I may be a bit of a hopeless case when it comes to music… at dinner last Friday with friends I mentioned that I’d taken my mother to a concert at Hugh’s Room (the best concert venue in Toronto). After the obligatory wisecracks about my taste in “folky” music I wondered why my friends just don’t get my music, sure I can get down to some old school rap, or enjoy the perennial pop favourite U2 but for me there’s not much that beats sitting in a venue where not only can you see the performer without the aid of a big screen. I can watch them pick out intricate and crazy melodies and rhythms live in front of me – no pitch correction, dubbed backing or otherwise tampering with the pure sound of voice and instrument. The concert is focused on the music, not the video or merchandise and with a seating capacity of less than 300 it’s crazy intimate. There’s not a single person I’ve known that hasn’t enjoyed the experience of some music I’ve dragged them to hear at Hugh’s Room (Guy Davis, Scott Merritt, Stephen Fearing and more)… so why haven’t some of my closest friends given my non-standard fare a try? Am I just unwilling to push it for fear that I’ll only perpetuate the label of hippy (which I’m not!) or do I just want to keep my hidden gems to myself? I don’t have the answers about this one… but I know that the folk festival circuit is essential to my mental health and it’s odd I don’t share more with friends.
2 comments:
Found your blog, hope you don't mind. :)
We tease you (or at least I do) because we can. But I'd never object to going to a show with you. I've seen shows at the Horseshoe and places like that (still bigger than Hugh's Room I think) and it's a totally different, and fun, experience from being at the ACC.
Tease away but be forewarned I may just be dragging you to a show in the next few months - that means you'll need to find a babysitter!
And no worries on finding me... I just didn't want any fanfare as it's a one year only experiment.
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