Sonic Youth
If you follow me on social media, I think it's safe to say that the things I get the most excited to talk about are international travel and live music; that's the heartbeat to everything else for me. Like, obviously, I enjoy talking about movies and all that geeky stuff -- I ran a podcast for over four years where I got to use that as an outlet for that and I write about that stuff for a website five days a week, that's all well-trod ground. What I've always loved about music is it's the moment when poetry hits melody and you catch it like and its just this beautiful symbiotic moment with the musicians vibing off the crowd and vice versa. More than that, it gives my mind something to focus on.
My psychologist in college brought to my attention I have pretty high-functioning ADHD and, as he sat me down and talked to me about it, it really did all make sense: My conversations often veer into deep tangents on the slightest moments, I'm usually working on multiple things at once instead of one thing holding my attention (I'd be lying if I said the only thing I was focused on right now is this blog post), and my mind tends to wander if I don't have something to ground it: That's where music comes in. If there's music on in the background, that lets me focus on some underlying factor; it's not uncommon for me to stop mid-sentence when a familiar song comes on at a bar or party, or even sing a few bars along with it. Live music, in that sense, is like a supremely positive sensory overload for me.
Last year, I managed to average exactly one rock show a month, which was all very deliberate. This year, I wanted to bring that all to another level, not unlike how I brought back international travel into rotation the previous year. There was nothing I was really interested in seeing at all in January, but this past month I did Cold War Kids, Calexico, and The Lumineers which are all these indie acts that chase the same ideas of a more rustically-tinged Americana but with a slightly different palette of sonic colors. And every venue this past month got progressively bigger.
Cold War Kids (the third time I've seen those guys) was at the 9:30 Club and I've touched on my experiences with that venue in a previous post on here. I really do have a lot of history with that place dating back to high school; some of my favorite memories over the years have been there. I remember just scraping by in grad school and saving up to go to shows I didn't want to miss there. Calexico was at The Anthem, and while I've only been going to that venue for the past three years, every time I've been there has been truly great and I even got to play that stage once. That always blows my mind because I never figured I was talented enough to get any sort of chance like that but life is still full of surprises and most of them are still quite pleasant.
This was the second time I've seen The Lumineers and them and Mumford & Sons (whom I saw this past December) really encapsulates that new wave of folk rock. Listening to songs like "Ho Hey" and "Angela" bring me right back to specific moments in time; rock and roll has always had a time capsule effect for me. That was at the Capital One Arena and kind of have an unofficial tradition of getting ramen whenever I find myself out that way.
April is when things go up a level once again, this time in the most ambitious live music trip I've ever done. I've talked about it in other social media posts so I'll let you just look that up otherwise hold on for another month and I'm plaster it all over social media as it unfolds. And then, this summer, I double-down and do it all over again but at another familiar venue. And, of course, there's more international travel coming too. With what's going overseas these days, plans I had going into the year might pivot, delay, or change completely, but I really am happy I finally brought that back and want to keep the momentum going. And I don't say the mental health stuff for any sort of sympathy; I always get really uncomfortable with that kind of attention, my ADHD is just part of who I am and I've learned to live with it. I keep learning and every day I tend to find myself growing more comfortable with who I am. So let's see how it all shakes out.
My psychologist in college brought to my attention I have pretty high-functioning ADHD and, as he sat me down and talked to me about it, it really did all make sense: My conversations often veer into deep tangents on the slightest moments, I'm usually working on multiple things at once instead of one thing holding my attention (I'd be lying if I said the only thing I was focused on right now is this blog post), and my mind tends to wander if I don't have something to ground it: That's where music comes in. If there's music on in the background, that lets me focus on some underlying factor; it's not uncommon for me to stop mid-sentence when a familiar song comes on at a bar or party, or even sing a few bars along with it. Live music, in that sense, is like a supremely positive sensory overload for me.
Last year, I managed to average exactly one rock show a month, which was all very deliberate. This year, I wanted to bring that all to another level, not unlike how I brought back international travel into rotation the previous year. There was nothing I was really interested in seeing at all in January, but this past month I did Cold War Kids, Calexico, and The Lumineers which are all these indie acts that chase the same ideas of a more rustically-tinged Americana but with a slightly different palette of sonic colors. And every venue this past month got progressively bigger.
Cold War Kids (the third time I've seen those guys) was at the 9:30 Club and I've touched on my experiences with that venue in a previous post on here. I really do have a lot of history with that place dating back to high school; some of my favorite memories over the years have been there. I remember just scraping by in grad school and saving up to go to shows I didn't want to miss there. Calexico was at The Anthem, and while I've only been going to that venue for the past three years, every time I've been there has been truly great and I even got to play that stage once. That always blows my mind because I never figured I was talented enough to get any sort of chance like that but life is still full of surprises and most of them are still quite pleasant.
This was the second time I've seen The Lumineers and them and Mumford & Sons (whom I saw this past December) really encapsulates that new wave of folk rock. Listening to songs like "Ho Hey" and "Angela" bring me right back to specific moments in time; rock and roll has always had a time capsule effect for me. That was at the Capital One Arena and kind of have an unofficial tradition of getting ramen whenever I find myself out that way.
April is when things go up a level once again, this time in the most ambitious live music trip I've ever done. I've talked about it in other social media posts so I'll let you just look that up otherwise hold on for another month and I'm plaster it all over social media as it unfolds. And then, this summer, I double-down and do it all over again but at another familiar venue. And, of course, there's more international travel coming too. With what's going overseas these days, plans I had going into the year might pivot, delay, or change completely, but I really am happy I finally brought that back and want to keep the momentum going. And I don't say the mental health stuff for any sort of sympathy; I always get really uncomfortable with that kind of attention, my ADHD is just part of who I am and I've learned to live with it. I keep learning and every day I tend to find myself growing more comfortable with who I am. So let's see how it all shakes out.
