Here we go again. Another brutal night of overly obnoxious song requests, this time at the Orpheum Theater in Omaha where Spoon and Bright Eyes were set to perform. Since about 98 percent of the crowd was most likely there to see Bright Eyes, the heckling and song requests were practically nonexistent during Spoon’s set. Fantastic.

But then came Omaha’s favorite son, Conor Oberst. And with him came the overzealous guys behind me. Yes, these guys were “those guys.” Every concert has them – the fans who beg for certain songs and think it’s cool to scream out “Free Bird,” even if they don’t actually know what that is.

Maybe it was because these guys spent a little too much time at the lobby bar or maybe it was purely because they thought Bright Eyes would listen, but they wouldn’t quit. Before the start of almost every song, “those guys” would yell for Oberst to play “Birthday,” which is, in reality, titled “At the Bottom of Everything,” a song that includes a spoken-word intro about a birthday party. Never once did Oberst fulfill these requests.

Maybe one or two song requests during a whole night of music is tolerable, but repeated pleas to musicians just have to stop, especially if the band shows no sign of honoring the requests. Plus, if the requester doesn’t know the actual title of the song he or she is obnoxiously requesting, chances are the band isn’t going to play it.

Unfortunately, song requests are bound to happen at practically every live show. They always have and always will. But they need to end. There is nothing worse than having your song-listening experience shattered by a couple of noisy bugs in the back. But for all you hecklers out there who are shaking your heads in disagreement, you need to know why it’s not cool to show your support this way.

If you call yourself a fan of the artist – and I’m assuming those guys at Friday’s show do – first off, you should know the titles of the songs if you’re going to bother requesting them. Second, it’s rude to constantly hassle the performer. Obviously, there is a reason the band isn’t going to play whatever song you and your friends find so spectacular. Screaming out song requests makes it seem like you haven’t been satisfied with the show thus far.

I’m going out on a limb to say this, but I bet most bands write up their setlist before the show and follow it pretty closely during their set. Maybe there are some bands out there who drop all plans so they can fulfill requests right on stage, but unless a band asks what you want to hear, let it play what it set out to play.

At Friday night’s show, after I heard “Birthday” shouted for the 9,000th time, I thought there was no hope. Luckily, I was wrong. At that exact moment, I, along with everyone else in the theater, got sweet revenge.

After ending a song and enduring yet another heckling break, Oberst began strumming a reworked version of “Bowl of Oranges,” a song that now shared a very similar introduction with “At the Bottom of Everything.” The guys behind me cheered. I imagine they were exchanging high fives and hugs and I even think they began to sing a few of the lyrics – until they realized Oberst was singing a different tune.

Oh, it was a happy moment. Maybe they finally realized it just wasn’t going to be their night. The requests came to a halt and I was able to enjoy at least one or two heckler-free song breaks.

–Katie Peipel is a junior in journalism and mass communication from Jefferson. She is an assistant Pulse editor for the Daily.