the live show experience
Fall brought a plethora of shows to Montreal. I bought my tickets in advance because I knew I just wouldn't go if I had to muster the interest on each show's day.
Where has my interest gone?
Of course, there's laziness, the first answer to every problem in my life these last few years. Looking deeper, I see that I'm getting bored with the whole live show process. I used to be immensely inspired by the live experience, but this has happened less and less lately.
After being personally disappointed by the Magnolia Electric Co. and Delgados shows, I was ready to swear off going to shows altogether. "Why bother?" was the only rational I needed.
Then, last night, I went to see Do Make Say Think. I've seen them live several times but I always greatly enjoy their shows. I'm not totally sure why. To me, their live show outlines the brilliance of their studio music. All the intricate elements on their songs jump out when heard live. I often zone-out during the show, completely immersed in the music. I think they're the only band that has that effect on me every time I see them.
So I loved the show, even if the sound was bad and the band messed up here and there. The lesson here is that I'm not quite through with going to shows.
And just to make sure I feel stupid about the whole thing, I just came back from the modern dance show Blush by the dance company Ultima Vez. It was amazing. A furious show packed with very original, surprising visual elements. The relentless desire to amaze and destabilize the audience could be held against the show, but I understand the choreographer here. I would have been guilty of the same offence.
Seeing the shows reminded me that I still have the sensibility to be touched by live art, I just have to accept that I'll be disappointed more often then when I was young.
I was ready to move on an concentrate exclusively on creating my own stuff, but I see now that, at some point along the line, I matured and no longer feel threatened by seeing fully-developed ideas that I could have come up with. I know that if I work long and hard I can create things as amazing.
Well, I'll never be good enough to match the visual design of that dance show, but trying should be a good enough journey.