ahead and indulge. “[Nostalgia] makes [people] more energized. It increases a sense of meaning in life,” says Routledge. “In a lot of ways, nostalgia energizes us for the future.”

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I Know This Much is True

A quick, expert guide to buying a real vintage concert t-shirt

By Fawnia

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I am the biggest sucker for a vintage concert t-shirt. Maybe because I’m reliving my youth, or I will forever regret not snagging mementos from the 1991 “Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em World Tour” (with openers En Vogue and Vanilla Ice!!) and a stop on Warrant-Trixter-Firehouse’s “Blood, Sweat and Beers” run. (Btw, who’s seen Janet Planet?)

My favorite recent purchases so far: a Def Leppard 1987 “Hysteria World Tour” tee from Vantage in Salt Lake City, a Bon Jovi “Slippery When Wet”-era one (complete with a cigarette burn hole) from Somstack-approved Front General, a Phil Collins 1985 Hot Tub Club DIY-ed crop top (for, I swear to god, $20 from Philly’s Briar Vintage in 2016, maybe), and a mid-aughts “Return of the Spice Girls” cut-off from a Tokyo vacation. (The staffer at a Shimokitazawa boutique shoved it into my welcoming arms the second I walked in — she was good.)

But especially considering how much throwback merch tees cost now, I want to know I’m investing in the real thing. So, I asked an expert who buys and sells vintage t-shirts for a living. “There's no quote unquote rules,” says Baltimore-based Trash X Closet owner Donovan Levy. “But there are several tells.”

CHECK THE TAG

“The easiest way is looking at the tag on a shirt,” says Levy. “A lot of the vintage ones are gonna say, ‘Made in the USA.” Manufacturing of t-shirts, as well as apparel in general, began moving to the Global South in the late-’80s and early-’90s. Also, look at the fabric, as vintage tees are usually made from high quality 100% cotton or a cotton-polyester blend.

TAKE LICENSE

Artists and record labels also worked with specific brands for licensed merch through the ‘90s. So the actual brand names are telltales, like Gem, Giant, Liquid Blue and Wild Oats. “Brockum is an extremely popular shirt that's for sure 1990s,” says Levy. (Although, yes, counterfeit tags abound. So here’s a guide to spotting the fakes.)

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STITCH UP

But, the shirt is (hopefully) decades old, and perfectly beat up. What if there's no tag? “A good way to tell is the stitching,” says Levy. Circa-‘70s to ‘90s shirts usually have a single row, as compared to the double of today, on the bottom and sleeve hems. Less precise seam-work, plus faded/discolored thread, may also communicate aging. And, yes, this is all a breeze to do while shopping in person. But if you’re buying online or via Instagram, ask the vendor for close-up photos of the tag and hems to analyze. 

UN-EVEN OUT

“A lot of the shirts now that are made to look vintage almost feel too worn in or too lived-in,” says Levy, suggesting a tactile test to root-out the “faux faded shirt” often sold at mass retailers. Another red flag: If the supposedly timeworn gray looks flawlessly uniform. Real-time distressing of a garment creates an uneven, weathered fabric. 

FIND THE SOURCE

The provenance of the t-shirt could also be an indicator, especially if the seller procured the shirt straight from an individual owner willing to part with their precious vintage merch. Plus, you could hear a good story. 

Levy remembers risking his life for a major haul just days before the 2020 lockdown. “[The owner] was like, ‘I have a ton [of shirts], you should just come into my house,’” says Levy, jumping in his car and driving over two-hours to West Virginia. “He was this old punk guy, who just had stacks of t-shirts, as tall as me, in his living room.” 

Levy left with Misfits and Minor Threat t-shirts, plus two piles of Beastie Boys tees — deadly airborne virus and potential serial killer situation be damned. “I was in the middle of nowhere, like really up close and personal with this stranger,” says Levy. “I got the shirts, so it was worth it and I'm alive. I'm here to tell the tale.”

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You Oughta Know

• Winona Ryder covers Harper’s Bazaar for a sixth time. The photo feature also serves as a fashion teaser for the Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice red carpet at the Venice Film Festival premiere. [Harper’s Bazaar]

• Here is a “Stranger Things” season 5 first look and behind-the-scenes sneak peek — gird your loins (and more Winona!) [Netflix YouTube]

• After getting cancelled last year, it appears the Madonna biopic may be on again. Let’s hope Julia Garner is still attached. [Hollywood Reporter]

• In weird legal news, the Beastie Boys are suing the parent company of Chili’s for sabotaging “Sabotage” by using it in a 2022 ad without permission. [CBS News]

• The Genius of Judy, a new book about Judy Blume’s life and legacy, dropped this week. [Simon & Schuster]

• It’s time to start digging in your closet, because apparently both slouchy boots and Frye boots are back. [After School]

• Tom Cruise allegedly knocked Rob Lowe out while they were boxing in their hotel after a day of shooting The Outsiders. Who are you rooting for in the rematch? [Hollywood Reporter]