Summer of Music

if you know me, you know that music is a constant in my life. i can't make it (well, i probably could, but i'll leave that to people who have actual talent there), but i can dance to it, sing along to it in the car, and just generally rock out to it. i do this as often as possible. and yes, i own hundreds of cds, and thousands of tracks, but my favorite way to listen to music is live and in person. i love it - i love the energy of the band, and the energy of the crowd, and how those energies flow back and forth. anyone can sound good on a studio recording after production wizards have done their stuff, but it takes true talent to create your own music and make it sound awesome on a stage in the middle of hundreds of people.

it has been an excellent summer for live music. well, for me anyway. i don't know what you've been doing, but i have been delighting in a smorgasbord of melodious pastiche. (okay, yes, that metaphor was completely ridiculous, but whatever.)

just after school let out - the day after, actually - john and i went out to tampa to see the cure. his sister denise joined us and we rocked out to a blissfully made-up robert smith and his current bandmates. rob and kristin joined me for some cowboy mouth shenanigans in july. (and, yes, i remembered the red spoons this time!) liberally sprinkled throughout the summer were shows by afterglow radio and junkierush. (incidentally, agr just released their first full-length cd, and you should definitely pick it up - awesome stuff!) but the best of the summer music extravaganza was at the (formerly star-lake) amphitheatre just outside of pittsburgh.

the police with elvis costello and the imposters.

i don't even think i have to mention how awesome this show was. i'm not sure i even have the words to describe its awesomeness, and i'm the girl who just used the phrase "delighting in a smorgasbord of melodious pastiche" earlier in this blog. it was my first time witnessing both these bands, and it was totally worth the ridiculous ticket price. (well worth the ticket i bought for dad as his birthday present, too) elvis costello is, of course, a musical

genius and he and the imposters are just plain fun on stage. the police, suffice it to say, were brilliant. it was so relaxed on stage - it was obvious they were having fun and enjoying themselves. i'm going to go out on a limb here and say it was probably better than the last tour they went on before they split. there were no egos, no tension... and since they've already stated that they have no plans to reform or recordany new music, there was no pressure of longevity. just three amazingly gifted musicians out there doing what they love. sting sounded better than ever - and the fact that i find a man old enough to be my father sexy is just a testament to his talent as a performer. he owns the stage and the audience. andy summers occasionally broke into mind-bending guitar solos, and steward copeland is simply amazing. he (with his nine-gazillion piece percussion kit) was as fun to watch as listen to.

so, yay, live music! may there be more on the horizon!