A Snowdrop with Sunstroke

So a while ago I got a notification that Steven Page would be coming to town to play a show. Not only in town, but literally a 5 minute walk away from class. "I can manage that!" I told myself. Lo and behold, today rolled around aaaaannnnd... Man, do I have a CRAPLOAD of homework to do. And I'm tired. But I decided to go anyways. And between arriving a little bit early and the opening act starting an hour late, I had a lot of time to sit and stew in the guilt of not doing homework before managing to just dose off and kiss the edge of unconciousness. And this was in a loaded bar, no less, which probably speaks volumes as to how sleep deprived I am. But anyways, the main act rolled around and...

The world melted away. See, Mr Page was a member of the Barenaked Ladies, which was one of the cornerstones in developing my own taste and love for music. He played the show tonight with Craig Northey (from The Odds), primarily acoustically. Which, for me, is like crack - I love toned-down, acoustic versions of louder songs. And I was surprised that, without a base or drums or piano, all of the songs were so much louder. Not in terms of noise, but in terms of their inherent spirit. Those two men were the full accompaniment that was needed. It was marvellous. Opening with Alternative Gilfriend that rolls into Someone Who's Cool? Yes please. I'm pretty intimate with the catalogue of BNL stuff that was played, as well as a chunk of Page's material. It was fascinating to feel new life breathed into songs that I've known how to recite since what feels like a few lifetimes ago. Leave Her Alone, which usually has a strong big-band horn section, was surprisingly fantastic with a single guitar, a melodica, and two vocals. I was never into the standard/goofy/march performance of The Night I Fell Asleep at the Wheel, but it was damn haunting just on two acoustic guitars. I wish I could find a version like that for download. The acoustic approach changed everything. And this rippled down through all the other pieces - everything was presented with the absolute core components needed. Combined with the small venue (I was sitting maybe 15ft from the stage), it made all the songs more... Intimate.

Overall, it was beautiful. Overwhelmingly so. As if I was stripped of a physical body, and the music flowed straight from the artists, out over the stage, and kept on going clean through me and everyone else in the room. And I sat there and savoured every precious moment where those notes were inside me, passing through where my skin and bone and flowing blood should be. You can't grasp or hold on to that kind of energy - it's destined to travel the universe, and just can't be chained down or even touched. But to be that close to the source of this force was utterly moving. It was so rich and pure, and there was nothing to do but sit there and bask in the light of the melodies that temporarily traveled through you, brightening up all the corners of your insides for the briefest of seconds. Phosphorescent sound particles of unbridaled emotion.

It's a bittersweet sensation to feel so consumed by amazement while knowing that you won't really be able to hold onto or replicate that feeling once it's over. But it kinda forces you to live in the moment, this very moment, forcing homework and any lack of sleep just melt away from reality. It's a good place to be.
-Cril

At night all alone
With my microphone
I never come close to the chorus girl

I'm waiting for you now
There's nothing to do now
But save your breath for the chorus girl

Steven Page & Craig Northey - Chorus Girl

Because I'll forget later... Steven got to a point in the song, and stopped singing while they kept playing the chords. He talked about how the best part about being a songwriter was that once you've written something, people take that and it becomes part of their lives. It's not yours any more - it belongs to anyone that finds meaning in it. The chorus girl in that song isn't about a chorus girl - it's about the chorus. Music. That thing that lifts us and binds us and moves us.