Contemplations/ List making

Am I easily impressed? It seems that way.

I come out of (almost) every single concert I go to in awe. Tonight was Maroon 5. I already knew they would be good because I saw them 2 years ago.

List of concerts that did not impress me or were disappointing (that I can think of at the top of my head):

-Our Lady Peace

-Keane

-Good Charlotte

-The Fray

Average concerts (this list is longer):

-Goo Goo Dolls

-Third Eye Blind

-Boys Like Girls

-All Time Low

-Copeland

-Blink 182

-Simple Plan

-Fall Out Boy

-... list goes on...

AMAZING concerts:

-John Mayer 2008?

-Backstreet Boys 2008?

-Butch Walker

-Ingrid Michaelson

-Jason Mraz

-Maroon 5

-Anberlin

-Metric

-Incubus

-Dashboard Confessional

-The Spill Canvas

-Muse

-...list goes on....

Going through typing this, I realize I've seen a lot of acts. This is a list of acts I have not seen yet that I want to see.

-Britney Spears

-Lifehouse

-Hoobastank

-Gavin Degraw

-A Fine Frenzy

-Bryan Adams

List of acts that I'd be interested in seeing, but not DYING to see:

-Taylor Swift

-Alanis Morrisette

-The Ataris

-Something Corporate

-Matchbox 20

-Michael Buble

Acts that I'd love to watch but I can't due to an unfortunate circumstance known as death:

-Michael Jackson

-Nirvana

-The Beatles

I have pretty much seen everything I've wanted to see. I wouldn't mind seeing them again though. So where do I go from here? After seeing everything on my list, I mean... It's strange to be at an end. Will there be more bands I'd like to see live in the future? Probably.

It's hard to put into words what I'm feeling now. The closest I can come to is this: the more I see, the less impact it has on me. I remember being so excited for my first concert: Stabilo. I had the lead singer sign my jacket. I was infatuated. Then I was better prepared for the next concerts I would go to- bringing a fully charged camera; listening to the CDs for months before the concert, knowing things like there are set lists to be collected; knowing that sometimes the artist comes out to meet fans. Knowing that the real cost of the plastic, materials, transportation of a CD is only about $2.50- when they charge up to $30 for one in retail. Mosh pits are dangerous, how to push through a crowd, the best spots to get the closest you can to a stage... what you can or can't bring into a concert venue... It's been 5 years of learning this stuff. It has been fun, but where does it bring me now?

We cannot escape from who we are

I just realized that I'm quite a nerd about music. Why am I even in Journalism sometimes?

Today my mom was discussing the WikiLeaks thing on the ride home from seeing Kings of Leon, and I had no interest at all. I wanted to talk about guitar riffs and what makes a certain riff so catchy, why does it hook you in?

I don't know if I could last in Journalism for long. I mean, I love writing and I have a great curiosity for discovering new things- but really. My passion is music.

This reminds me of that Matt Damon movie I saw recently: Rounders (1997). In the end, though he was studying to become a lawyer (a respectable profession), he found out that he really shined at being a poker player. And he went on to Vegas.

We really can't be anything but ourselves.

Inspired again...

I guess this is sort of like a journal for me. I mean, I only have one follower... Hi Katie!

So tonight I was at the Lilith Concert, it's a festival featuring all women performers and it celebrates women in music- since the music industry is a mostly men business.

It was a nice change to see all these women artists- some established, some rising. All of them performing, showing everyone how strong they were, how capable they are. How talented they are.

Sarah McLachlan in particular was amazing. I knew most of her songs- I didn't even realize she had so many hit singles! She is such a great role model for any singer songwriter. She is well-established in the music industry, has such powerful, evoking songs. They are all beautifully written, in her own style, yet they all sound different. She's also a great performer- granted, she's had years of experience, but still. That is something to be admired. I had tears in my eyes at one point- she is so good at what she does. And she doesn't even need to speak to fill time or to convey a story better. She just uses her music to affect the crowd. (Then again, she doesn't really have time to talk since her set was only an hour)

The whole show today, I was working, but I had the perfect standing spot so I could watch the show and still look like I was working. It was perfect. Tonight was a perfect night.

I realize that if I want to make it in the music industry, I have to work really hard. No way my vocals can match up to the ability to any of the women that performed here tonight. No way could my vocal abilities even match up to the street performer I saw yesterday at the Jazz Fest- of the girl who was younger than me.

I'm anticipating hours and hours and hours of practice ahead. It's going to be a long road...

YouTube Listening

I listened to a few tracks on YouTube today. Some artists are so good at evoking their audience, I had tears in my eyes!

I have decided that one of my goals in performing is to make people feel strong emotion.

Conversations

This occurred at work with my co-worker while we were watching the Juno Awards today after a particularly bad performance.

Me: That was terrible! There's a real difference between playing a song and performing you know?

Dan: Yeah I know what you mean. When you're on the guitar, you have to be out at the front of the stage, it's almost like having sex with the audience using your guitar.

Me: Mhm

Dan: If your guitar isn't pregnant by the end of the show, you're not playing it right.

Life on the stage

One of my favourite places to be is up on a stage with bright lights and a cheering audience. I don't know what it is about performing that I like so much- maybe the pride of accomplishing the task of entertaining people, maybe its the enthusiasm from the crowd (you don't get people clapping and cheering for you everyday), or maybe I just like the attention...

Whatever the reason is, I know I'm addicted to performing.

I love the adrenaline rush of knowing that everything can go wrong on the stage. I remember the one of the first times I had to perform music by myself infront of a large audience- my whole school. Weeks before, I already had a nervous feeling in my gut. I was clammy and sweaty the day of the performance, but right after I got off stage a wave of relief washed over me and that knotted feeling in my stomach was gone. The feeling of hearing a gymnasium full of people clap and cheer for you is unlike any other. There is no experience comparable to it. It is what it is, there is nothing similar or something that is replaceable to this feeling. It's one of the greatest feelings on earth.

However, no matter how many times I perform, I have this feeling that I will always be nervous before stepping on stage. My heart starts beating like its going out of style, my hands get clammy and I start breathing really quickly. The first moment I'm on stage though, and the audience responds, I'm fine. I'm loving it. I'm loving the bright lights, the show biz, having a microphone...

And then I finish my performance and the audience claps and I step off the stage with a really great feeling. I feel good for the rest of the day.

Then it starts all over again... I sign on to do another show, and the process repeats. Clammy hands, heart racing...