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wearing shades on stage

#63
Always thought that I would be wearing sunglasses onstage. Even had a special pair with many different colored lenses that I could swap in and out. Then my eyes went bad, and I had to get prescription glasses to see normally. So much for the special sunglasses. My prescription glasses have Transition® lenses, but indoors, stage lighting doesn't cause them to darken at all. Outdoors...cool! That's the best I can do.

Joe Peavey at Tiki Bar.jpg
 
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#66
. If it’s outdoors in the sun, or indoors and there’s bright lights and you have sensitive eyes, then absolutely. If it’s because of vanity, then that’s……vain, I guess.

I have to have Rx sunglasses or I can’t see the set list or the chord charts. Just plain shades don’t work for me as I am far-sighted.
 
#67
pbass2 said:
Outdoor shows for sure for me, but I've had issues reading my tuner with them on at times! Which leads to the question, on a Peterson Strobostomp woth all the different display color options, which is best for sunglasses?;)
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That is a really good question. You want a filter that detracts from all colors equally. That means light gray. You want non-polarized lenses.

This is a question that would come up among pilots back when I used to fly. Any lens that has color will filter other colors out, favoring the color you selected. Obviously that is really bad for reading instruments. So pilots use very light grey, which filters all colors equally, and non-polarized, so instruments do not appear as mirrors. Forget "glancing to the side," that doesn't work, plus people will think you have a nervous tick.
 
#68
JoeyFab said:
Always thought that I would be wearing sunglasses onstage. Even had a special pair with many different colored lenses that I could swap in and out. Then my eyes went bad, and I had to get prescription glasses to see normally. So much for the special sunglasses. My prescription glasses have Transition® lenses, but indoors, stage lighting doesn't cause them to darken at all. Outdoors...cool! That's the best I can do.

View attachment 7513522
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Have they improved those so when the A/C blasts cold air in your face they don't darken? Used to be a real problem in cold climates.
 
#70
sonic boogaloo said:
just wondered what the general TB consensus was about wearing shades on stage.

some initial thoughts:

PROs - they make me look younger and cooler.
CONs - i like to be aware of my surroundings, shades can interfere with that • can make you look pretentious and ALOOF.
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I have to wear shades on stage, which is not really an issue once you find the right pair of glasses that are tinted just right. My eyes are VERY light sensitive due to photophobia (same reason Joe Bonamassa wears glasses on stage). I find that glasses shaped like classic Ray-Bans work best because I can see clearly under and around the lens but they still block the LED stage lights. So, if you need to/wanna wear sunglasses on stage I see no problem with it.
 
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#73
I have puffy, squinty, piggy eyes. I try to choose glasses that minimize the negatives. Of course dark shades would totally conceal the negatives.

IME wearing dark shades on a dark stage is an uncomfortable experience for me. If there is a bright light source shining in my eyes, shades offer welcome relief. I used to keep a set of shades in my amp rack.

It's been years since I got a set of prescription sun glasses.
 
#76
I don't wear sunglasses on stage however I do wear glasses and they are transitions so if I'm playing outdoors in sunshine, they will darken on their own and look like sunglasses. Also I wear hats. I'm a hat man and love to wear hats. Generally a baseball cap but I've also been known to don the occasional fedora if I want to class things up a bit.
 
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#77
Savage_Dreams said:
Who cares? is it kind of silly in a practical sense to wear the darkest of dark sunglasses in an already usually dark environment, yea, id probably trip over everything. Nothing wrong with them in general though. as far as looks, nothing wrong with it either. Some people who may have some stage fright wear them to sort of zone out the crowd. Stage lights could also be a reason to wear them. If you’re like me and wear prescription glasses, some sort of color tinted or lighter tint sunglasses are a much better look than just wearing my regular glasses. To sum up though, again, who cares! Have whatever style fits you.
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One of these days, before I finally quit for good, I'm going to walk on stage wearing Aviators, with my arms straight out as if I'm feeling around for something, and then I'm going to pretend I almost trip over some large object that isn't there.

 
#79
sonic boogaloo said:
just wondered what the general TB consensus was about wearing shades on stage.

some initial thoughts:

PROs - they make me look younger and cooler.
CONs - i like to be aware of my surroundings, shades can interfere with that • can make you look pretentious and ALOOF.
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For most, no. At my age, I’m not going to look like anything other than what I am, sunglasses or no sun glasses.
 
#80
silky smoove said:
All matters of style and stage aesthetics are dictated by the genre and style of your band. If you're banging out top 40 covers in a dive bar, I'm inclined to say you look silly wearing shades on stage.
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Both of these are recent huge hits, so apparently it's okay:

Deleted first link because it would not show. The video was ROSÉ & Bruno Mars - APT.

 

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