Music, Art, and Entertainment

Listening to music can evoke all sorts of emotions from laughter to despair. It can cause you to get up on your feet and dance, and it can even cause you to fall asleep. Music can change your mood in a heartbeat. I believe this goes for all sorts of music from pop or rap to musical scores and the soulful blues. Everyone has probably had a fun time dancing to music at one time or another in their life. It might have been while they were completely alone, or it might have even been in a club. And while all of these are nice sounds their is nothing quite as incredible as when you hear the rare artist who can use the atmosphere as their canvas to create masterpieces. This can translate to recorded music that you buy, but it is best when heard live.

I go to concerts for two reasons. One, I go hoping for the entertainment piece. This would be similar to Swany's take on the Simpsons movie. Good entertainment but nothing that would stick with you for months or even years. I have been to many Robert Earl Keen performances and it is just good Texas style entertainment. The only lasting thing from these is just the "good times" memories. I would guess that any pop star concert is going to be the same way - just good memories with your friends.

THe second reason I go to concerts is that I go hoping for the artistic passionate piece to come out. The best part about this reason is that I usually get both peices together - entertainment and art. Going to the symphony fits into this category for me. I can only dream of seeing Jimi Hendrix live because I feel like I would get to experience his passion and his art. I haven't ever seen Dave Matthews yet but I would think this would be a group that presents their art. The same goes for sitting in on a jam session with Stevie Ray Vaughn, or some of the blues greats.

While I will never have the opportunity to listen to Hendrix or SRV live, I have gotten the chance to experience what I am talking about. Last night I was blessed with getting to see not one, but two incredible musicians who are artists that paint the air with passion.

The opening act was Ben Folds. I believe I have let the Kool-Aid Gang know about his live shows before, and I will do it again. First of all, Ben Folds plays the piano, and he only sits about half the time he is playing. He gets the crowd involved with singing notes, and his hands are incredible to watch. And then there is the stuff where he is really funny and smart with what he does. Take for instance that last night he was joking around about how the military has tested low frequency sounds to see what the effects are on people. "14 MHz will make you shit your pants. Well it will at least make the people up in the front do that. Maybe not the people on the lawn. But don't you think that the people who pay more money to see the show should get to shit their pants." (Not an exact quote but pretty darn close.) He then goes on to play an 18 MHz note, then a 16 MHz note, and he stops there for fun. Also take his rendition of a rap song from the early 90's. Claiming that most lyrics nowadays are crappy and we don't listen to them anyway, he takes the lyrics from the rap song, sets it to a nice melody and gets everyone to sing along saying "Bitches can't hang with the streets." He is an amazing entertainer, but he also has amazing artistic talent. Last night while playing the grand piano, he kicked off his shoes and socks, and used his foot to play the electronic keyboard just so he could get the sound he wanted. At another time he reached inside the piano with one hand to directly play the strings while still playing the keys with the other hand. That is some major talent, and the sound that comes from it completely draws me in and involuntarily puts a smile on my face. This is good stuff, and he is worth seeing anytime he comes to your neck of the woods.



Finally the showcase of the evening was John Mayer. Most people would say he is a pop artist, but he loves on a guitar the way I would imagine Hendrix or SRV would. My wife thought there were too many jam sessions in his set, I couldn't disagree more. I have heard some jam sessions with other artists that just didn't need to be there. They don't have the passion. I feel that they just want the recognition of being a rock star. Mayer's ability, however, to close his eyes and feel the music effortlessly release itself from the prison of silence is beautiful. I get the feeling listening to him that he would free those sounds regardless of who or if anyone was even listening. What an amazing show. It doesn't have to be Mayer, but I hope everyone gets to experience passionate music live just once in their lifetime.