There are certain sensory experiences and states of mind that I suspect I will be forever closed off to – perhaps for my own good – among which is the influence of psychedelic drugs like LSD, psilocybin and MDMA (“ecstasy”). There is, of course, an intelligent conversation to be had as to how appropriate certain stigmas about drugs really are: the aforementioned substances as well as marijuana can land many users in prison despite being far less dangerous than life-ruinous drugs like tobacco and alcohol, which are enshrined in the cultures of almost every society on the planet. However, I don’t trust my own sense of self-control nearly enough to seriously believe that I can use any of these substances in “moderation”, and so I am left to seek experiences that at least approximate certain criteria that drug users claim their dope of choice to satisfy. I’m now quite confident that my first concert from last night satisfied all of them.
To offer some context: the electronic musician Zedd has embarked on his worldwide “Echo Tour”, and the WaMu Theater in Seattle was only his second stop. Zedd is an artist I’ve followed for over five years and is someone I credit with alluring me to the electronic dance music (EDM) scene to begin with. It’s worth noting that the term “EDM” carries some embarrassing connotations of mainstream pop music that I have done my best to distance myself from, having generally followed more underground and experimental artists for most of my listening tenure. Nonetheless, there remain figures in the mainstream scene that are as humble, honest and genuinely passionate about their musical endeavors as any artist you can find, and I’m pleased to say that Zedd has historically held this distinction. I additionally admire the man’s appreciation for experimental and unconventional music, which he has shown with his endorsement of Grey, a duo that I have been religiously obsessed with over the past two years for a host of reasons. Zedd brought them along to open for his set, which doubled my excitement for the event.
If you are an active participant in the EDM community, as I am, you will quickly notice the ubiquitous fondness for live events amongst listeners. This is no accident: most electronic artists build their careers as DJ’s, and much of the music in the genre is produced (and often listened to) in the context of how maniacally it can get a thousand people to behave in public. In fact, a song’s onstage efficacy is increasingly treated as its only important criterion, and as a result, there exist some literally ear-splitting tracks out there that casual listeners would be best advised not to go near. Enjoying such music requires either 1) a certain empathy for the concert experience, 2) an adequate imagination, or 3) a mildly masochistic taste in music, as many appear to have. However, the infatuation with concerts runs deeper: one of the most popular subjects of discussion in electronic music forums is just the sensory bliss provided by seeing your favorite artist perform live. These rapturous moments are said to connect listeners together as a sort of family sharing in the communal pleasures of music, on a level that is unparalleled by any other mode of musical enjoyment. Naturally, I’ve always felt a certain detachment from even the most eloquent of these descriptions, simply because I hadn’t a clue what it truly felt like to be part of a concert.
That all changed dramatically last night. My introduction to concert life was an experience that can only be sufficiently described by hyperboles. Which is to say that although hyperboles are meaningless precisely because their claims are so outlandish, my time at the show did in fact live up to such promise. It was indeed “nothing like I’ve ever felt before,” “the best time of my life,” and at times, even felt “unreal.”
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| My view of the concert. |
Some specifics are clearly in order. Right from the two-hour wait in line, I felt quivers of elation merely due to the novelty of the situation. Here I was with a friend, unaccompanied by any adults, out in the bustling streets of an urban metropolis waiting for one of my favorite musicians to perform right in front of me. My eagerness was amplified as we made it into the concert hall, a seemingly endless room with multicolored stage lights piercing through the darkness. The first set of the night was performed by R&B artist Lophiile, a native of Seattle filled with humor and enthusiasm. It was definitely fun to continuously jump and handwave while sandwiched between horny 20-year olds, but that primal energy I was waiting to release wasn’t quite provoked until Grey appeared on stage. This deserves its own description…
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| The Grey brothers performing live. |
Above, I mentioned being “religiously obsessed” with Grey’s music for quite some time. This includes having listened to each of their songs for weeks on end, keenly waiting on announcements of new material, promoting their tracks on the social media handles I use in the music community, and proselytizing about their work to every budding consumer of music I come across. Much of this boils down to a matter of personal taste: as a musician myself, I pay attention to elements of songs that take a practitioner’s ear to keep track of, and Grey’s cleanly mixed production, innovative chord progressions, attention to detail and frequent use of acoustic guitar and unique sound design make for a winning combination by my book. They also began their career anonymously, which provided the allure of following a brand-new musical act that boasted professional-grade production quality from the very outset.
All things considered, it was surreal seeing them physically stand before me and rock their hearts out with music I’ve developed such an attachment to over the years. The moment of the night, of course, was when they ended their set by playing their track “These Roots” that I had tweeted my piano cover of to them that very morning under my online “Batman” moniker. They even yelled “this one’s for Batman!” into the mic, which resulted in a mix of amusement, excitement and mild confusion from the audience, and a solid few minutes of sheer stupor from one particular member of the crowd.
Zedd entered the stage at around 10:30 PM, and despite two hours of sweaty dancing, jumping and arm-flailing, none of us were even remotely depleted of kinetic energy. As many fans of his work know, Zedd has a penchant for including some truly marvelous visuals to complement his set, which featured both recent hits and fan favorites selected from his discography. The combination of foot-stomping music, flashing strobe lights and beautifully rendered 3D graphics made for a visual and auditory treat that seriously transcends description. I’ll let the video below explain itself:
What becomes apparent over the course of witnessing something like this is that the cocktail of sensations involved – the joy of listening to an artist you idolize play some of your favorite songs right before your eyes, the perspiration that makes the texture of your hair unrecognizable, the brief loss of your voice amidst fervent sing-alongs, the abnormal feeling you get merely by standing still as opposed to moving to the music – cannot be stirred by words alone. It’s easy to see why I just could not be very moved by even the most expressive accounts of live-show euphoria: the sensation is forever encapsulated in the moment, and can never be fully recapitulated by any amount of description.
Of course, admitting this appears to render this entire blog post pointless, but it is my hope that my efforts to immerse you in my experience with language will at least slightly convince you to go and immerse yourself in the language of my experience. Find an artist or band you follow that is performing in a city close to your residence and buy tickets without hesitation. There is a myriad of adjectives I could use to try and pin down the nature of what I underwent – one-of-a-kind, intense, self-fulfilling, dare I say “spiritual” – but of course, none can do justice to the raw contents of that love letter to the senses that performers deliver with utmost sincerity. If there was ever a drug that you’d do good to get high on, music would be just the one.
