The Lights

A key part of any good rock and roll concert is the light show. The music is only sound, but, when it is accompanied by an amazing light show your senses can be taken to the limit. When the lights are working in conjunction with the music, you get magic. I love jam music and the concerts I have been to have for the most part been accompanied by an amazing light show display. Phish takes this experience to the outermost limit of the imagination.
Their light man, Chris Kuroda, is a master of the light board. Since the band has been working together with Kuroda, (as the fans call him) for over 20 years, he has an intimate knowledge of the fine details of the music. Kuroda knows where the breaks in the beats are and can create a light show that seems as if it is synchronous with the musicians. The fans are also very wary of his ability and won't hesitate to let him know if the lights are not up to snuff. In fact, there was an occasion where we felt the lights could have been more intense and during the set break we did not hesitate to let him know. When the house lights went down he proceeded to put together the most insane light show I have ever seen. It was as if the lights were being controlled by the musicians themselves. I have never been abducted by aliens, nor has anyone else I know, but it was a close encounter of the amazing kind. Each beam of light spun its way out into the audience and created a psychedelic whirlwind of dancing multi-colored light that wound its way across the stage and melted into the faces of the crowd.
There are very few shows I have seen that can recreate the intensity and splendor of what Kuroda does on a nightly basis. He has worked the lights for the members of Phish's side projects and for the grammy awards. His skills are unparalleled. When he works the light board his hands fly across each button, knob, and dial with a supernatural precision. It's almost as if it were an extension of his hands. For the life of me I don't know how he does it, but, he makes the magic and each venue is decorated with his spinning, whirling, colorful display of lights that make me want more, more, more. Which is why, I guess, I have seen the band over 95 times.

Why on Earth do people blog?

Blogging is very new to me. In fact, I didn't even know what a blog meant until I enrolled in an Advanced Composition class at George Mason University. I thought it was something to do with buying stuff on the internet. Much to my chagrin, it does not. It is simply a personal journal that any person can post on the internet. I was happy to find out that it actually did have something to do with the internet. But I was sad to find out that I actually had to write something.
I spent almost the last 20 years doing nothing but going to concerts all over the country. During this time, I think that I read about two books. So, as you can see academics were the furthest thing from my mind. It was all about the show. For all of you live music junkies out ther, perhaps you know what I am talking about. Why read something when they are going to make it into a movie anyway?
So, here I sit blogging away. Still, with little understanding of what I should be writing. Perhaps, that is the point. To "just" write.

Who's runnin' the show?

Since the birth of my daughter four months ago, it is clear that neither myself nor my wife "run the show" in our home anymore. This tiny little person, who can scream so loud it sounds distorted, is now completely in charge. I first noticed this at about four in the morning when I found myself singing songs to try to make her fall asleep. Along with my attempts to lull the baby to sleep, I found myself waking at around six in the morning to make sure that Mom had what she needed to feed the baby, since she was breast feeding. In addition to the change in our schedule we were buying baby stuff by the truckload. From bottles and nipples to breast pump accessories. It was all vey exciting or maybe it was desperation.