3 of the best shows I've ever seen (in just 10 days)

I don't have a lot of time to see good concerts. Living an hour and a half away from a metropolitan and committing as much time as I do to school and such, trips to see my favorite musicians play are few and far between. Honestly, before college, the biggest show I had ever been to was Creed. I don't tell a lot of people that. Not something to brag about.

Since I came to college, though, I've been to a ton of great shows - they just don't happen often. Obviously I go to local shows every week, but I'm not talking about those kind of shows (though they can be just as fun.) I'm talking about national artists, the kinds of shows that are 2 hours long and are not just a performance, but an event. You know, the kinds of shows where you can say, "I actually saw (band name) play live!" to all your friends and some day your kids.

The first such concert I attended like this was Green Day, whom I saw in Dayton in the fall of 2005. The show was the last on their 'American Idiot' tour, and I had secured a press pass so I could review the show for the Insider - which was actually my first story for them. So here I am with my simple digital camera and a pass that puts me in the photo pit with guys who have cameras three feet long. It was kind of intimidating, but when the band came out and Billie Joe Armstrong stood on top of the amp I was crouching beneath (I could have literally touched him), it was like everything was suddenly right with my world. The band went on to put on a 2-and-a-half hour party of a performance. Great stuff.

I've seen several great shows since - especially now that a ton of great bands are actually stopping in Athens - but the stretch between October 5th and October 15th of this year may prove to be the most amazing, definitive week for me my infantile, concert-going habit.
It started with my attendance of the Arcade Fire concert in Columbus on Oct. 5. LCD Soundsystem opened, and were surprisingly amazing - good enough to have me dancing by the end of their set. Then Arcade Fire played, and, as advertised, they were absolutely breathtaking. Their performance was impeccable and entertaining - about as perfect a show as they come. I really don't know how else to describe it. Seriously.

Four days later, Athens was treated with a performance by up-and-coming rock (?) band Man Man. I'd heard some of their stuff - it's rock, but with a sort of circus-music edge. I kind of liked what I had heard, but I knew that their live show was supposed to be a blast. And that was no lie. Though the crowd sucked - drunken, belligerent idiots pushed to the front, I ended up in the back - Man Man didn't just put on a show, they put on a production. Seriously, their music, which includes a ton of percussion and other fun instruments, was precise as hell, as if they've practiced the set a million times. It was an intense show, but was so much fun I bragged about it for days.

My 10-day concert foray ended on Oct. 15 with the Andrew Bird show (which I had mentioned before because I interviewed Mr. Bird a couple of days before his performance.) Bird played at Stuart's Opera House in Nelsonville, which I had never been too but which really blew me away with how clean and nostalgic it is (not to mention the acoustics are phenomenal.) I literally sat frozen for the whole show; Bird played it solo, but he might as well have had a 20-person orchestra. He looped his violin to create such a huge, intimate sound that I was speechless after the show. It was absolutely gorgeous.

Now here is the thing about all of these shows, the reason why they were the best shows I've seen. Including local shows, I've been to a ton of concerts in my day, but never have I seen such sheer talent as I did in these 10 days. It started with Arcade Fire; the band would rotate instruments between songs, so that most band members played 3 or 4 instruments total - and played them perfectly. Then with the Man Man show, the members did the same - everyone played multiple instruments, and played them to a T. Finally, with Andrew Bird, he only played a couple of instruments - violin, guitar, xylophone, whistling - but arranged them so beautifully you have to wonder how one man can seriously do that while standing in front of you.
I don't know how these folks are so talented, but I was honestly jealous after seeing these shows. I'm a musician (drummer, learning guitar) but I can't even conceive being able to do all of the things these musicians did, not to mention do it all so well. I don't think I could even be this good at such an array of musical instruments if I dropped out of school and focused solely on practicing.

To be completely honest with you, these shows made me feel kind of hopeless, because I wondered if I'd ever have a chance at making it big if I couldn't do the things they were doing.
But that's neither here nor there. I'll get over it. They have their talents, I have mine. And I was lucky enough to witness their talents first-hand. I just hope all of the aforementioned artists believe in God, because they should recognize their God-given skill.

I talked to Andrew Bird!

Andrew Bird is playing Stuart's Opera House on Monday, and in preparation of the review I'll be writing about it for the Insider I decided to play prestige reporter and land an interview with Mr. Bird himself. So a couple of weeks ago I e-mailed his publicist asking if this would be possible. She e-mailed back and said she would check with him and get back to me. After e-mailing her another 3 times after that, however, I hadn't heard back from the publicist regarding the possible interview.

So then yesterday I was eating at Bob Evan's with Katie when I got a phone call from someone with a 212 area code. I let it go to voicemail because I don't answer strange phone calls. I was confused when my phone buzzed that I had a new voicemail - I had assumed it was a wrong number. I listened to the message and alas, it was Andrew Bird's publicist. She said, "Hey Sam, sorry this is short notice, but I wanted to let you know that Andrew is free for the next 2 to 3 hours if you wanted to interview him."

After I listened to that message, I couldn't eat the rest of my food. I was excited, but it was startling how nervous I became. Let me clarify: Andrew Bird is one of my favorite musicians and has been ever since Madeline introduced him to me. His latest album, 'Armchair Apocrypha,' is, I believe, one of the best albums released this year. He has folksy sound, but adds classical elements to it with violin that produces stunningly beautiful indie alternative music. It is really gorgeous stuff.

