A Rant About Live Shows

I've never done this on this blog, but I'm going to do it anyway and rant about something that bothers me: idiots at live shows.

I just came back from an - otherwise - great show, but it was practically ruined by a couple of selfish and inconsiderate audience members. I won't talk about what happened, but it got me thinking about concert etiquette. It's unfortunate, but true - some people just don't respect the etiquette of going to see live shows, and sometimes they ruin the experience for everyone around them. The worst part is that they act like it's their right to be inconsiderate, when clearly everyone is being affected.

There are unwritten rules in concerts, no matter what genre they are.  For some genres, it's more obvious, like classical music and operas. It's the same thing in any other concert though: there are rules. For example, at a folk or a hip-hop concert,  you don't mosh. I'm all about self expression and enjoying yourself, so if moshing is your thing, then I would say go for it.  But that's not the only issue at concerts. It doesn't matter if you feel like moshing, it's inappropriate. Why? Because it disrupts everyone else trying to enjoy the show, and it's extremely inconsiderate of those around you. If you want to do that, then do it at the back. Alternatively, if you get a group of people to sit in the middle of the mosh pit at a punk concert - that would also be inappropriate, for the same reason.

There's an art to getting to the front of the stage too - you don't just push and try to break through. You weave.  Don't hold up signs for the whole time either, because it blocks the view of everyone behind you.

Ultimately, it's these selfish people - who go to shows and think that "rock and roll" allows them to do whatever they want - that ruins it for everyone else.  It's your right to enjoy the show, but not at the expense of everyone around you.  If you, dear reader, happen to be one of those people, and you still think that you're allowed to just enjoy yourself no matter what - and everyone else be damned, it's a rock show - then you're being a hypocrite. Because even you follow certain rules of conduct, and there are things you would disapprove of. Think of this following scenario:  What if I gathered a group of drunk people to sing a different song from a different band during a live show, right behind you? I can't imagine you would appreciate that, and in fact it would probably ruin the whole show because it disrupts the enjoyment of the show. There's an etiquette to be followed, but more importantly, others around you to consider. Your actions, whether it be inconsiderately pushing, or dancing, or sitting, are ruining it for everyone else.  Rock and roll does not allow you to do anything you want - be mindful of others. Look around, we're all here to have a good time too, don't be an ass.

 The worst part is that often the songs these people are rocking out to are about respecting the people, or getting along, or fighting oppression, or something positive.  You would think that they would actually think about their own actions and how it negatively affects everyone else.

What do you think? What's the worst thing you've seen an audience member do at a show?

A Piano that Speaks English

Everything from traffic noise, violins, to our own voices are changes in the way the air around us move. When they create a sound, they are creating a wave that oscillates at certain frequencies. In theory then, by analyzing these frequencies and wave patterns and reproducing them with different mediums, you can recreate the sound of anything from animals to instruments, to pretty much everything. This is the theory behind synthesizers - they "synthesize" the frequency and wave patterns of instruments like violins, and reproduce them through pre-programmed sin waves.

In theory then, you could reproduce the sound of say, a violin, with anything. That's right. You could make hitting lego blocks, clapping hands, even a car - to sound like a violin. Why? Because we are able to analyze the frequency of a violin and break it down to small components. If we have enough precise control over (lots of) lego blocks, then we could manipulate them enough such that hitting them would produce a similar frequency pattern as a violin. Sounds far fetched?

There's an interesting comparison that you're probably more familiar with - image mosaics. Or pictures that are made up of smaller pictures:

Not perfect, but it's clearly visible - and this next video is essentially the musical equivalent.

Created by Berno Polzer as a performance art piece "Wien Modern" is an installation for the World Venice Forum 2009.  Using a detailed analysis of a recital of the Proclamation of the European Environmental Criminal Court, "Wien Modern" uses a combination of piano keys to simulate the sound of a human child. Each piano key would be like the small pictures in the image above - and the human voice like the Mona Lisa.



I'd like to see other instruments do these sorts of things too!

*I've been busy recording my own music in the past couple months, so this blog has suffered. I'll try to get this going again ASAP, but thanks for your patience in the mean time.