Live music provides unique experience

By Nate Seltenrich

If I can help it, I'll never miss a good concert. I'll go on the night before a big test, an important race or an early-morning meeting. I'll suffer through cold weather, drive for hours and take a chunk out of my paycheck if I have to. I'll even go alone.

I'll see groups that I've never heard of or that I don't particularly like. I'll see bands I've seen before, perhaps one too many times. I'll see amateurs and professionals and everyone in between.

Concerts are an almost sacramental experience for me, connecting my soul with something that is greater than myself. I'm not sure what that something is, but I know it's there. Maybe it's in the energy of the performers, the expression of creativity or the catharsis of deep-seated emotions. Whatever it is, it has the power to make me feel satisfied and excited in a way that nothing else can.

A secondary meaning of the word "concert" is "agreement in purpose, feeling, or action." This is no coincidence. To me, the concert experience embodies a sense of general communion among fans and performers. It feels great to be a part of such a whole, unified in purpose, feeling and action.

Live music is both physically and spiritually moving to me - when I listen, my foot taps and my heart swells. I want to hug my neighbor and push him into the pit. I want to scream out and meditate in a silent trance.

Part of the beauty of a live musical performance is that it can never be duplicated. No two concerts, not even two evenings with identical line-ups and set lists, are the same. A connection with a fellow fan, a side comment by a performer or a malfunctioning instrument may distinguish the concert as an entirely singular event.

Further, an audio or video recording of a live show doesn't come close to capturing the experience of being there. Once the performance is over, it is over forever. Each member of the live audience has been privy to a unique and exclusive occasion.

Perhaps that's another part of my attraction to concerts - I want to amass as many inimitable experiences as possible.

At the same time, I want to listen to as much music as possible, expand my musical horizons as widely as possible and enjoy as many performances as possible.

That's why, if I can help it, I'll never miss a good concert.