The reason I became nervous is that I hadn't prepared, obviously, and I was afraid that I would come across as some stupid little jackass reporter who asked all the same questions that everybody asks. As a fan of his, I wanted to impress him, but now I only had a short amount of time to figure out how to do so.

I've had this problem as an entertainment reporter before. I let the allure of certain acts' fame overcome me, and I feel like I'm practically graveling at their feet when I talk to them (famous people I've talked to so far: Jeff Garlin, Bobby Valentino, David Banner, Vanilla Ice, Andrew Bird). I don't know why it is, but the fact that they're famous makes me consider myself inferior somehow, and I focus on how I make them like me. It's like elementary school all over again, when you're face to face with the coolest kid in school.

So anyway, I went home, prepared a (long) list of questions, called Madeline so she could come listen in, and an hour later was ready for the call. I called Amy, his publicist, who said he was ready to go, and she called Andrew's cell and put him on with me. "Hi, Andrew? How are you doing?" I said - I mean, what else could I say? "Good, how are you?" he replied. Holy crap, Andrew Bird is talking to me! This is seriously the thought that was going through my head. I kept my composure and continued with the interview.

Here's what sucked: at the time, Andrew was driving through Kansas on his way to a show in Kansas City. His reception sucked. So we had a 15 minute conversation, and half of it I couldn't even make out. We even got disconnected once. His soft-spokenness didn't help. I was so frustrated - here I am, talking to THE Andrew Bird, wanting to transcribe the interview and publish it in the newspaper, and I can hardly understand a word he says. I kept trucking through, though, and in the end got some okay quotes that I should be able to use in my review of his concert. And when I think about it, I just think, "I got to talk to Andrew Bird." That made it all worthwhile, that I talked to him, he talked back to me (even called me by name once - holy crap Andrew Bird just said my name to me!) and I can now tell everyone that I had that experience. Even though reception sucked, the experience was still one I'll remember forever.

I know now, though, that if I want to be serious about my entertainment journalism, I can't ever let myself create a superiority complex about famous people. They are human, just like me. And they can get bad reception on their cell phones, just like me.

My art

Ok, I was right, I'm not very good at keeping this updated. But I promise I'm going to try - I just have to work around the business of school, which is really getting laid on thick right now.

I had a really great conversation today in my Bible study about people's art and how we can use God in it. I was really inspired by it, because my art and passion with music has never been something I've closely related to my relationship with Christ. But the more I think about it, the more I truly believe that I have a passion and gift for music for a reason; God intended for me to use it, and use it to the full. But I don' t just have to use it for Christian purposes - just because I'm a Christian and a musician doesn't mean I have to be a Christian musician. Rather, I should use it to make something that is simply beautiful, something that reflects the beauty of God's creation. I should make music and love music solely for the purpose that it can be appreciated. God created it so that it can be appreciated.

For all of you music lovers, think about all of those times that a song truly made you emotional. Whatever that emotion was, be it joy, sadness, or whatever, why do you think you felt that emotion? It's no coincidence that some of us can establish such deep connections with music. God created it to be so. It's just like how we can recognize something like the Grand Canyon to be beautiful; it's no accident, God allows us to see that beauty. So we should revel in it.

Maybe I'm just rambling, but there is something perfect about music. What I mean by that is that every song is exactly how it should be. Have you ever thought about how certain songs would sound if even just one chord or one beat were changed? It would be a different song. So every song that has ever been created has been created exactly as it should have been, or else it wouldn't be that song. I often imagine what certain bands or songs would sound like if I were doing the drumming. I can imagine how I would sound and what I would play, what I would change. When I think about that, I think, "that would ruin the song, it would not be the same song." There is something very perfect about each and every song that should not be changed (even if the song is complete crap.)

This perfection to be recognized in music, I believe, is a clear sign of God's tremendous beauty and love for His creation. He has given us such an amazing gift, the gift of music, and allowed us to see beauty in it, to distinguish its uniqueness and perfection in that uniqueness. Think about the vast world of music, all of the different artists and genres. There is music to describe every single human emotion. God has graced us with this as a gift for us to enjoy and appreciate to the full.

When I think about all this, I praise God for giving me such a passion for music. Music has truly rescued me; even in my darkest moments, music is there to pull me through. While God remains a constant, it's easy for us to lose sight of Him in our struggles. But God shows Himself to me in music - the beauty and emotion that music creates is a sign that God not only exists, but that He loves us deeply and cares for us and wants us to be happy. Music makes me happy, God has seen to it.

From here on out I plan to pursue this art of mine to its full and not ever take it for granted. I want to revel in the music I listen to, to appreciate the uniqueness and beauty of it all. And I want to use this gift I have of music as well.

Lately I've been taking a break from playing the drums for my church's worship team. The reason I did this is that I felt disconnected from God in the music, that I didn't feel as if I could worship through it. But now I think I might be wrong, that it was all a selfish ambition; now I think that maybe God is just trying to tell me that I need to connect to him outside of music. At the same time, I feel like this gift of drumming I have should be used because God gave it to me to use. So I am now more hopeful that when I go back to drumming on the worship team, I can simply take joy in the fact that I am taking advantage of this God-given gift, and that He is working through me and my gift.

Praise God for His wondrous creation.