The old saying that excitement is infectious doesn't seem to hold true for concert goers here in T.O.
I was listening to an interview on the New Yorker Podcast with John Seabrook who was discussing the history of rock concerts. The mystic of venue, sound quality and overall experience has changed for concert goers as the music-concert genre has morphed into big stadium shows that lack sound quality and control. Depersonalized.
A handful of sweet little concert venues still exist here in Toronto (The Mod Theater comes to mind with Matt Nathanson putting on an awesome show) The swanky n sweet Drake Hotel is a gem that serves marvelous martinis during music shows. A big exciting part of seeing a live show is experiencing this lost art of showmanship, of course acoustics add to the overall small venue experience of an energized crowd. No small part of this experience is the energy of a crowd turned on by the performer.
My thread of niceness concerning my Canadian hosts has run it's course. Sad to say, but sometimes an edge to ones' personality is a necessary evil. Or maybe just a pulse would be fine here under the red and white flag waving it's friendly maple leaf everywhere.. The concert experience in Canada is about as energy filled as watching paint dry. Okay, perhaps that analogy is a bit harsh. Think airport lounge television experience: the Canadian sport of Curling on every monitor and they've announced a delay for your flight. So after a month here, I can say the experience is pretty similar whether the band is rock, jazz or pop... snore. The scene looks like this: no pushing or shoving, no dancing, not much physical mosh pit like crunch/crush. Sound like fun? Sure, if this describes waiting for the subway but a live music show deserves a better return of our creative investment.
To solve this dilemma? I thought I might ask for feedback, as buying drinks for the entire venue could get spendy.
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