Freebir…. nevermind.

Posted by Jon Lunger, ArtsQuest’s Marketing Manager and “that guy.”

Full disclosure:  I myself am guilty of participating in this activity.

My intentions were noble.  In all honesty, I never wanted to hear the song actually played.  I was just yelling it for a cheap laugh.  It was a battle cry of irony, mostly for my own amusement.  But, Colin Meloy, frontman of The Decemberists, has a point.

I’m talking about yelling out “Freebird” at concerts.

A tradition of almost mythical proportions, its difficult to tell exactly where this cliched attempt at humor originated.   Some say it happened organically, as an extension of captured crowd audio from Skynyrd’s first live album.  I’ve also heard about a half dozen varying stories about radio jocks inventing the gag (all seem to border on urban legend status).  If anyone knows where/how it actually started, please chime in via the comments section of this post.

But I digress.

It matters not where/how it started.  It only matters that it’s time has come.   Like Jeff Foxworthy, is it really funny anymore?   It’s 2011.   It’s high time we all we move on.

I understand that quitting cold turkey (now that’s a Freebird joke) can be difficult.  So, to help you get through these though times, I’m here to offer some suggestions.  If you must yell something, be a little more creative:  

Try yelling “Mass in B Minor” or “Poker Face.”