The last few months we have started to get back to some sort of normality and now that we coming to what is hopefully the end of the Covid pandemic, one of the things that have thankfully starting to come back is music concerts and at the moment, most of the gigs that are taking place are ones that were first due to happen in 2020/21. Some of these gigs I bought tickets for two and a half years ago so when reminders pop up on my phone its a nice surprise, having forgotten that I bought the tickets in the first place. But more importantly, bands have started to announce new tours for the rest of this year.
There is something special about seeing a band that you like live, it’s being in the same room as someone you have listened to for years whether its for the first time or for the twenty-fifth time (like with the Manic Street Preachers, who are just as good or even better than the last time you saw them, even after all these years). Every time you hear a song live it sounds different, but always better than hearing on the radio or CD. There is an atmosphere that builds up in the venue that makes that moment something you will always remember.
I’ve mentioned in a pervious blog that music is very important to me, it helps me a lot. I always connect songs to people I know or moments in time. Zombie Nation will always remind me of watching Wales play football, Three Little Birds by Bob Marley reminds me of a good friend, Church on Sunday by Green Day another good friend (the album it’s from also means a lot). These are just a few examples, there are hundreds more, but I’m sure like you most of the songs you reading this you all have a connection with certain songs.
You can imagine how seeing the person(s) who wrote the songs performing them is a special moment for us. But what I didn’t realise until last month, when I started going to gigs again was how much I would miss them after two years.
Standing in front of your favourite bands with them singing your favourite songs is very emotional, an emotion that is very unique to live music. It’s hard to replicate this feeling, it doesn’t happen listening to a ‘Live’ album or watch a concert on TV. Standing in front of the stage at the time the first chords are being played can bring tears to your eyes, more so now that we lost two years of live music, I have started to realise what we missed out on these past couple of years.
This past month I have been to three live gigs (The Fratellis, Jake Bugg and Blondie) and one thing that have gotten in the way of the this wonderful feeling of being in the moment is that when the artist on stage starts to sing a popular song, hundreds of mobile phones appear out of nowhere and start filming. Something special is happening a few metres away from them and they watch it through a small screen. Sacrificing being in the moment just so they can post on social media. What I saw in the last gig was lots of people filming themselves singing along to the band. Am I getting old and not understand trends? I mean who even sits through the entire song when people post the band doing it? I just scrolled through twenty posts on twitter of people filming Paul McCartney singing Hey Jude, I really don’t want to watch you singing it. Ending this rant I just want to add one thing, by all means take pictures, I was take a few. They look so much better than the videos, take a couple of pictures or film a few seconds of the song and put away your phone and live in the moment.
So, when you feel comfortable being back out in large crowds, go and see live music as often as you can. Go to the small venues as well as the arenas and stadiums, the smaller venues are more intimate and also the tickets will not cost you a small fortune. Remember there is nothing like hearing your favourite songs being sung to you while you stand at the feet of your favourite bands.
Stephen Baker's Blog 