On Passion, Performances, and Pictures.

It was a dark and foggy night when our protagonist set off to enjoy a night of music, provided by Gomez and the delightfully surprising Gabriella et Rodrigo, with she being the single best female guitarist I've ever witnessed.

The fog is crazy, people. Crazy. Riding the scooter home felt like an invitation to a party with death. Dear god. Wow.

Okay, here's something for the kids out there. Concerts have an etiquette, all right? In between songs, go fucking nuts. When the band's playing, shut the hell up. After a particularly wicked instrumental bridge, applause and cheering is cool. Keep your "Whoo!" and "Yeow!" shouts to a fucking minimum.

Know why? Concerts aren't for YOU to be a star. Concerts are for you to shut the fuck up and listen to some pretty wild musical experiences. And tonight, Gomez, was one HELL of a concert. This coming from a girl who's seen over 200, probably more, bands perform in her time. Gomez has entered that rare air: When they come, I will find a way to be there and see it. It's just that damned good.

I had a bunch (meaning 12-14) of yahoos behind me who were shrieking non-stop through the show. I turned around and said, "Yo, can you keep it down a bit?" And they naturally treated me like I was 80. "It's a con-cert," they explained. Yeah. Uh-huh, and I'm here for it, not for your nine-year-old shouting, awright?

But maybe that's one of those things you learn when you hit 28 or so. You see enough bullshit crap concerts where you learn that the performers are capitalizing on editing for their albums, but no such useful tool avails itself in live performances. Now and then you see someone who clearly not only loves what they're doing, but are excited enough to give it their all. Gomez is in that rare selection of performers who don't have jobs, they have passions.

I was one a huge, monster Tragically Hip fan. Once, they loved to perform. They were the best in the country. I think I've seen 'em 7, maybe 8 times. But... now it's clearly a job. They do the bare minimum, try to stuff a shitload of their new music in to sell their new albums, and do less and less of their classic material. I won't support that. I have a job. I don't need to see other people doing theirs with no passion, just skill.

Passion I'll pay for. And fun, too. Gomez had both. Wish I'd known more of their music before I went, but sometimes I like to go with fewer preconceptions. There's about a half-dozen Gomez songs I know and love, and the rest I've not really listened to. Now I will.

Here's some pics from tonight:







And here's some pics from this past week: