Concerts

I adore music. One of the things I miss most with my new life and disability, is not being able to go to concerts. There is nothing like live music. After my injury I went to a few concerts but it just got worse and worse for me. The standing, the noise, the lights, the lights flashing and the pain. Before my only concern was the cost, seats, date, location and who was going with me to a concert. All seem so simple now. Today I just wouldn't care. I'd sit wherever, go by myself and if I had money, pay whatever to see someone I liked and drive forever to a venue if I could.

Florence and the Machine. The last concert I went to before I hit my head. I hated the venue but she was amazing. You can also see I did not have my DSLR with me. 

I went to see Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit, The Black Keys, Supercrawl artists (including Said the Whale, Junior Boys and Broken Social Scene) and Feist in 2011 after my injury. I got sick after each concert. I even left during the main act at Supercrawl as I was getting dizzy, had a migraine and was at the verge of puking and falling over. Every concert was worse than the last. It was too much. By Feist, I knew I had to stop.

Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit at Horseshoe Tavern, TO. You can tell I have my DSLR on this one. 

Up close and personal at Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit

The small personal venues are my favourite. It is less stuffy and feels like you are just going out to the local pub to hang with some friends and just listen. I love to be close enough to see fingers slide along guitars and see the emotion in one's eyes as they sing. For me I wish I could always bring my DSLR to concerts. To me the camera is a different way of viewing and living a concert. Maybe I need to be magically granted a press pass for concerts. LOL.

Floor Seats (aka standing squished between people who were moshing) at The Black Keys at the JLB Centre in London, On.  Back to my little camera. 

The Black Keys really are amazing. They also must be utterly exhausted after their concerts.

The Black Keys. I used to love the lighting of concerts. The mood lighting on this one is much better for me.

The crowd at The Black Keys concert was really annoying to say the truth. I hate to point out the all ages fact but I think it was a factor. I really don't think that The Black Keys is a band that coincides with moshing but then again the opening act, Cage the Elephant lead singer didn't help by moshing himself. Regardless the concert was phenomenal. My favourite was Howling for You and the crowd bounding up and down together. It was a night I won't forget.

Supercrawl 2011 was the last Supercrawl I attended. It is a great experience of art and music fused together in a few blocks of downtown Hamilton. Not to mention it's FREE for all. There are so many musicians and artists. Lately they have had 3 stages. It's hard to get around to see all the musicians you want to see, especially when they play at the same time. Music + art = two of my favourite things. 

Said the Whale at Supercrawl 2011 in Hamilton, ON. Back with my DSLR. Too bad I was so far away without a tripod.

More Said the Whale picture love at Supercrawl 2011. They are fun and seem so sweet. The varied crowd including dancing man, were also quite entertaining during their set.

It's odd when you listen to someone's music through a friend, then meet that person, become friends with them and then years later finally see them in concert. This was the best part of Supercrawl 2011, watching Junior Boys play and finally seeing Jer. the guy I know as so and so's friend, who owns the bar "The Brain" and is a good dude, play and sing. We are not super close in any respect but I always find it so rewarding and have that feeling of "pride" when I see someone I know, someone local doing well. Maybe that's part of the Canadian loving cheesiness, oh well. Good feeling no matter what are lovely. Matt and Jeremy are great artist, period.

First time watching friends Junior Boys play at Supercrawl 2011

Watching Jer sing. Junior Boys Supercrawl 2011.

By this point of the day, even though I sat down many times, even bringing a mat to watch performances, I was failing miserably. I normally have headaches everyday but it's the debilitating ones, that I have to watch for. Sometimes they creep up on me, other times I try to ignore them and other times still I have no choice but to listen to them. The next concert was my deciding factor to stop going to concerts regularly and "take a break" unwillingly. I really wanted to go see Mumford and Sons the next month in Hamilton as well but forced myself to behave for my health.

Broken Social Scene. The big headliner of Supercrawl 2011.

This crowd went for another half block behind me. Supercrawl 2011.

Watching Broken Social Scene at Supercrawl 2011.

This is what everything started to look like for me while watching Broken Social Scene.

The very last concert I went to, I thought I would be safe and try out something where I could sit down, something that was light and not heavy, especially with base. It had been almost 4 months since Supercrawl and I still had the diagnosis of "post concussion syndrome" not the POTS yet. I thought I should be getting better. I went to Feist. I puked the whole way home. I loved it though, the concert that is.

Feist and her amazing back up singers Mountain Man. Massey Hall, Toronto 2011. Back to tiny camera and I only took a few shots as it was an "illegal" maneuver,  although you could see people doing it everywhere.

Many of the crowd jumped up on stage and danced with Feist. I wish I could of gone but I knew the crowd and noise would be too much for me and standing/dancing is something I can't do.

All the dancers then sat on stage for the next few performances. I wish I could of gone up.

I dream of a day or a way I could go see a concert again. Adele would be the best dream. I'm also still dying to see Mumford and Sons as well as Imagine Dragons and Muse. I think maybe I could magically get some special pass where I could be in a special room/box to myself have ear plugs, sound cancel earmuffs and just enjoy without anyone jumping on me or having to stand. Hopefully something will change. I can't imagine never attending a concert again. The thought is too awful for me to comprehend.

For now I listen to music on my laptop and in the car, occasionally being bad and turning up the volume to above talking level for a minute or two on a good song, until my head throbs and tells me otherwise. Here's hoping for a different future or some alternative.