Re: saw bonnie prince billy 4 first time lastnight. and now i have somequestions. -- A Minor Place

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Date Posted: 21:39:45 11/07/02 Thu
Author: thaddeus floodgate
Subject: Re: saw bonnie prince billy 4 first time lastnight. and now i have somequestions.
In reply to: sam 's message, "saw bonnie prince billy 4 first time lastnight. and now i have somequestions." on 18:43:50 10/05/02 Sat

hello, i stumbled across this site and was amused by this post. i've been to well over a dozen w. oldham shows and have never had a bad time (my favorite was a very intimate solo performance in the coffee shop of antioch university, yellow springs oh.) so here's another way to look at your experience. have you ever considered that the other people at the show are there to watch an amazing musician and performer and not to twirl around and get trippy? personally, i'm a musician and when i go to concerts i like to see how the masters work. it's kinda like one surgeon going to see another surgeon perform an operation. for some of us it's chance for us to observe, not participate. yes, yes, i too have seen the hipsters and all that, but, um, GET OVER IT. if yer looking for brotherhood, join the boy scouts, if you wnat to see history, put up with the riff raff. >i saw bonnie prince billy 4 the first time lastnight.
>i was wondering, do very many people dance at these
>shows ? i felt that the crowd was a bit disrespectful.
>oh yeah the show was in kentucky (usa). i felt a
>connection with the music off and on. there were alot
>of people chit chatting and drinking alcohol. lots of
>cell phones being used during the performance. i kept
>hearing people talking about how they thought will was
>a very imbalanced person b/c of the way his eyes
>looked and his supposidley crazy stage presence.
>i personally felt offended by these comments but let
>them slip into the chatter noise. it seemed like the
>band was so full of energy at first but then at times
>things seemed to drag a bit. i started to wonder of
>the effects the crowd had on the music. or if these
>things even effect this particular band.
>i felt that certain individuals did not want me there.
>i felt like some were offended that i was dancing.
>perhaps i should explain a bit about myself to give a
>clearer picture.
>
>most people cant place me in a general stereotype of
>style or tastes. i dont want to be identified by a
>group or by the things i take interest in anyways so
>that all works out well. this might not be a point of
>any significance in most cases but it may be in this
>situation, i wear birkenstock sandles. im 27 years old.
>i have very eclectic tastes in music and most other
>things in general. for example some of the bands i
>love: the grateful dead, jerry garcia band, garcia &
>grisman, the cramps, dar williams, suzanne vega,
>widespread panic, joan baez, palace/bonnie billy, the
>dead milkmen, culture, israel vibration, thrill kill
>cult, lords of acid, bob dylan, i think you get the
>point.
>one thing that i believe most of this music has in
>common are things like the raw purity of music, and
>honesty. i feel like music is a very spiritual thing
>that invokes dance, and if taken far enough trance.
>i felt so excited to see wills band. drove three hours
>to do so ( this is a common thing for me to do, often
>driving farther to see bands and calling it vacation
>). i love music.
>i guess i was taken by suprise with some of the
>aspects of the crowd though. i have always felt that
>wills music is sentimental and timeless. i always felt
>that he seemed to pour himself into the music in a
>deep way, full of feeling. i guess what i am asking
>anyone who reads this is what has your individual
>experiences seeing this band been like.
>
>i always felt that this music would draw a crowd that
>fit the music in some way. im not saying this crowd
>did not, but i seem to have been taken by suprise.
>most of the bands that i have seen seem to have had a
>dance culture within the scene. with people coming
>together for the music. the crowd at this show seemed
>to stare blankly at the band while remaining very
>still and focused on watching william.
>
>commenting at times about how crazy he looked and how
>that was just so wild. i felt like i had to equip
>myself with an invisible sheild to keep from
>overhearing comments about myself having a good time
>enjoying the music. it seemed like alot of fashionable
>sad people drinking and commenting on my dancing as if
>it were uncool to dance to music.
>
>i shrugged off the verbal arrows and sunk into that
>place where it was just the music and the energy. i
>felt at times the crowd may have prohibited the music
>from going beyond a certain point. is this just my own
>interpretation or has anyone else experienced this
>music in different settings amongst different crowds
>and noticed any differences concerning the quality of
>the performance ?
>
>i have seen other bands for like eight shows in a row
>on a single tour and noticed differences between
>certain crowds locations and venues.
>i will go back to see this band. i am curious to have
>something to compare my first experience with. i was
>also curious as to how will felt about some of these
>issues but didnt want to approach him for fear of
>seeming too pretentious. i felt like who am i to pose
>such questions about something i have only experienced
>once. with only my other music relationships to
>compare it to.
>i will admit most of the music scenes i have involved
>myself with have seemed more open to diversity. seemed
>more accepting to a larger variety of individuals.
>i would like to hear what others have to say on this
>topic. are there valid points here or am i just a
>nowhere man who must learn that i must identify myself
>and conform with a certain group of people to be
>accepted in this world (or is that just the american
>way at its finest).
>my girlfriend felt similarly. we wondered if people
>were there for the music or if they were there to be
>involved in a cool underground scene that was being
>infiltrated by dancing terrorists.
>i had a great time shaking off the the ills of life
>through dance but for the first time i felt like i
>left a musical experience with more ills than i came
>with.
>i know this had absolutely nothing to do with the
>music or the band. mostly the crowd. i just couldnt go
>see this band i have been listening to for four years
>and not get a groove on. we just recently got a
>computer and before that i had no way of knowing how
>to find out about wills bands shows. now that i can
>access the info i actually have the option to see his
>bands. its nice.
>thanks for reading this. take care, be safe.

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Replies:

Re: saw bonnie prince billy 4 first time lastnight. and now i have somequestions. -- William Burke, 23:19:20 11/27/02 Wed