The last few weeks have been very intense for the GigsGuide team. We have received some great news that we hope to be able to share soon, and the work on the new website is progressing nicely.
Among other things, you will soon be able to:
- Search for a trip to a specific destination and see who is playing while you are there (as well as flights and accommodation options, obviously)
- Save your music and travel preferences in a personal profiles
- Add all your upcoming trips there and get event recommendations for those too
In the meantime, I even managed to squeeze into my busy schedule a couple of trips to see a few bands I like. One of them was a trip to Aarhus (Denmark’s second largest city) to see Dream Theater at Musikhuset (where the staff wear the awesome t-shirt from which I borrowed the title for this blog post).
A few more gigs are also booked before the summer is over (something I have jokingly referred to as "getting high on my own supply!).
One of the bands I unfortunately did not manage to work into my schedule is, sadly, one of my favourites: The Cure.
In lack of better access to "the real thing", I took the chance of catching the theatre release of the recording of their 40th anniversary concert last year in Hyde Park (which I also missed — but at least for a good reason: that same night I was at Rock Werchter seeing Pearl Jam play).
It was my first time experiencing a "live event" in a movie theatre, and I must admit there are quite a few positive aspects about watching a concert this way:
- Comfortable seating in a fresh, climatised room
- Easy access to refreshments at the bar
- Good audio quality
- No tall dudes in front of you trying to record the entire show on their mobile
- No dust, no sweat and no long queue to stinky urinals
Yet, in spite of all these undeniably great advantages, I could not help but feeling like something important was missing that made this sanitized experience underwhelming.
There is something incredible and exhilarating in seeing a great live show in person. It’s the anticipation and the joy of hearing the first notes of your favourite song. The dancing and singing off the top of your lungs. The feeling of sharing something beautiful and unique with the rest of the audience and the artist on stage.
Just like "no man ever steps in the same river twice", each live performance is unrepeatable and special in its own way: this is why we want to be there again and again and we are ready to travel long distances for the artists that make us feel that way.
Having seen The Cure live a few times in the past, I thought this time watching the movie would be a reasonably good palliative. But rather than quenching my thirst, it just made me desperately want to see the Cure live again as soon as possible… Anyone wants to join me at Way Out West in Gothenburg on August 9th? :)
