Saturday, November 05, 2005
Gig Journal
Returned to Little Pleasures last night. While enjoyable, it was a more workman-like gig. No elevated blood pressure, no heavy breathing, no fire. Certainly nothing that approached the out-of-body.
I’ve been contemplating what separates the fiery gigs from the mundane. What factors prohibit or hinder me from having that elevated experience, at any particular time and place. Was it the fact I slept all afternoon? Was it the music I listened to on the way there? Was it my band mates, or their technical difficulties? Was it the small audience, or was it the largely empty room? Was it all the detritus from the rest of my mundane life that I couldn’t shake off?
This gig was also an example of the nature of shared experience. While I felt it was just “o.k.” there were those audience members who were really into it, who did find joy in it. What did they experience that I did not? How can I (or the band as a whole) transmit to the audience something we may not be experiencing ourselves?
Tonight, another gig in another place, but like Little Pleasures a place we have played often. If I can get out of my way, the experiment shall continue…
I’ve been contemplating what separates the fiery gigs from the mundane. What factors prohibit or hinder me from having that elevated experience, at any particular time and place. Was it the fact I slept all afternoon? Was it the music I listened to on the way there? Was it my band mates, or their technical difficulties? Was it the small audience, or was it the largely empty room? Was it all the detritus from the rest of my mundane life that I couldn’t shake off?
This gig was also an example of the nature of shared experience. While I felt it was just “o.k.” there were those audience members who were really into it, who did find joy in it. What did they experience that I did not? How can I (or the band as a whole) transmit to the audience something we may not be experiencing ourselves?
Tonight, another gig in another place, but like Little Pleasures a place we have played often. If I can get out of my way, the experiment shall continue…
