"Music is the soundtrack to our lives."

If I were to have "a thing," going to concerts would be my thing. I've always been surrounded by music. My mother was a renowned actress in Cleveland when she was younger. Her voice was stellar. And my dad... well, my dad is cool too. His input consisted of the oldies. He introduced me to Elvis Presley, Smokey Robinson, and The Temptations.

My first concert was a rock n' roll show in Cleveland called the Moondog Coronation Ball. It was started by Alan Freed (if I remember correctly) many years ago, and consisted of many of rock n' roll's "greats." Lou Christie singing "two faces have I" in his falsetto started the show, and to end the show, symmetrically, was Frankie Valli. I remember the beat of "Grease" pulsing inside my body. I was hooked.

I don't know how many of us still purchase physical albums, but I know I'll never stop. My CD collection is gigantic. My collection of 45rpm vinyls is kept in our jukebox in the basement. My 33rpm vinyl collection is growing lol with all the repressing that's supposed to occur over the next 5 years, I'm hoping to expand it greatly!

Back to the concerts though...


The summer of 2003 was my "rebirth" in live music. My girlfriend at the time won tickets on the radio to see a rising band I'd never heard of called Coldplay. So I went, and enjoyed myself greatly! I recognized the one song "Clocks" from an HBO promotional commercial. But other than that, it was all new. After the show we went backstage and met the band. Very nice British guys indeed. The lead singer Chris signed my ticket stub and laughed at the fact we were wearing the same shirt. It was fun.


Then, 11 days later... on June 21st... I saw Dave Matthews Band for the first time. That day changed my life. From tailgating with my best friends to the opening band M.O.E. who were joined by Dave Matthews himself on the song "The Weight" by The Band ("take a load of fannie, take a load for free") to the first chords of Don't Drink the Water, I could feel myself being altered in a way I didn't fully understand. More on this band later on...


8 nights after DMB I again joined friends downtown on the lake to see another artist I had never heard of before. Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals... but I was surprised to learn it was a dual concert, with a second artist sharing the stage before Ben Harper. So I was graced with the sounds of both Ben Harper and Jack Johnson in the same night. Not to mention their support act was Robert Randolph and the Family Band... a band I would see another 4 or 5 times down the road.


After the sun rose and set only 3 more times I again found myself downtown. This time I was indoors, in a tiny little venue called The Odeon. One of the most fun concerts I've ever been to. Guster. The drummer didn't have sticks!! He used his hands!!! HAHA I thought it was hysterical... but only for about a minute, cuz his greatness was simply awesome. Their encore was down unplugged, and the audience was huddled tightly as bristles on a toothbrush against the stage to listen to the gentle acoustic jam.


The very next night my father graced me with tickets to see Smokey Robinson. The night was jam-packed with all the best oldies. I learned, also, that Smokey wrote many songs performed by other groups... ie, My Girl. Meeting Smokey after his show was one of the highlights of my life... even if he was wearing a bright purple sequined shirt and silver pants. Peace Love & Soul.


Finally a break in the music. 30 whole days!!

Aerosmith and KISS... one concert. The "Hottest Band In The World" went first. And after blowing 25,000 people away with their GREATEST hits I was actually believing there was absolutely NO way Aerosmith could out-do KISS. Have you ever believed something to be true... and then you were proven wrong... but it made you feel better to have been proven wrong?? Yeah, me neither... until that night. Aerosmith, from behind a big curtain with their "wings" logo gracing the front of it, burst into Same Old Song And Dance. Brian Kramer's two big drum hits and Hamilton and Whitford backing up Joe Perry's ridiculous guitar hits as the curtain exploded outwards and down to the stage was only outshined by Steven Tyler's stage-presence. This show, is in my top 5.


Over the next 6 years (up to today) I would see Dave Matthews Band a total of 23 times. Each one being an incredible experience of its own. Been dating Jess for 11 months (today actually) and she's already seen 'em 3 times with me! Greatest touring band in the world right now. Their music touches me in ways only The Beatles can. My mother saw them... the Beatles. She was in class, in like 8th grade or something, and the girl in front of her turned around and said, "my dad bought me tickets to see The Beatles tonight, but I have no one to go with me. Would you like to come?" My mom thought for all of about 45 milliseconds before accepting the tickets with extreme excitement... my mom is lucky. I myself have only seen ONE of The Beatles live in concert. Ringo... ahh what a show. HAHA just kidding. I saw Paul McCartney with my girlfriend Jess, only a week and a half ago in Piedmont Park in Atlanta. 40,000 people screaming and singing EVERY word to EVERY song (minus the 4 new ones). Midway into the set the heavens opened up and the rain came down as hard as a tropical storm, which only fueled the dancing.

my girl Jess and the Paul McCartney stage

But I'm getting ahead of myself... I skipped over 5 glorious music years!! Although, this is getting to be pretty long, so I'll paraphrase 04-09, giving recognition to the concerts that deserve it, skipping DMB and the all-time single greatest concert I've ever been to, Sir Paul.

