remfreeman

Tonight, after a week long absence, our posting will be powered by the sound of "First Breath After a Coma", once again by Explosion's in the Sky.

I know it's been awhile since my last posting up here, but as I had to go back to school/work this week, I've just been generally tired as all hell when I get home at night, so please excuse me for that. However, since today was the end of Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement, I figured it would be a good time to come back and post some love. So here I am, no ego, no gym class status, just Rem.

So I actually had a good Friday night in Chicago this past week, which I think is a first for me since I've moved here. It's been really hard for me to meet people and just generally make friends in this city, so actually having people over drinks and grilling steaks was a huge deal for me, and thankfully it went off without a hitch. And while I might have been the fifth wheel in all of this, it was still really nice to be able to relax and have fun instead of just doing chores in my apartment for the umpteenth week in a row.

I've also come to another realization since last we've spoken: I need to go see more concerts. One of the biggest things I can attest to, and I think all music fans will agree to this, is that the feelings and emotions conveyed in music are so radically different in concert form, it's like hearing your favorite songs for the first time. Add to that the energy of the crowd, pulsating with anticipation for that next great song or opening guitar riff, and you get a sensation that can't be felt anywhere else. It is like the music is being reborn, and you and the crowd have the pleasure of seeing it in person.

If anything, this is why I so seldom buy live performance CDs and DVDs. It's akin to trying to put an experience that must be seen firsthand in order to understand on a form of media that simply cannot convey those emotions. Sure, I can hear the music, I can see the band on stage, and I can even feel the roar from the crowd depending on whether or not I have a bass speaker set up. But a live concert is so much more that. It's the excitement you feel when the band comes on stage after you've waited for who knows how long. It's the sway of the crowd to the beat, and you making up a part of that sway. It is the greatest concentration of love and emotion packed into a singular area at once. To try and experience that from a DVD, well, you might as well try to experience what sex is like from porn.

Okay, maybe that was a stretch, but you get the idea.

So now hear I sit in bed, drinking tea, typing up this post, and listening to Explosions in the Sky, thinking that should I ever get the chance, one would have to lock me up in order to stop me from seeing them live. And I think that's really just the start. So now it beings, my love affair with music and concerts. Hopefully this will be a healthy relationship.

So now let me finish up this rather long winded rant with a question to all of you. What has been the greatest musical experience for you? A concert, a song, or was it simply a moment in time? Let me know, so that way I'll at least be sure there are other people out there like me.

"A concert is not a live rendition of our album. It's a theatrical event."
Freddie Mercury

In the meanwhile, good night everyone, and may you experience some good music today.