Concerts have always been a very important part of society and shaping our social culture. There is something about attending a public event, crowded with hundreds, sometimes thousands of people to see something performed live. There is an energy, a tactile excitement in the air that unites everyone in the same feeling of “we are about to be a part of something”. This feeling is wholly incomparable to even the greatest emotion that follows recorded music. Nothing is same as it is live.
First of all, the sound quality alone is better. The sound is coming to you directly, from every part of the venue. It is the true surround sound experience that digital music lacks. You get to hear the music in the setting it was created for. Music is meant to be seen as well as heard and there is no truer form of this than a live band performing right in front of you. No edits, no headphones, just music.
In the same vein, live music, no matter how good the artist is, is always different than a recording. Live music is unedited. It has not been whittled down to the bone and critiqued to edit out every slight imperfection. It is raw and emotional and, yes, sometimes it isn’t perfect. But, the imperfections are where the true artistry is felt. A great example of this is the band Counting Crows. This band is unique in a lot of ways, one being the incredible oneness of the band. Their lead singer, Adam Duritz, is known for jumping around in his songs. He goes from one verse to the next, then back to the first, then improvises a couple lines before jumping seamlessly into the fifth verse, only to return to the fourth verse several minutes later. Their songs, when played live, are never the same twice. Duritz takes the concertgoers on a journey through the song. You feel his emotion and his movement. You hear the creation of the song seemingly as it is taking place. That is the kind of artistry that you get to experience in live music.
Lastly, you are a part of something. You can listen to music streaming through your phone all day long but is it disconnected and far away. It was recorded long before you listened to it and it will still be available long after you stop listening. Live music is fleeting. Never again will this song be played, this exact way, again. There is a comradery amongst concertgoers in that we all know that this experience will never repeat itself. No matter how many concerts you go to, there will never again be one exactly like this. You are a part of something with all these people. That feeling alone is worth however much money the tickets were. Take it from someone who knows, who spent $500 for floor seating from Guns ‘N’ Roses in their "Not In This Lifetime" tour. The name of the tour says it all. A moment like this will not happen again in this lifetime.
So spend the money. Go to the concert. Never look back because I promise you won’t regret it.
