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.