Beautiful Irony...

I did something last night I rarely do. I went to a concert. I'm not much of a concert-goer. First of all, there is this communal obligation to stand during concerts. I'm not much into standing. If I go to a concert, it better be a concert that is conducive to sitting. Second, most concerts suck in sound. It is very rare, in my experience, where the sound was amazing. I'm not talking volume here either. I'm talking quality. Thirdly, concerts tend to turn into a human worship gathering. No matter how amazing the singer or musician may be, I'm truly more interested in the music itself...unless the artist is Shania Twain, Jessica Simpson, or Faith Hill. I then would just bring ear plugs or my IPod to their concert and just watch divine beauty dance across the stage.

With that said, I will post here right now, the 2 best concerts I have ever been to:
Harry Connick Jr.
Ronan Tynan

Last night was even more of a rare moment for me because of the type of concert I went to. The concert was an evening of 6 emo punk bands playing/screaming their hearts out. I ended up surrounded by about 200 mostly-high-school-age young adults that looked liked they just walked out of a "Hot Topic". Now, you can only imagine how well I blended into this group.

I found myself at this concert in my desire to be a good friend and employer. Every Saturday, I work with 2 high school guys...both of which have their own band. The sun & moon finally aligned last night where they were both playing at the same gig and I told them I would come out & hear them play.

As far as personality, musical ability, and showmanship, these guys both have more talent in their thumbs than I do in my entire body. However, I am unable to comment on the lyrics because I couldn't understand a word they screamed.

Being the sociologist that I am, I found myself watching less & less of the bands last night...and more & more of the people in the crowd. I know I'm not the first one to point this out...but I found it very interesting that this subculture that emphasizes being your own person, standing out, but being anti-corporate-branding falls under the same pressure to conform to the community they are a part of. In their attempt to stand out among the average teenager you see, this group of young adults looked all the same to me. So when everyone stands out, the only person that stands out is the alien (that would be yours truly in this instance). I caught everyone's attention...perhaps not just because of my wardrobe or striking good looks, but also because of my lack of tattoos, piercings, make-up, and cigarettes. Last night I was the freak that got all the stare downs. Ah, beautiful irony!