If you've ever been to a concert, you know that listening to music is a completely different thing than feeling music. You know what I'm talking about -- the bass in your chest and screaming your favorite song at the person who wrote it. There's nothing like listening to the music you love being created right in front of you. The song that you always sing with the windows down in the car, the song that has gotten you through your toughest times -- they're here, and everyone is in it with you. You're surrounded by people who are singing and enjoying the same music and experience as you. Everyone's hearts are feeling the same music and there is no better feeling than looking all around you and knowing that no one is feeling anything but good, positive, happy vibes. Yes, these songs are amazing on albums too, but there is something that just can't be beat about live music.
When you have a passion for music, and specifically live music, a concert is such a therapeutic experience. Arriving at the venue brings a familiar wave of excitement that you get every time you turn on that certain street. You're walking down the sidewalk and seeing all the buses and vans and both familiar and unfamiliar faces, and all you can think is, I can't wait to get in there and see them play.
Getting inside and being under that low, blue-toned light and saying "Hi" to the bartender who always works that certain night of the week is just a reminder that you're back. This is your favorite place, and the people around you are about to be submerged in the same music and feelings you are. A concert is so much like a loving, supportive community. Live music brings people together -- it's a fact. You know that logically, you may not be friends with everyone, but they listen to the same bands as you, and that makes you like them and become best friends for the next three hours. You know that they probably jumped up and down on their bed screaming these songs at 2 a.m. as well. If you go to concerts a lot, you know that some music is just made to be played live. There are certain songs from my favorite artists that have different parts in them when they're live, and when you go to a show, almost everyone knows the same different way to sing them.
A lot of people will say it's mostly about being in the crowd. I'll agree that's part of it! But even if you're hanging out in the back of the venue, feeling the energy from the crowd singing every word along with you is a satisfying and blissful feeling. You're hearing this song with all its passion and fire as the artist puts their everything into it, the crowd is all in it together, and you're thinking about that time where this song made everything feel better when you were down, and if you ever wondered why, this, right now in this moment, this is it. When music means a lot to you, there's something intoxicating and electric in experiencing it live, no matter where you are. There are no inhibitions, and everyone is simply doing the same thing as you -- letting the music swallow them and feeling every word and every beat as the artist pours their soul out on the stage.
