Thursday, August 19, 2004
It hurts and stings! (But in a good way...)
I would like to believe my ear is full of cotton. Full of water would work as well, whichever is easier. This is because it feels like my ear is full of something, only it's not, and I am worried about it. Temporary hearing loss and damage and all that. I know exactly the cause of this latest affliction, however, and since it was basically self-inflicted, I probably shouldn't try to work the pity card too much. I am worried, however, since I haven't had this happen to me before, and I like my ears and would like them to keep working for a while. That said, I have considered wearing earplugs and dismissed them as being against the spirit of rock concerts. A party isn't a party if you play it safe, and a concert is just a big party with volume. As for hearing when I'm fifty, well, I'm just hoping that we can synthesize eardrums by then.
In short, the Jimmy Swift Band was playing last night at Maverick's, and just like the last time, they were unbe-freaking-lievable. Two sets and a couple of encores, mix well with some beer and a pretty decent set from opening band Caledonia, and you have a pretty kickass night, even on a Wednesday. The whole ear thing, missing my alarm* and being an hour late for work, having intermittent headaches and in general being dead tired this morning is acceptable revenge for revelry.
* I should probably rephrase: I did register my alarm, weighed the pros and cons of going back to sleep, made a calculated, thought out decision, and then smashed the Kill button and promptly released consciousness. As a bit of context, my alarm is scaled -- it gets louder the longer it goes -- and after a few minutes has sufficient volume to wake me up across a floor. This is to say, I was in the basement of my old house, my alarm was on the main floor, and it woke me up within ten to fifteen minutes. This morning took eight to ten, and the alarm was a foot from my ear.
Like I said, the bands were both pretty good. Caladonia was a rather folky sounding group; they reminded me a lot of the Grateful Dead, which is really not all that surprising. They started out a little shaky, but once they got past the first song, they got into the groove and started playing some pretty good stuff. As good as they were though, once the good Mr. Swift got going, the funk powerhouse just steamrolled right over everything and left me loping home at 2:30 in the AM, muttering to myself and wondering if the ringing would stop. (It still hasn't.)
I have up to now considered concerts as not being generally worth going to. The standing in a giant throng of people while being shoved, tossed around and deafened isn't my idea of a good time. However, (and this is a rather big however,) there can be elements in the concert that can make all that bearable. The standing bit is resolved easily enough by providing chairs, something that's almost a given if the venue is a bar, not so easily done if the concert is in a conference center or other giant, open area with a stage. Depending on the length of the show or whether dancing occurs, this can be overlooked, but otherwise it can be real pain. Yes, the music is usually obscenely loud, but this is so that rather than just listening to the music, you feel it. I mean that your organs are vibrating to the sound of the guitar, and every hit of the bass drum feels like your heartbeat. Being inundated in sound, like sinking into a hot tub, all warm and gooshy on the inside -- I declare it to be totally awesome.
So, depending on the music -- and the Jimmy Swift Band definitely qualifies -- I just might consider concerts more often from now on. ¶ 2:48 p.m.
I would like to believe my ear is full of cotton. Full of water would work as well, whichever is easier. This is because it feels like my ear is full of something, only it's not, and I am worried about it. Temporary hearing loss and damage and all that. I know exactly the cause of this latest affliction, however, and since it was basically self-inflicted, I probably shouldn't try to work the pity card too much. I am worried, however, since I haven't had this happen to me before, and I like my ears and would like them to keep working for a while. That said, I have considered wearing earplugs and dismissed them as being against the spirit of rock concerts. A party isn't a party if you play it safe, and a concert is just a big party with volume. As for hearing when I'm fifty, well, I'm just hoping that we can synthesize eardrums by then.
In short, the Jimmy Swift Band was playing last night at Maverick's, and just like the last time, they were unbe-freaking-lievable. Two sets and a couple of encores, mix well with some beer and a pretty decent set from opening band Caledonia, and you have a pretty kickass night, even on a Wednesday. The whole ear thing, missing my alarm* and being an hour late for work, having intermittent headaches and in general being dead tired this morning is acceptable revenge for revelry.
* I should probably rephrase: I did register my alarm, weighed the pros and cons of going back to sleep, made a calculated, thought out decision, and then smashed the Kill button and promptly released consciousness. As a bit of context, my alarm is scaled -- it gets louder the longer it goes -- and after a few minutes has sufficient volume to wake me up across a floor. This is to say, I was in the basement of my old house, my alarm was on the main floor, and it woke me up within ten to fifteen minutes. This morning took eight to ten, and the alarm was a foot from my ear.
Like I said, the bands were both pretty good. Caladonia was a rather folky sounding group; they reminded me a lot of the Grateful Dead, which is really not all that surprising. They started out a little shaky, but once they got past the first song, they got into the groove and started playing some pretty good stuff. As good as they were though, once the good Mr. Swift got going, the funk powerhouse just steamrolled right over everything and left me loping home at 2:30 in the AM, muttering to myself and wondering if the ringing would stop. (It still hasn't.)
I have up to now considered concerts as not being generally worth going to. The standing in a giant throng of people while being shoved, tossed around and deafened isn't my idea of a good time. However, (and this is a rather big however,) there can be elements in the concert that can make all that bearable. The standing bit is resolved easily enough by providing chairs, something that's almost a given if the venue is a bar, not so easily done if the concert is in a conference center or other giant, open area with a stage. Depending on the length of the show or whether dancing occurs, this can be overlooked, but otherwise it can be real pain. Yes, the music is usually obscenely loud, but this is so that rather than just listening to the music, you feel it. I mean that your organs are vibrating to the sound of the guitar, and every hit of the bass drum feels like your heartbeat. Being inundated in sound, like sinking into a hot tub, all warm and gooshy on the inside -- I declare it to be totally awesome.
So, depending on the music -- and the Jimmy Swift Band definitely qualifies -- I just might consider concerts more often from now on. ¶ 2:48 p.m.
