I'm talking about getting in the show zone. I used to have a beer or two and then I would be right there, pumping my fist or nodding my head or hopping around. But the body just doesn't respond like it used to.
I thought it was the fault of the Fillmore, at first. April and I went to see Balkan Beat Box there this week, and they came out energized and the audience -- full of dreadlocked white guys, Burning Man circus types, horny sextegenarians, and clean-cut college boys -- was pumped.
But it took until the last song for me to relax and really get into the music. Why so long? Then I remembered that it had happened there before: LCD Soundsystem, Sleater-Kinney, both had rabid audiences, and both left me slightly cold. (Then again, Stereolab was awesome on the Cobra Phases tour.) But I think it's just me: I need more booze to get me relaxed and ready these days. Anyone else like this? Is it a matter of physiology or experience or just too much self-consciousness?
Speaking of relaxed and ready, I'll be reading about group sex at the Knock-Out tonight, as part of April's Rebel Reading Series. The lovely Hiya wrote this nice preview.
I think I go on (or off!) early.
4 comments:
I think there are just not that many exciting shows and people are drinking more all around. So, I guess that means you need to start doing your drinking before the show, so you are already halfway there by the time you get there? Or something...
Booze definitely helps but I think the younger generation (20-somethings) are generally pretty hard to take in group settings. You talk about self-conscious! Get over yourselves people! 80% of them just go to shows because they heard it's the cool place to be that particular night and couldn't give a rat's ass about the music.
Yeah I'm bitter, you got a problem with it?
wait, there's music at these shows?
Part of how we identify our particular social group is by recognizing similar sources of pleasure. For example, people who enjoy taking lots of drugs and rolling around naked in the desert because it builds community are identified as Burners. I wonder if part of why you weren’t able to relax was because you looked around at those pumped up dreadlocked white guys, scary leprechauns, horny sextegenarians, and clean-cut college boys and thought to yourself, ugh, I’m not that. And so I can’t enjoy this, or it will somehow align me with that. Got that? It’s closely related to the feeling I got in high school when I found out that one of the cocky student council guys liked The Cure.
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