A Fresh Start

As you can tell by my short list of posts from 2009, I haven't been the most devoted blogger. I had so many things to write about, but I didn't make blogging a priority. I don't really believe in making New Year's resolutions; I always end up breaking them which makes me feel like I've failed miserably, but I do set New Year's goals and the one at the top of my list is to blog more frequently. I tend to think that all my posts have to be well planned and expertly written, but that takes a lot of time, so I'm going to try writing shorter more spur-of-the-moment posts. We'll see where that takes me.

Another goal of mine this year is to see more live musical performances. Something about me that isn't well-reflected in my previous postings is my deep love and appreciation for music. I like a lot of different kinds of music and my tastes fluctuate every couple of years, but if I had to name my favorite genre, I would say alternative. I just love the loud drums, heavy guitars, and, maybe most of all, the emotions; something about the combination of those sounds together just soothes my soul. A lot of artists fall under the category of "alternative". Weezer, one of my favorite bands of all time, is one of them. I don't consider their song lyrics life-changing, but I love their music just the same.

Another band that falls under the alternative category is Phoenix, a band that, until very recently, most people had never heard of. I didn't even realize they were considered alternative until they were nominated for a Grammy for best alternative music album. I first heard Phoenix on my favorite local radio station 107.7 The End a few months ago. They came to Seattle and played at 107.7's Deck the Hall Ball in December, which I didn't attend. I thought I had missed my only chance to see them, but fortunately for me, they scheduled another show at the ShowBox SoDo on January 23 and my brother, Akhil, the nicest brother anyone could ask for, bought me two tickets to the show for Christmas!

The show was freaking awesome. A band called The Soft Pack opened up for them. They played a pretty good set (they have a bit of a Social Distortion sound to them; you can hear their albums on lala.com). Phoenix kicked it off with Lisztomania and played a lot of songs from Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. They also played quite a few from their past albums, including one of my new favorite songs, Napoleon Says. Akhil and I were standing off to the right side of the stage, so I didn't really get to experience the amazing light show that I'm told was going on, but that didn't detract at all from the performance. Besides, I had a great view of almost all the musicians. There is nothing cooler than watching a musical performer really get into the music and play his heart out.

The concert ended with a really impressive encore. Typically a band finishes, and then comes out and plays their hit single or one of their most popular songs. Phoenix came out and did two songs, and then their hit single. It was more than any fan could have asked for. For 1901 (the band's current hit) Thomas Mars (the band's front man) came out into the audience. I didn't see how he got down into the crowd, but he was lifted back up onto the stage by the audience and then proceeded to invite the fans to join him and the rest of the band onstage. I don't think anyone over the age of 19 was up there; it was pretty entertaining to watch.

If you've never been to a show at a smaller venue, you really have to do it at least once. You can really see the artists get into the music and the sound just engulfs you...it's an indescribable, incredible sensation. The only bad thing about going to see a show live is that almost immediately, the sensations you felt during the performance begin to slip away. You'll crave them and continue to chase them, but listening to the music on CD won't be enough anymore and you'll always be left missing that feeling that can only come from hearing a live performance.