Everything in the music industry has changed recently, from the way we buy our music (no more records or buying whole Cd’s…indeed, the band considers itself lucky if the song just isn’t ripped from somewhere online), to the way we listen to it. Now I’m not saying change isn’t good, but there is something missing: No longer do we sit in a chair for the entire 15 minutes of Awaken, by Yes; rather, many listeners change the radio station after every song, or just fast forward to the chorus on their iPods. Yet there is one part of music that must absolutely never cease to exist, and that is the concert. Now, I don’t go to many concerts, but I honestly think they are one of the most important things in all of music. The being there, with your band, as if they are playing directly to you, and for you. Surrounded by hundreds, or thousands of people, no clue who they are, where they came from, or what they’re going through, yet all of you as a single unit, eyes closed, stupid grins on your faces, listening to that show-stopping song. This almost spiritual unity of thousands of people in one venue must never end.
-Scott Goldstein
