star, star, teach me how to shine
Jul. 31st, 2007 11:31 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thehefnerMan oh man, I hope I didn't give Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová--of The Swell Season and the movie ONCE, plus he of The Frames and THE COMMITMENTS--the plague o' DOOM at last Thursday night's concert.
Now here's the thing. In the days before my father died, I was understandably numb, but numb in a way I'd never been numb before. And I didn't like being numb. I didn't want to be a joyless sack of misery, taking little pleasure in the things I usually always cared for. This may sound like, "yeah, well duh," but I know certain people who actually like--in a sense--to give in to that numbness, to take their time to deal and heal. That's healthy, I guess... no, it probably is... but shit, man, I had too much I wanted to do. I had THE HEFNER MONOLOGUES rolling around, to say the least. And in the meantime, I wanted to enjoy all those good things that gave me pleasure to do that again, so I could cope and bloody well keep going. Hell, I wanted to cry, but I couldn't even do that. Nothing seemed able to break through that numbness.
And then I saw ONCE.
When Dad passed away four days later, I immediately knew that I had to go see ONCE again.
As the past month has passed, while I've simultaneously been dealing with his death and working on something which, I hope, will be the start of my artistic (and maybe, professional) future, I've been listening to the ONCE soundtrack and the Swell Season CD pretty well every day, to every other day. That's what I do when I discover something I love: I want to experience it over and over again, beating it into the ground and destroying all meaning it originally had.
So it was by the time their concert at the 9:30 Club rolled around last night, nestled right in between performances of THE HEFNER MONOLOGUES.
I don't think anyone was quite expecting the house to be that packed. Not me, not the fellow concert-goers I talked to, not even Glen and Markéta. When they took the stage to the massive roar of the crowd, the look of overwhelmed surprise never entirely left their faces for the rest of the show. It became clear that we were seeing this band--these two musical soul-mates--at the very cusp of fame, and they still don't quite know how to react.
Glen said (and as an up-and-coming performer with odds not in his favor, this really stuck with me... oh, and forgive my Bendis-like transcript here), "It's the weirdest t'ing, yer in a band, or yer making yer art or yer doing your t'ing, and yer whole life, it's just you against-- y'know, I've been in a band for seventeen years, and yer digging and--and it's you against the world and yeh've got yer pickaxe, and yer making yer records and yer making everyt'ing yerself, and it's all very kinda-- and then, it's almost like the weirdest t'ing, it's like yer constantly kicking at the world to pay attention to yeh, and then one day, the world turns around on yeh and goes, "What?" And it's the scariest damn t'ing ever!"
Between their skills as performers and downright honest humanity, coupled with that rowdy-yet-receptive crowd, this proved to be one of the best damn concerts I've ever seen. What a perfect way to sorta complete the circle, I guess: seeing this show right in the middle of doing my own dream show, a month after I discovered their music during a period when it meant the most. I dare say those three factors (Dad's death, the Hefner Monologues, and ONCE) contributed to why I'll likely remember July 2007 as one of the most formative, important periods in my life.
Their wonderful chemistry on film was every bit as strong in person, with every glance they'd shoot each other, every smile as the music built up, as if to say, "all right, here's the good part, you ready? Of course you are. Here we go." I kinda do wonder what the average, day-to-day relationship between these two people would be like, but musically? On that stage and on the screen, these two are artistic soul-mates, and that right there is entrancing to behold.
I waited outside the club afterwards, wanting to meet them but still uncertain as to what I'd say. Also, I was had a bit of that fever. Getting better, but still snorty. The last thing I wanted to do was get either of them sick! Still, I opted for selfishness, waiting for about an hour until they finally came out.
Glen proved to be as normal, down-to-earth, and vaguely overwhelmed as his character in ONCE was, and shy though I was, I still managed to get the courage to say what was in my heart. Respectfully taking off my bowler derby, I said, "I really don't want this to sound trite, like some MTV fangirl, 'oh m'gawd, like, your album totally got me through, like, a rilly, rilly hard time in my life...'"
Glen smiled and said, "Yeh do that well."
And so I told him as concisely as I could about why ONCE meant so much to me, as well as that very concert, and he seemed very touched and moved, surprised yet again that evening. As I'd mentioned that I was doing a show myself, he asked what kind of music I did, to which I thus quickly explained THE HEFNER MONOLOGUES.
