Modest Mouse Concert

Last night, I went to the Modest Mouse concert with Shawn and our friend Keegan. It was GREAT! The concert was at the DAR Constitution Hall here in DC; beautiful space, we had great seats, and so loud!

Modest Mouse was fantastic, great live band, incredibly talented, and so many musicians on stage. They didn't try to trick up the concert with a lot of talking or special effects, just pure musical entertainment -- I really enjoyed the experience.

One thing I did notice though...

Of course the majority (meaning entirely) of the audience was white...but not just that, YOUNG, white males. Not as many females, not many people over the age of 25...felt pretty old in that scene. We had box seats, which allowed us not only to see the stage, but also the rest of the hall. And when I looked down on the orchestra seats, it was like a Storm Troopers scene out of Star Wars. All these young males, standing, and not moving anything but their heads to the music...all the same. It was this eerie scene of mass coordination, without any of them realizing their participation. All of them completely transfixed upon the band and the music, subconsciously dancing while standing still in conjunction with everyone around them.

The effect music has on people is amazing. I catch myself, riding the subway with my iPod, bopping my head to the music and I have to consciously stop in order to not draw stares. This concert was as if everyone was listening to the same iPod -- and nodding in time.

After watching this phenomenon for a few minutes, I decided not to fight the mob and joined in, nodding and enjoying the music...