Current mood:	contemplative
Current music:	School of Rock "School of Rock"

y'know, i really enjoy live music. but, oddly enough, i don't really like concerts. i like going some place where i can sit down (standing or leaning are also acceptable) and just take in the experience. i don't necessarily want to participate by singing along, dancing, clapping my hands, etc (although, occasionally you might catch me slipping up)

about a month ago, Amie and I went to the Water Wheel to see the Scott Weiss Band. Awesome blues stuff with cool guest stars on sax, guitar, etc. We even ran into Savage, Carlucci, and Seth

last week, Amie suckered me into a last minute trip to Kenny's Castaways to see our friend Matt's band The Five Percent. After turning a 1.75 hour trip into a 3 hour one, we caught the last song and a half of their set. We ran into Ms. Pomes, JP, Ryan, and some other folks there, too. After Matt's band, I got to experience a 5 person band (with three backup singers on top of that): 534. They were an awesome mix of funk, blues, and soul. All of them were awesome musicians ... the keyboardist especially jumped out as extremely talented.

allow me to become a music snob for a moment. it seems like a lot of kids these days are leaning towards writing hardcore music. and, while some of it may be good, it seems like the easy way out, to me. throw some distorted power chords over some yelling lyrics and voila! another hardcore song. i suppose i can liken it to punk music in the 90s. it'd be a better example, because i dig punk bands (Minor Threat, Mr. T Experience, MxPx, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, etc). but, compare the creative input on a Blink song to a Red Hot Chili Peppers Song. there really is no comparison. the talent needed to create a RHCP song is exponentially higher. (i used those two bands, because i'm not overly fond of either of 'em) i guess the real proof is when you look at bands that have been around forever. look at the progression through Green Day albums.

and, finally, this saturday my friends and i journeyed to the Greenville Tavern to see Emish play. the band consists of 3 people i went to high school with. one of them is Joe's brother, Mike and their drummer is also my drummer. they drew a huge crowd and they played Devil Went Down to Georgia. the best cover of that song that i've ever heard (not that i've heard any others ... but they still an awesome job of it).

i've come to realize that i am not a social person when there is live music in front of me. i don't want to talk to anyone, i just want to analyze the musical fusion going on. i watch the guitarist form chords and meander through transitions. i pick out the vocal melodies and take note of drum fills that fit perfectly. i even notice when the bass player is playing the wrong thing and then, later on, send him the real tabs. it's an awesome process, and i'm enthralled.