"Ah! Not related to Hugh, are yeh?"
"Well, actually...!" Heh, yeah, so I explained the deal, which certainly got his attention. I told him how his metaphor of the world turning around on you after years of work really resonated with me, that I certainly do plan to devote years of my life to this before I really get noticed by the world at large... if ever. We talked about that long struggle, about how he'd been singing and working for so long, only to suddenly achieve a HUGE bump, and honestly not knowing how to handle it. He wished me luck on the Monologues, and shook my hand.
Shit. I hope I wasn't still contagious.
Markéta seemed to be as shy and friendly as her screen self. She shrugged off suggestions from some other people that their music would get an Oscar nomination, clearly not seeing it as a real possibility. I chimed in there that, no, I really do think they stand a very real chance of getting a nod.
"I mean, you'll probably get overshadowed by some super-orchestrated Celine Dion claptrap, but I'm sure you'll still get nominated."
She still didn't seem to believe me, but more and more, I'm convinced that we'll be seeing them performing "Falling Slowly" on stage at the Oscars next year. We talked briefly, Mar and I, and I gave her a quicker rundown of what I told Glen, which similarly seemed to surprise and move her. She signed my ticket stub ("Ahoy John!" it reads) and, before I could think, shook my hand.
Shit. Now I really hope I'm still not contagious. They still looked fine on Leno last night, so that's encouraging. Because man, if they did, what a terribly Hefnerian way to end what was one of the greatest concerts I'd ever seen. (I told that to Mar, adding half-ironically "You beat out Depeche Mode in my eyes, congrats!")
And the best part is, NPR recorded the entire concert, so I can actually relive one of the best damn concerts I've ever attended. It's totally worth a listen; besides their own songs, they cover the Pixies "Cactus," Van Morrison's "Into the Mystic," and even threw in a simply magical touch of... well, I won't spoil it... that had me just grinning by the end of the show. I've never been to a concert where, three quarters of the way through, I'm simply smiling. Fantastic.
Now here's the thing. In the days before my father died, I was understandably numb, but numb in a way I'd never been numb before. And I didn't like being numb. I didn't want to be a joyless sack of misery, taking little pleasure in the things I usually always cared for. This may sound like, "yeah, well duh," but I know certain people who actually like--in a sense--to give in to that numbness, to take their time to deal and heal. That's healthy, I guess... no, it probably is... but shit, man, I had too much I wanted to do. I had THE HEFNER MONOLOGUES rolling around, to say the least. And in the meantime, I wanted to enjoy all those good things that gave me pleasure to do that again, so I could cope and bloody well keep going. Hell, I wanted to cry, but I couldn't even do that. Nothing seemed able to break through that numbness.
And then I saw ONCE.
When Dad passed away four days later, I immediately knew that I had to go see ONCE again.
As the past month has passed, while I've simultaneously been dealing with his death and working on something which, I hope, will be the start of my artistic (and maybe, professional) future, I've been listening to the ONCE soundtrack and the Swell Season CD pretty well every day, to every other day. That's what I do when I discover something I love: I want to experience it over and over again, beating it into the ground and destroying all meaning it originally had.
So it was by the time their concert at the 9:30 Club rolled around last night, nestled right in between performances of THE HEFNER MONOLOGUES.
I don't think anyone was quite expecting the house to be that packed. Not me, not the fellow concert-goers I talked to, not even Glen and Markéta. When they took the stage to the massive roar of the crowd, the look of overwhelmed surprise never entirely left their faces for the rest of the show. It became clear that we were seeing this band--these two musical soul-mates--at the very cusp of fame, and they still don't quite know how to react.
Glen said (and as an up-and-coming performer with odds not in his favor, this really stuck with me... oh, and forgive my Bendis-like transcript here), "It's the weirdest t'ing, yer in a band, or yer making yer art or yer doing your t'ing, and yer whole life, it's just you against-- y'know, I've been in a band for seventeen years, and yer digging and--and it's you against the world and yeh've got yer pickaxe, and yer making yer records and yer making everyt'ing yerself, and it's all very kinda-- and then, it's almost like the weirdest t'ing, it's like yer constantly kicking at the world to pay attention to yeh, and then one day, the world turns around on yeh and goes, "What?" And it's the scariest damn t'ing ever!"
