LIVE MUSIC LIVES ON — MAYA WALLIS
LIVE
MUSIC
LIVES
ON
I was christened into the world of live music
in what seems the most appropriate way: a
punch to the face, a bloody nose, the smell of
sweaty topless men, vomit circling the room,
and a brand new top soaked in other people’s
beer. It was there, right in the middle of a
mosh pit of people twice my age and height,
that I had found my idea of heaven. Over the
years I have seen over one hundred different
bands and artists live and I am still addicted
to every second of a gig. Unlike vinyl or cd’s,
live music hasn’t lost its popularity or died
out, it has fought its way to the top of the
food chain, had weekends in muddy fields
dedicated to it and corrupted teenage kids
into spending their whole months allowance
for an hour and a half set. So why hasn’t it
died out? Why has live music lived on and not
been destroyed by technology? What is it
that makes it so popular?
The sights you see at a gig aren’t exactly the
prettiest, to say the very least. There always
seems to be a gaggle of teenage girls who
have snuck in more alcohol than they can
handle, always one person who has popped
too many pills, always a lonely woman who
does some crazy dance with her arms which
looks more like she is summoning the devil
than the latest style of ‘voguing’. Oh, and
don’t forgot the rowdy middle aged man who
is aiming to re-live his youth by starting a
circle pit in every song. But despite these
annoying occurrences people are still
addicted to the stench of stale beer, the
screaming and the ringing ears you get the
morning after. Why? Because for that hour
and half every person in that room has
something to believe in. For that hour and a
half every person in that room has a reason
to be there. For that hour and half every
person gets to feel something that can only
be described as magic. Believe me when I say
that hearing the cries of a crowd, the raw
emotion of the lead singer and passion of the
band playing their hearts out is the one thing
on this very planet that can make you feel
most alive. There is something indescribable
about the way a crowd religiously chants
every word of song, jumps higher than ever
done before to a bass line and worships a
band or an artist more highly than I have seen
any church member do. You see, live music
connects people – it doesn’t matter what age,
height, crazy dancing lady you might be – for
that hour and a half all that matters is the
music.
In 1967 Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd went on
tour together, unfortunately for me I was
born thirty years too late to witness these
legends play alongside each other. This was a
tour which people would have sold their own
soul to go to. However, there was one big
problem: 1967 was a time filled with racism
and Jimi Hendrix was black, so when he
stepped out on stage riots would form, fights
would break out and some people would
even leave the venue. But some people
stayed. Some people, despite being told that
Jimi Hendrix looked ‘wrong’, stayed. Why?
Because of the music. The insane guitar riffs
and the husk of Hendrix’s voice was enough
to make them think ‘do you know what, I
don’t care what this guy looks like – have you
seen the way his left hand handles that
guitar?’ That, my friend, is the power of live
music. Live music has the ability to make
people look past shallowness, racism and
prejudice. It has the ability to help that kid
who got picked on at school forget all about
it. It has the ability for that old man to re-live
his youth. It has the ability to inspire a person
to pick up a guitar, write a song, pursue what
they love doing or simply give them a reason
to get out of bed in the morning.