Destruction of a Stage

John Mayer and Keith Urban. Two extremely talented gentlemen who have had their share of some very public problems. At some point, we're all just people.

I've had a job in the entertainment industry for coming on 6 years now, and it's over for me. The hype, the excitement of seeing a media-made celebrity, even the crazy events involving gods of their own craft. I've been over-hyped by so many people about so many things, I was more than over this show. I felt lucky to have one of the very few tickets to one of the biggest shows in town, but it took me a long time to get excited. Not the trip to the venue, not the taking our seats. I was more interested in seeing how many people I knew in the audience than who was about to be on stage. We did our audience clapping pre-show bit, the introductions were made, the stage was set, music began. Still, I was sitting there just hoping not to be let down. It's not that I don't get excited anymore, but it sometimes physically pains me to see people doing the very thing I wish I was able to do on the level they are able to do it. Bands were tight, the performances: standard.

Until.

Completely through Urban's set, and halfway into Mayer's, something happened. 'Gravity.' Two men who do this day in and day out for their life's work, got lost. They became musicians before our very eyes.

The want to make short versions of songs to help with television edits in post, the showmanship that has the audience in the back of their minds, the practiced expressions and inflection that are the product of over-done song arrangements, even the audience themselves simply disappeared and we got to see professionals become artists and enjoy themselves...

It was remarkable. Not only by what I was allowed to witness, but but what happened to me. I became an audience member. I stopped judging. I stopped critiquing. I got lost. I saw them doing what I would kill to do. And I clapped... Clapped for a performance well given... I was in awe...

It may not be a surprise to most, but my move to Nashville hasn't been without its hardships. I've lost a lot of the glitter. I now know too much about how any of this music industry product comes to be. It's underbelly is a dark place, that a lot of the locals love to hate. Justice is rarely served. Now mind you, this isn't just the lament of a starving musician, but of a person who sees more talent in most people's mailboxes than that which comes to fruition on the national stage of "music." Most of the time, it really doesn't make any sense whatsoever. But every so often. It makes perfect sense.

I have yet to be impressed by the audio of most concerts turned television series, and can't guarantee that anything I experienced at the Factory in Franklin, TN will translate for those who end up seeing it on CMT or Palladium after the compression, the edited for content, the commercial breaks. But believe me. These are two men who, at the end of the day, after the rehab, and carpet walks, and tabloid fodder, and the dating all of our childhood crushes, deserve to be where they are: at the top of their game, two of the best on Earth, making music that moves us.

And that, is certainly something everyone should see.

Hrmmmpff...

I really should start to take this thing more seriously...

Inaug-u-Blog

Uh oh! I can hardly believe it myself... We'll see how long it keeps up... Normally an introduction of some repute would go here ------> But rather than set myself up for some grandiose, far-reaching, lofty purpose that will later intimidate me out of blogging altogether, we're just going to say:



"Hi."



Welcome to my blog. You may end up caring about all of this, and I sincerely hope you do. But for now, it's a public forum of the thoughts I have that I don't mind you knowing about. I'm going to attempt to be interesting, clever, witty, dashing, debonair, exciting, worldly, etc. but let's not get carried away. After all, it's the first blog. So again.



"Hi."



I hope you enjoy.



K