Between their skills as performers and downright honest humanity, coupled with that rowdy-yet-receptive crowd, this proved to be one of the best damn concerts I've ever seen. What a perfect way to sorta complete the circle, I guess: seeing this show right in the middle of doing my own dream show, a month after I discovered their music during a period when it meant the most. I dare say those three factors (Dad's death, the Hefner Monologues, and ONCE) contributed to why I'll likely remember July 2007 as one of the most formative, important periods in my life.
Their wonderful chemistry on film was every bit as strong in person, with every glance they'd shoot each other, every smile as the music built up, as if to say, "all right, here's the good part, you ready? Of course you are. Here we go." I kinda do wonder what the average, day-to-day relationship between these two people would be like, but musically? On that stage and on the screen, these two are artistic soul-mates, and that right there is entrancing to behold.
I waited outside the club afterwards, wanting to meet them but still uncertain as to what I'd say. Also, I was had a bit of that fever. Getting better, but still snorty. The last thing I wanted to do was get either of them sick! Still, I opted for selfishness, waiting for about an hour until they finally came out.
Glen proved to be as normal, down-to-earth, and vaguely overwhelmed as his character in ONCE was, and shy though I was, I still managed to get the courage to say what was in my heart. Respectfully taking off my bowler derby, I said, "I really don't want this to sound trite, like some MTV fangirl, 'oh m'gawd, like, your album totally got me through, like, a rilly, rilly hard time in my life...'"
Glen smiled and said, "Yeh do that well."
And so I told him as concisely as I could about why ONCE meant so much to me, as well as that very concert, and he seemed very touched and moved, surprised yet again that evening. As I'd mentioned that I was doing a show myself, he asked what kind of music I did, to which I thus quickly explained THE HEFNER MONOLOGUES.
"Ah! Not related to Hugh, are yeh?"
"Well, actually...!" Heh, yeah, so I explained the deal, which certainly got his attention. I told him how his metaphor of the world turning around on you after years of work really resonated with me, that I certainly do plan to devote years of my life to this before I really get noticed by the world at large... if ever. We talked about that long struggle, about how he'd been singing and working for so long, only to suddenly achieve a HUGE bump, and honestly not knowing how to handle it. He wished me luck on the Monologues, and shook my hand.
Shit. I hope I wasn't still contagious.
Markéta seemed to be as shy and friendly as her screen self. She shrugged off suggestions from some other people that their music would get an Oscar nomination, clearly not seeing it as a real possibility. I chimed in there that, no, I really do think they stand a very real chance of getting a nod.
"I mean, you'll probably get overshadowed by some super-orchestrated Celine Dion claptrap, but I'm sure you'll still get nominated."
She still didn't seem to believe me, but more and more, I'm convinced that we'll be seeing them performing "Falling Slowly" on stage at the Oscars next year. We talked briefly, Mar and I, and I gave her a quicker rundown of what I told Glen, which similarly seemed to surprise and move her. She signed my ticket stub ("Ahoy John!" it reads) and, before I could think, shook my hand.
Shit. Now I really hope I'm still not contagious. They still looked fine on Leno last night, so that's encouraging. Because man, if they did, what a terribly Hefnerian way to end what was one of the greatest concerts I'd ever seen. (I told that to Mar, adding half-ironically "You beat out Depeche Mode in my eyes, congrats!")
And the best part is, NPR recorded the entire concert, so I can actually relive one of the best damn concerts I've ever attended. It's totally worth a listen; besides their own songs, they cover the Pixies "Cactus," Van Morrison's "Into the Mystic," and even threw in a simply magical touch of... well, I won't spoil it... that had me just grinning by the end of the show. I've never been to a concert where, three quarters of the way through, I'm simply smiling. Fantastic.
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no subject
Date: 2007-07-31 03:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-31 07:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-31 09:31 pm (UTC)Although honestly, I think they're one of the few bands that benefits from being seen rather than just heard. That's the impression I got from ONCE really. I don't know if I'd be as in love with this band if I hadn't seen how Glen gets into his music, or the chemistry he has his Mar. Until you can see the film (and I stress, it's not a huge masterpiece or anything, just a perfect LITTLE film), check this one out for size:
no subject
Date: 2007-08-01 01:21 am (UTC)If you haven't heard of Jonah Matranga, check him out, he's the kind of artist that gives me the reaction you had to the Once people, smiling immediatley.