Oberlin

My Dearest Friend The Classical Music Concert, 

I wanted to apologize for ditching you lately. I've been spending some time with my other friend, Rock Show. It's OK, don't be jealous. But listen to these things that make Rock Show just a really cool person to hang out with.

1. Anticipation      

         The hurt in your feet, standing in the front row, waiting for the band to come out on stage, this moment and all that led up to it--

         The waking up early.

         The quick breakfast and on-the-road to the city.

         The sitting in line for hours playing cards with your friends, eating packed sandwiches, debating which songs you hope the band will or won't play, what will be the opener, the closer, the encore's opener and closer...

         The rushing to the souvenir stand to get the best shirt in the right size and enough bottles of water--or your fancy--to last you through the concert.

--and the later the band arrives on stage, the more you feel it was worth the wait.

2. Personality and Intimacy      

         The band stepping out on stage, and they're not wearing tuxedos or concert black. (Or, if they are, then they mean something by it.)

         The lead singer taking the mic, looks out into the warm bodies of the crowd, and says, "Hello (city), we're ______." And maybe they even know the coffee-talk of the city. (In Pittsburgh, summer 2011, when filming for The Dark Knight Rises was clogging city traffic, I was seeing Death Cab for Cutie. The band surprised the crowd with their own rendition of the original Batman theme song.)

         The pianist, on the slow number, screwing up the second chord--and laughing, putting the crowd at ease.

         The band letting loose and dancing to the music like a bunch of weirdos (I'm looking at you, Architecture In Helsinki). Or the lead singer stepping forward to the very edge of the stage and spreading his arms wide, shouting the lyrics skyward like it's the last thing he'll ever do. (I thank you, Torquil Campbell of the band Stars, for that moment I'll never forget.)

3. In-the-Moment-ness

         The absence of sheet music. (Actor Anthony Hopkins is famous for being able to make you feel when you hear him that it's the first time he's ever said the line. Obviously, orchestra is a little different, but the sight of sheet music to an audience can be an obstacle to that intense level of immersion.)

         The feeling that breaking out into applause or screaming your head off at your own whim isn't a faux pas.

And so, my dear friend Classical Concert, please don't get me wrong--I know you can't do all of those things. It just wouldn't seem right, and you can't force it. But just know that it's not extravagant lighting that sways me toward seeing Rock Show over you. It's something more. Something deeper.