NOTE* when i mention "top 5" it doesn't include DMB, because they're a whole different list ;)

Rascal Flatts - saw them twice, 2005 and 2008. Was better the second time around w/ my sis.
Eric Clapton - the first time I saw him was number 4 in my top 5. "Badge" live is $$
Neil Diamond - #5 in my top 5 for sure. Went with my boy Adam. "Desiree!!!"
Crosby Stills Nash & Young - twice with my dad... twice incredible shows. tied for 3rd.
O.A.R. - great jam band for college kids. seen 'em a bunch, always fun to sing along
Bela Fleck & The Flecktones - they didn't play "Sinister Minister" =( but they did play "Puffy" =)
Kenny Chesney - best part was when Uncle Cracker came out and they did "Follow Me" haha
Tim Reynolds - saw him twice in Athens. met him once. awesome guy.
Mike Genovese - opened for TR, have become good friends with him. great tunes. look him up.
Vanilla Ice - ... I experienced Vanilla Ice do "Ninja Rap" and "Ice Ice Baby" live... life is complete.
The Police - 2nd greatest concert I've ever been to. "Message In a Bottle" -> "Synchronicity II"
Dashboard Confessional - twice. once acoustic, once full band. got a pick, drumstick, & setlist.
Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd cover band, they did "The Wall" in its entirety =) AWESOME



So there, in a nutshell, are my favorite concerts. Music affects me in ways I can't really describe.

"Music is the soundtrack to our lives." - Dave Clark

fountainhead

There are certain people who, through their actions and mannerisms towards themselves and others when in observable situations, are naturally mysterious. Mysterious in a way that is almost sexy. Seductive. Yet on a completely unsexual level. I love these people. In my life, there are a few names that immediately come to mind when thinking about this esoteric group of people.

I won't list them, nor will I subject them to scrutiny, because I value them as friends and I wouldn't want to make them uncomfortable.

I'm a very open person. Perhaps overly at times. I'm sure not every old man I sit next to wants to talk about the happenings of my morning. I believe myself to be relatively difficult to read. At least that's not what I've been told. "Nicco, you're always putting yourself out there. We all know what you're thinking about." (in high school and most of college, according to people who can "read me," all that I was thinking about was girls and or sex... this was not always the case. Only some of the time.) The thing is, I'm really not that easy to read. The few people who have been curious and/or intrigued enough to get to know me on the sub-dermal level were shocked to learn that I am actually multi-dimensional... and not the paper cutout they had first assumed I was.

I wish I had more people in my life who were like this. Who wanted to get to know me on a deeper level. It's comforting to have a conversation with someone you have known only as an acquaintance and discover you have very little in common. It reminds me of the individuality we each possess. At the same time, to talk with someone you hardly know only to discover you are both secretly addicted to classic novels or have both seen It's A Wonderful Life over a hundred times since december of 2006 is comforting as well... because then you have a connection to something outside of yourself.

And to have a connection with another person is to understand the meaning of life.

So many hours of my life have been spent lying on my back on my bedroom floor, looking out my picture window at the trees bending to the wind, while I ponder the most maddening questions of life and existence I can imagine. "Why should I be hypnotized by the promise of a long life." These unreleased lyrics from Dave Matthews Band opened my eyes to the understanding that existence is not guaranteed. Life is not a given. And because of this, there isn't any answer to the question "why." Why are we here? Is it just to procreate? To continue the survival of our species?

No.

We are here because of a chain of evolutionary mistakes, and we will continue to evolve (which means the eventual dissolving of our species) into something else.

What we do while we are here, though, is what matters. "No day but today" is a good quote, because it reminds us of how our future isn't guaranteed, and that we need to make the most of the moment now, because it might be all we have.

If the world ended tomorrow, would you feel your life has meant something?

My answer is yes. I have touched peoples' lives, and others have touched mine. And it is because of these connections with other people that I can say I have lived.

I want to be a teacher. I'll be one within the next 5 years. But what if the world ends tomorrow. I won't ever have the chance to be a teacher. But have I ever educated someone? Yes, I have told countless groups of 30-36 people that the Okapi was only discovered in 1901, and that before that it was believed to be a mythical creature, seen mostly in cave drawings.

Live your life so that you are touching the lives of as many people as possible, and you will discover the meaning of life.


This is why I am so intrigued by persons that have a hardened exterior. A shell. For whatever reason these people choose to create them, these protective outer levels break the chances of making human connections into fractions.

Think of a person you know who is like this. Have you ever seen him or her smile? It's beautiful isn't it? It's almost seductive. I sat there for months, trying to invite this person out with friends, or ask this person about what's been going on, and never got more than a few sentences. I never broke through that exterior. But one day, I said something (of which I cannot remember) that released a smile so hearty and honest that it could only have come from the depths of the soul... and when I saw it, it took my breath away.

A connection. An unforgettable one.

I would be lying if I wrote that after this momentous little event this person and I were the best of friends. No. It was immediately back to the mysterious. Darkened sexyness I could call it.

And I love that. This person has absolutely no idea that my life was touched this way. That this person brought out of me a reaction so honest and pure that I'll never forget it.

This is what life is about.




And this is the kind of catharsis I hope to bring with my writings in this blog. I hope you enjoy it.