Concerts: For Better or Worse?
by Gillian Linman
I'm a fan of music - I mean really, who isn't? And in this magical world of melody and lyrics, full of CDs, music videos and posters, lies the inevitable and forever anticipated concert. Ah yes, the concert, where you finally hear your favorite band or musician without all of the filters and effects of a modern day recording. This experience is unique in that it can be either ridiculously surreal, jaw-dropping etc. - or a massive disappointment, complete with tears of dissatisfaction (not that I would know from experience or anything). This is all to say that concerts are a rare and varying experience, thrilling to the music lover and a good time for everyone else. But what's really the selling point? Is it the band, the music, the lights, the ambiance, the crowd? What makes it all so surreal? Why do we willingly dish out obscene amounts of money to go to concerts? Well, I'm here to tell you just that.
Venture with me to a about a month - Friday October 26th, to be exact -the day that began my week and a half escapade of four concerts, two of which were back to back. On Friday the 26th, I headed to the Highline Ballroom (a music venue in Chelsea), where I was to see Rosie Thomas, one of my all-time favorite singer/songwriters who reigns from my hometown of Seattle-woot woot! (I know, completely unnecessary words of cheering, but it was what I was thinking so...)
Anyway, the show was amazing. I could have listened to her sing for hours. I must have looked ridiculous staring up at her the whole time like a wide-eyed child hoping she would glance my way. Not only was she an amazing performer, but her stage presence was unreal - and when I say unreal I really mean quite real, genuine, and authentic. She would tell completely unrelated stories, make jokes that pertained to nothing at all, and best of all, you could tell that making and performing music was her love. This was so refreshing considering so many bands these days are all about the production - putting on the best show, even it means sacrificing the quality and significance of their art. Wow, I just turned into one of "those" kids - you know, the really opinionated, snobby music ones. I promise I'm really not; I don't think I'm allowed to be one, considering Justin Timberlake is one of favorite guilty pleasures... okay, maybe not even "guilty."
On to the next show: Say Anything and Hellogoodbye on Tuesday the 30th; and although I wasn't familiar with an abundance of either's music, the shows proved to be fairly entertaining - and dare I say even good. (Although, I must say that the number of guitar players in Say Anything was a little ridiculous - how many people can it possibly take to play the same riff over and over?) I also loved their whole "we are so not a part of the scene" attitude, all the while being completely a part of the scene. I suppose this is the irony they are going for. Despite all of this, they were pretty fun to watch ,and I must admit their new album is pretty good. Hellogoodbye was equally as entertaining, and the lead singer is seriously the cutest true nerd front man of a band I have ever seen. He was so skinny—I may or may not be able to take him in a fight. I guess I'll never know for sure. But the hands-down selling point of this show for me was the people. The crowd was ridiculous in the best way possible. I saw everything from the awful 13-year-old hardcore dancers to the hipster doofus with his arms crossed, pretending to have a miserable time while occasionally tapping his foot to the beat—but not too obvious; he doesn’t want anyone to know he actually likes the music, duh.
And then there were two—two concerts left, that is. Wednesday October 31st: let's just say I had a Halloweenhead. Ryan Adams anyone? Yes please. Besides the unbelievably annoying lights—I swear the lighting was so over produced my head was going to explode—the show was amazing, musically speaking. Ryan Adam's is a musical genius, and you don’t even have to appreciate his style of music to admit that. The man wrote two full-length albums in a matter of months when his label wasn’t pleased with the original one he gave them; That's talent folks, raw talent. Other than the pure awe-worthy music, my favorite part of the show was the token 35-year-old smoking pot right in front of me. Yes, sir, you are officially cool now—in fact, I have heard that smoking such substances completely invalidates that fact you are at a show by yourself on Halloween. Ah well; good for him.
And rounding up the concert extravaganza, everyone's guilty pleasure - Dashboard Confessional on Monday November 5th. I really don't have much to say regarding this except maybe that knowing and singing the words to every song played was a pretty amazing experience - that and seeing a girl on the balcony almost fall off onto the stage because she was singing so intensely. At this particular concert, it was just Chris and his guitar, and you know, he's really good at coming up with catchy songs; just because they're a little emo doesn't mean they're not good. He's also as charming as you would guess, although rather short-bummer. Nevertheless, hearing the audience practically drown out the performer was actually kind of cool. It showed that people had such an intense love for his music that they had remained faithful to it for years and years. In my opinion, this has to be one of the highest honors a band or performer can receive: coming to the realizations that people accept and love your music.
So there you have it; four concerts in eleven days—probably not a record, but still pretty intense. And what did I learn? What is it about concerts that get people so excited? Well, it's a lot of things: it’s seeing the person you love doing the thing you know that they love with a type of passion that seems nonexistent in the real world; it’s observing the ridiculous characters of the crowd, taking note of their every action, hoping they will do something stupid; it’s being mesmerized by the quality of music that graces your ears, closing your eyes occasionally to avoid the overbearing glare of lights; and finally, it’s the bearing-your-soul, singing-at-the-top- of-your-lungs experience that will leave you begging for more, if only you had the voice to. And it’s pretty much as simple as that. This is why we dish out obscene amounts of money; this is why we wait in unruly long lines; this is why we spend hours trying to pick out the right outfit—because we want an experience unlike anything we’ve ever known. We want to be entertained. We want to be blown away, and to leave every show speechless, thinking, “Now that is what music should sound like.”
