The Changed State of Music

Last night I finally made it to the concert of one of my good friends. It was a joy and a pleasure to see him again, and to listen to his music. I do not often listen to live music, and when I do I find myself thinking while listening, and enjoying the mood. Whilst I was pondering I noted a few things quite different about that concert and how I usually treat music, and how I perceive music is usually treated. I usually listen to music when I want to, and usually while doing something else. I'll listen to music while driving, or while working, or while doing some chores, but rarely will I listen to music and do nothing else but listen. In the case of concerts you have little else to do but listen, or chat with friends (but then you'd miss the performance). It was while listening to my friend, who is an Artist in the sense that he is passionate about his music, I began to realize we might have lost something special when we stopped using live performers for our events (or perhaps we have made them more special).

Now that we can have the same performance over and over again, and we can all share the same performance, there seems to be no need for live performances, except for special occasions. But what I marked about the concert (at a pizza joint) was the ability to listen to some good/mediocre music, and enjoy time with friends over some food and drink, and much conversation. I know coffee shops have been doing this for some time, but I'd love to see more restaurants employ this service, for it makes for a rather enjoyable evening. And I wonder what it feels like for a musician (artist) to share his works with people and to have a regular job at it. Can it be true that all musicians want to make it big, or are there some who merely want to share their skills with any who will listen, making enough to pay the rent? I actually enjoyed the music for the music, the time for reflection (hearing him play again brought back many happy memories of years long gone), and the atmosphere where people could enjoy a happy time. I think I'd like more of that in my life . . . perhaps this is why pubs were/are so popular in Europe.