Like a Southbound Train

Dress: Old Navy * Blouse: UO * Boots: Steve Madden * Necklace: birthday gift from my sister * Ring: F21

Remember when I told you guys that I had spent my birthday in Arizona and that my birthday present to myself was to go to one of the stops on the Railroad Revival Tour? Well, I'm not sure if you've noticed by the song titles I've been picking lately, but I've had a hard time shaking the utter and complete awesomeness that the concert rocked into my life. I've been compulsively listening to Edward Sharpe in the car, as loud as I can stand, with the windows rolled down. I'm convinced that the infectious happiness that I feel when I listen to them will be transferred to anyone who might be lucky enough to pull up next to me while "Home" or "Desert Song" are belting out of the speakers. I simply can't get over the concert; the music, the night, the feeling of being there. It's like trying to forget about a really good kiss. So in this moment of pure musical obsession, I think it's appropriate to write a post about something I've never written about before, but something that has always been one of the most important factors in my life: music.

To write a post about music is like sitting down to write a single post about love, or family, or life. It encompasses more in my life than I could ever hope to express in a few paragraphs. So don't be surprised if this single post morphs and grows into a series of explorations of some of my most important musical relationships. I promise to include pretty pictures as I go. For today, I want to write about live music, and the overwhelming sense of being that I get from hearing someone play their tunes for me (and 10,000 other people, in the case of the RRT, but still, for me).

I have been to my fair share of concerts and shows. Big and small, outdoor and indoor, acoustic and with eardrum-splitting amplification. I spent at least one night of nearly every week in high school at punk shows in my hometown. My parents took me to see musicians like Arlo Guthrie and George Clinton when I was a kid. Some of my favorite memories from growing up are listening to my dad play the guitar around the campfire, and listening to David Byrne and Jesus Christ Superstar on Saturday and Sunday mornings (I got most of my religious learnin' from Andrew Lloyd Webber). There are three concerts that stand out to me as the most world-rocking shows: Ray LaMontagne, with my college roommate; Manu Chao, with one of my closest childhood friends (I have never in my life danced harder or longer than we did at that show); and the Railroad Revival Tour with my wombmate (yeah, that's what I call us, since we've been friends since the womb). There is something purely magical, and invigorating, about seeing live music. It envelops you, and takes over every sense, until you are just an extension of the sound and energy. It sounds cheesy, but it's true. And it truly doesn't matter if it's a punk show in the pool hall or a quiet evening with my dad on guitar; the result is the same, and I'm overcome.

That's truly what I adore the most about music: its power to overtake my sensations, my emotions, and my thoughts. When I listen to a song, especially live, I am taken to a place within that song, within the music, and a piece of me is transformed. Listening to Old Crow Medicine Show peal out the lyrics to "Wagon Wheel", and Mumford & Sons become so completely engrossed in "Little Lion Man", and Alex Ebert of Edward Sharpe just about lose himself singing "Up from Below", I found it hard to not lose myself as well. Pieces of myself that felt broken were healed, and pieces that may have been whole became fractured. And the most incredible part is that it sticks with you. I don't really ever "recover" from a show. The feelings, the fractures, the healed pieces all stay that way, and create a new piece of myself, a piece that didn't exist before the concert. It sounds touchy-feely, perhaps, and maybe I'm the only one that feels this way, but it's my reality either way. To me, music is incredibly powerful.

What's the best concert you've ever been to? Favorite band (throw out some suggestions, please! I'm always dying for new tunes)?

Title song: OCMS, "Wagon Wheel"