Week 13, Concert Going

Following last week's involved music-making is some involved music listening. As I've stated over and over, music is a tremendously important component of my life--though I am attempting to challenge myself through Hyperliving to make sure that I not only listen to music, but also that I experience it by playing it, going to see it, and of course, writing about it.

The danger of listening to music at home so frequently is that you can lose respect for the great process involved in putting it all together. Last week I really got a sense of what it means to try and get together and face down the void; that is, to come an empty table with some raw product and try to make a meal out of what you have (in my case, meager scraps). I know that for some musicians, this is never something they really worry or even think about. I imagine a guy like Bob Pollard (Guided by Voices) who puts out three or four releases every year doesn't have to do much to come up with new material, but for a lot of artists, even great great ones, coming up with new ideas is a constant struggle, with each new success not building a bridge but instead only setting them up for another possibility of failure. But if they really want to be musicians and dedicate themselves to their music, they just have to keep putting their heads together and dreaming and working hard.

A part of this process for many musicians is "playing it out". As a teenager growing up, I was really into both the Grateful Dead and Phish, and one thing everyone always said about them was that each was a "live band who couldn't be captured properly on a studio record." It wasn't just a saying either--there was a marked difference in what these bands did on a stage than the canned and often lifeless performances that filled their albums.

But obviously, live playing isn't just important for jam bands; pretty much any band can benefit from getting on stage and airing out their music. This week I am investigating this idea by seeing a different band each night--some of whom I know and some who I don't. This is my schedule for the week

Sunday - The Boredoms @ Terminal 5
Monday - The Dodos @ Sound Fix
Tuesday - TBD (recording vocals for The Heart Beats. first)
Wednesday - Beach House @ The Bowery
Thursday - Ratdog @ The Beacon Theatre
Friday - The Blue Album Group @ Glasslands Gallery
Saturday - Chubby Behemoth @ Death By Audio or Tall Firs @ Midway

A nice mix of known and unknown music, both to me and the general public. Show reviews with photos and videos will follow. Let me know if you know anything exciting going on Tuesday night later on, as I hope to fill something in tomorrow after recording (though it will also be ok if i don't). I'm looking forward to what should be another great week of music exploration.