Current mood:	contemplative
Current music:	Zealou1 & YTCracker - Nerdstyle

Layers of Emotion
I'm a big music fan. Always have been. But I've noticed that the ways in which I enjoy music are changing. Case in point, I used to spend hours just listening to music. Actively listening, and doing nothing else. Just sitting in my chair with some mood lighting musing at the meanings of the lyrics and assembly of the instrumentation.

Now days, I mostly listen to music while actively engaging in some other activity. It is only as background noise that I can enjoy it, as I'm far to busy or distracted to engage in it deeper. One a few occasions lately, I've found myself in a position to make the music the active focal point. It's quite remarkable how different the experience can be.

Recently, I was fed up with some nonsense at work and opted to just plug in my headphones, close the office door, close my eyes, and take a music break. The music I played was something I've listened to hundreds of times, yet it had been so long since I thoroughly devoted my attention to it that I found my response to it had drastically changed in the intervening time. As such I've begun trying to find time to go back and REALLY listen to some of my favorite selections from yesteryear to see how my emotional response may have shifted.

For example, I've always enjoyed the Tori Amos album “Little Earthquakes”. But although I found songs like “Winter” and “China” to be beautiful tracks that evoked a strong emotional response when I was younger, I find that the reaction from the perspective of a Father and Husband respectively adds a significant amount of depth to the material.

I also seldom get an opportunity to see live music performances these days. Recently I had the chance to go to a show featuring MC Frontalot, MC Lars, and YTCracker. While I'm obviously a big fan of each, and listen to their music frequently, I find that over time a lot of this initial “fun” feelings associated with the music are harder to evoke. Having attended the show and enjoyed those same songs, singing in chorus with dozens of other fans, really gives one a tangible base to conjure that pure enjoyment all over again.

On that note, the show was great. I was disappointed initially to learn that the nerdcore trifecta wasn't the sole performers that night. As it turns out there where I believe 6 other bands to wait through till Lars and YT took stage. All of which I might add sucked pretty heavily with the exception of a ska band called “Too Many Cougars”. I actually would have bought their demo disc if they had one available. One the bright side, it was a very intimate venue and the fellas were hanging out at the merch table chatting with the fans. It was nice to be able to take my time having a word with them without throngs of impatient people behind you.

Despite a lot of technical difficulties during the setup between the final band and the boys, the show was fantastic and high energy. A good selection of new material from Lars' upcoming album as well as old favorites. There was lots of good audience participation stuff and the boys seemed to have a really great rapport and comradery on stage. Although I really would have loved for Front to perform “Secrets from The Future” live. I love that friggin track. Sadly the set got cut short because of the other bands running slightly long and the time it took to sort out the sound issues.

I also must say that even being a fan of Lars, there's less of his material that really gets me going when compared to the catalogs of the others. But in person the guy is just a force. He was beyond friendly, dispensing stories and hugs with equal zeal. He recognized people from previous shows and even gave me a copy of one of his books for free. I can't put my finger on it, but there just something about the guy that absolutely forces you to like him. Having personally met him, I'm now a dedicated fan for life. It makes me feel really good to know he's out there putting such a great face on the scene. His outgoing nature also serves as a good counter to Front and YT, the former being slightly socially awkward and the later being a bit reserved in person. But all the guys were great and I can't remember the last time I had so much fun. Snagged as much merch as my meager budget would allow, and got Frontalot's signature. In retrospect I need to remember to take ear plugs the next time I hit a small venue. Managed to get wedged in right my the stage right amps during the bulk of the show. I was practically deaf in my left ear for about 3 days. Things have since returned to normal though.

Can't wait till Nerdapalooza next year. Dying to see Schaffer The Darklord live. For reference, MC Lars' new disc, “Giant Robot Kills” drops in February.