There is wonderful place in the live version of the U2 song Party Girl were the Edge plays a bum note and Bono yells out “Guitar hero”. Far from blowing the song it makes it, straight away the audience is involved, the Edge is maybe a wee bit embarrassed but this is live and scary, buckle up for the ride.
Is lip syncing a big deal; well in the great scheme of things probably not. Does it really matter if the show is pre-recorded? Probably not. Do most of the folks in the audience care? Probably not. Will it stop them having a big night out? Again probably not. Will they be changed and moved on the inside?...Probably not.
It depends on what you think music is, never before has there been such a proliferation of sound. There is hardly a place in the Western world were the sound of music or machines are not over saturating our senses. Music has become the infill in our brain, silence has been banished. We have become inured to the super slick photo shopped package, and maybe find the real thing a bit thin on the ground.
Then enter the Gladiator. When a singer or musician steps up and lays it down in real time there is always danger. They might fail, sing out of tune, be hit by nerves, or we may all be embarrassed. It could be a let down... we don’t want a let down.
But with their courage and talent the live musician opens the possibility of the never before heard. We may just feel something not felt before. We may be moved and changed in ways not anticipated. And in a strange mysterious way the audience and the player are connected.
When I was a young guy I went one evening and listened to a huge choir sing in an old wooden church in Auckland New Zealand, not my usual fare, but my mates wanted me to tag along. I could not tell you now what they sang but I remember this fresh sparkling feeling, and I can see the singers standing in front of me and the air alive and full of diamonds. After the concert and we went back to our old rented house in the city, and for a long time I couldn’t even go inside, I just stood in the music and looked at the stars.
You can’t buy the moment again, but I have felt different moments. Some guitarist or singer or trumpet player up on the tight rope maybe they’ll fall but they might even fly. Does it matter? Well it depends on what moves you, when the production is so tight there is no room for failure, it is probably true we are in no danger of magic either.
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