Undershirts and dark colors are most of it. But it I think the real key is, when you see faces sweat, you’re seeing their makeup running and rubbing off. You’re seeing the makeup changing color and shape dramatically, while their clothes don’t change, and assume that they’re “only sweating on their face.” No, they’re sweating everywhere, it just looks dramatic in one spot.
Plus, lights. Everything else is covered up, but their faces and clear and brightly lit.
They do sweat through their clothes. I used to do live sound at small venues and the performers would absolutely reek once the performance was over.
The difference is that they know this is going to happen, so they plan for it. They wear layers to soak up the sweat and/or darker colors to hide it. They also (sometimes) change between songs/sets if they get too sweaty.
As someone who used to play guitar in high energy punk and hardcore bands, I can tell you definitively that we do indeed sweat through our clothes. Unless we were headlining (in which case we wouldn’t be done playing until roughly 2 AM and taking all our gear back to our practice space took another hour to an hour and a half) I ALWAYS took a shower after a show.
I saw Avett Brothers at a hot outdoor venue a few years ago and you could see the sweat pouring off their hands and face like an athlete and their clothes were completely soaked. At ACL (or any festival) you see the folks in lighter clothes just get absolutely drenched; David Byrne’s trademark gray suits were dark in like 5 minutes during his afternoon set.
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