concerts as the ultimate social experience
Concert Review
Ben Folds / Rufus Wainwright / Ben Lee
08/13/05
Ravinia, Chicago
or, Concerts as the Ultimate Social Experience.
No matter how many times I see him, Ben Folds is always a good time. This one happened to be the best experience for me, but I'll get to why in a bit. First a review of the music...
Folds seemed a little more subdued than usual, for which I blame the crowd, because we were all so relaxed and busy chillaxin that I'm sure it was hard for him to get revved up by us. But that also meant we only got about a third of his usual amount of swearyness, which is good. My group was saddened by the (understandable) exclusion of "The Luckiest", but to me, it was made up for by the inclusion of Philosophy and an excellent version of Jesusland. However, one of his best songs off the recent album, Gracie was completely ruined by Folds attempt to turn it into a stadium-rock, concert style, thumping, shout-along. It's just not that kind of song, Ben. It's a sweet little ode to a little girl. Don't ruin it. Also, somewhat lame this time was the "horn-section" portion of the show. But I again blame that on the subdued crowd participation.
Rufus Wainwright had improved since I saw him last. This time the musical accompaniment sort of toned down his b@#%@#%ness, whereas last time he might as well have been in drag. My favorite, of course, was Poses but I was also hoping for One Man Guy. I guess you can't have everything you want. He also did the one song most people know by him, Hallelujah, but I was unimpressed because I think Jeff Buckley does that song way better (even though it was on The OC).
The best part of the night, musically, for me, though, was Ben Lee. I love him and had no idea he was the first opener. Gotta love small surprises in life. Check out Gamble Everything For Love if you're wondering who he is. I included this song on some of my Indie Mixes recently. Good stuff.
But now, onto what made this the best experience for me. And that was the venue. How could I have lived mere miles from this place for song long and have never been there? Ravinia combines my two favorite activities into one amazing night. If I had my choice of doing anything I want in my freetime, it would be a toss up between going to concerts and going to parties where I can relax and have a good conversation with friends. Ravinia, you made both dreams come true! Ravinia is like one big park with trees and hills and everyone comes early with their blankets and candles and food and wine and just lays down and relaxes with their friends and the people around them. It was like a massive picnic of thousands of people. At night, with everyone's candles glowing and everyone listening to the music or singing along, it was like some kind of dream. Had I been on a date, it would have been very romantic. But better than that, I was with some very close friends. One was this amazing girl and also another of my best friends and her awesome boyfriend and another friend of ours. To combine sitting and eating and drinking while talking with some of my best friends PLUS listening to an awesome concert... it was the ultimate social experience for me. The only thing I could ask from Ravinia was that it were better planned so that the picnickers had a better view of the stage, because we basically had none. But it didn't even matter. It's not about watching the performer if their just sitting at a piano singing. It's about hearing what they're saying and being moved by the music. And we had that and more. Seriously one of my top 10 shows of all time. And for me, that's a lot, because I'm sure I've been to over a hundred shows. As a teen, it was a weekly occurance for me. So thanks rae, for getting it together, with your overly-organized envelopes and all.
Posted by heydomsar
2005-08-18
go back | random brainstorm | go forth
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In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. - 2008-10-04
