Some people prefer going to concerts in large stadiums, where their favorite bands will dramatically enter the stage with smoke and confetti cascading from the high ceiling. The audience will roar in excitement as the suspense builds. Girls rise from their seats and squeal, swooning over the vocalist as he steps out of the magenta smoke, toward the mic. Various colored lights dance around the room to the beat of the song that landed in the Top-40, and the whole crowd joins in on the chorus. Now, that seems pretty exciting, but what else is there? I feel as though concerts like this lack heart. At least for me. I just don't feel I have gained anything after attending an event like this. Yes, I just called a concert an "event." I find the lengthy distance from the stage, flashing lights, and crazy effects take away from the connection you can have with music at a show. There is no happiness and harmony as pure as when you're in a tiny room, with maybe two or three handfuls of people, and your voices are just piercing the air in unison. It's the best feeling when the music stops, but everyone in the room is still singing their hearts out. The silence during a chant is beautiful. You can hear every last gasp for air, voice crack, and somehow, the passion in everyone's hearts. Nothing beats a chant sung by show-goers in a room. The act is so uplifting and beautiful, even if the words being sung are entirely morbid and depressing. Music takes you through different courses of your life. It's always there. Have you ever had that sudden rush of nostalgia when you revisit an album you used to play on repeat two summers ago? It's almost like time travel. That's why it's so uplifting to sing along with others. It's like you all secretly know the person next to you is going through something, just like you are. Every time I attend a house show, I take something away from it. It's like I learn something new about myself after connecting with complete strangers through lyric. I try to look back on large concerts I attended years ago, and all I can recollect are how the lights were moving, the confetti that fell from the ceiling, or how my feet got cut and bruised in the process. When I look back on different house shows I've gone to in the past, I remember how it felt, how everyone was smiling, and how beautiful it was. Music is the best medicine, especially when shared.
Hightide Hotel in Rockford 1.07.2011
Photo by unknown
No comments:
Post a Comment