Why I love Live Music

I went to a concert recently and saw three bands I'm quite fond of. Of the three, the headliners were mediocre, the second opener was spectacular as always, and the first band to perform, the youngest and most inexperienced of the three, was the one that reminded me why I love live music.

This is a band that has only one CD and whom, pre-concert, I would have described simply as "Vampire Weekend-esque." Their performance was nothing out of the ordinary, they were fairly casual and being the first band to perform didn't have the audience's full attention. No matter though, there were other things that made them stand out. The first was group cohesion. They were from Syracuse, and while I don't know much about Syrcause, I can say with certainty that the sockless loafers, boots with skinny jeans, and all-around bohemian hipster look is the one popular there right now.

The lead singer was in his own bubble, as lead singers tend to be. When he sang, he grasped the mike firmly with both hands as if clutching it were like squeezing a stress ball, and tilted his head to sing to the blue sky above. Like most indie performers, he couldn't dance, but instead moved back and forth in a rhythmic pace, following the cadence of his own voice. To his left (my right) was the violinist, who played eyes closed and with the seeming love for her instrument only violinists have. To his right (my left) were the guitarist and cellist, who played to each other as if in a world apart from the stage, as if unwatched. (The drummer drummed as drummers drum).

The actual set sounded identical to the CD, which is usually disappointing, but I gleaned something from seeing them perform. Now when I listen to the CD, I don't just think of Vampire Weekend. Instead, I see them perform in my mind and I think, when the violin solo comes on, about the shut eyes of the violinist. When I hear the cello and guitar working in harmony I think of them facing each other instead of the audience, playing for themselves in a private symphony. And the lead singer's sweet cords take me to a mild beach day in Syracuse with sockless loafers.