Insight

EYESIGHT

Our primal sense is to dance

Photo by Emily Varisco • varisco@mscd.edu
Words by Boyd Fletcher • fletchar@mscd.edu

I went to go support my roommate Stuart Allen’s band last Thursday in Boulder. I wasn’t expecting too much, having seen them before, I figured I was just going to sit back and have a few drinks as they went through their two sets. After all, I thought, it’s only a local band on a Thursday night in Boulder. Sure enough, however, I found myself standing dead center of the room, dancing my ass off to music created by my friends. Sean Cohen’s electric guitar seemed to swirl around Allen’s heavy bass lines and soon I was lost in the dance-beat groove.

I mean, a lot of people go see concerts, and for many it is what it is: a performance by an artist. But for some people—a lot of people, I want to think—live music is more than just “something to do” on any given night.

Live music is a release from the tension of the daily grind, a time when a dark room full of strangers is, uncharacteristically, a place of comfort and magic. It is a time to connect with the most primal sense of rhythm and melody. Not all experiences are the same, and not all are as profound as another, but between the musicians on stage and the crowd there exists a conversation that transcends what we think of as language. Barriers can be brought down between performer and listener, and in that perfect environment true expression can be made…yes, even on a Thursday night in Boulder.