Twelve hours from now, just like I did last year, I’ll be run/trotting up 80 floors for the kids. It’s a great cause to support Children’s Memorial Hospital and I really enjoyed being a part of our team of family and friends and a few furry friends as you can see above.

And as an added bonus I learned A LOT about touring endurance during last year race when my legs start to burn around the 40th floor.

So this year, I’ll again be taking my mind off the ever-present physical pain by refocusing my mind on the topic of touring, and thinking a lot about how physically and emotionally difficult it is to entertain fans night after night, city after city, show after show.

Kinda like Theophilous London’s latest confession.  Or maybe like Daria Musk’s marathon Google Plus Hangout concert.

And as I conquer each floor, I’ll also be thinking about you my fellow concert buddies, especially these awesome fans.

And I’ll be thinking about how much our bodies, emotions and senses play a role in how we experience live music.

Kinda like how Eric needs to feel the speakers during Vivian Girl concerts, and how these fans need to challenge themselves or rediscover themselves one show at a time.

How about you my fellow fans?

How has live music challenged you to dig deeper into a part of your life? Or on the flipside, what non-concert adventure or life challenge, like running up 80 floors, got you thinking differently about your live music experiences?

Or if you’re an artist?

What important lessons have you learned while on tour?  What creative connections or revelations have you discovered to help you deal with the grueling grind of live performance?

Share your concert experiences and thoughts in the comments below, on Twitter @livefixmedia, on Facebook, Google Plus, or call the concert fan hotline at 773-609-4341, and we’ll include them in a future episode of Live Fix Radio.

The exploration in to the community of groove and dance culture continued at Lincoln Hall Saturday night.

In the wake of this sold out show, it’s obvious that Chicago DJ trio Midnight Conspiracy is aiming to innovate the live dance music experience as they stimulate the senses by blurring the lines between house, dubstep and performance art.

This show wasn’t just another excuse to party with the hometown fans. But it was a night to experiment with our emotions, senses and feelings.

Surprised By Revelations

Midnight Conspiracy was in experimental mode as they tested out their new Eye Live Laser Lightshow, a 16-ft LED custom DJ booth in the shape of their Eye Of Providence logo.

And it was an experiment that proved to reveal more about dance culture than I expected.

The Eye was certainly a visual spectaule to behold as it stood high above the crowd blinking in sync with the venue-vibrating electro-rhtyms of rock and bass and casting out beams of light that splashed psychedelic and ravish patterns on the walls and fans faces.

The show began with an ominous voice warning of the manipulation of our minds by the powers that be. But fans didn’t seem to be to interested in being warned about cultural mind control. And once the beat dropped it was obvious that we all just wanted to rock and shake our booties to oblivion.

From there the DJs catapulted us in to a visual and sonic feast filled with eye and ear candy so sweet and delicious that fans pushed their bodies up against the speakers and rubbed their backs and hips against each other making it hard to figure out where one fan ended and the other began.

Speaking of fans, before the show got rolling, I had a most interesting conversation with one fan outside as we waited in line braving the frigid single-digit temps and icy wind that howled down Lincoln Ave.

A Crazy Flood Story

“Did you know that [Lincoln Hall] flooded the last time Midnight Conspiracy played here?” He told me with a wild smile and big wide eyes of awesome anticipation. “The foundation split open and water started pouring out and we all had to leave. It was crazy! And I’m super excited about seeing them again tonight.”

I was amazed to hear the fan’s story. And after a quick Google search afterwards to see if it was true I didn’t find any other account of the story. That said, I don’t know if that fan’s story was true, but nonetheless I’m sure the awesomeness that fan experience during that show was setting the stage for another unforgettable Midnight Conspiracy show tonight. Kinda like these fans.

How Has Clubland Culture Changed?

As the music pulsated all around me and I got lost in the groove, I thought back to our previous experiment of club culture and wondered what Frank Owen would have thought of this show from a fan perspective.

And since Chicago has a rich history of house music, I wondered what Frankie Knuckles, Ron Hardy and other house music innovators would think of this EYE experience.

And considering our exploration in Ecstasy use and dance music culture, I wondered what sort of impact drugs and other substances were having on these fans and the band. Would the show have been as “amazing and memorable” without  this particular show compared to others throughout house music history.

And since this show was all about “The Eye,” I gazed deep in to the center of the massive structure wondering about the dynamic flow between the band and the fans.

Did You See What Eye Saw?

I say this because what was interesting about The Eye was that it presented a profound perspective on two different vantage points.

From one point the band was looking out at the crowd through The Eye, and from the other the fans were looking back at the band through The Eye.

And the last thing that struck me was that in the midst of this visual and sensual exchange I realized what made this show so powerful was that The Eye served as a visual reminder of our collective and subconscious emotional experience.

Yes, the more I thought about The Eye the more I realized that it was a physical representation of the sensual and emotional connection between the fans and the band.

This is fascinating to think about because at most concerts you don’t always have a tangible and physical reminder of the communal connection that makes the show thrive and groove.

And as I think about the concerts I’ve gone to and how this communal connection is celebrated, it’s usually the dance music concerts that have a powerful, almost tribal symbol like the EYE , onstage that fans can focus their attention on during the show.

Sure, some bands have a screen playing in the background or pyrotechnics, but are those show spectacles the same as a massive structure like The EYE, or like one of my favorite symbols, the Daft Punk robot pyramid that was at Lollapalooza 2007?

And I’m sure the promise of this type of strong tribal and communal connection is what made the Midnight Conspiracy show sought after by fans, a show that many fans were willing to wait outside for over an hour in the freezing cold.

And I believe it’s not just the opportunity to escape, but it’s mostly life-changing communal experience that has made live dance music so popular in the mainstream in recent years.

I believe at our core we, as humans, desire to be connected to each other. And live music, whether it’s in a dance club like this, or a rock show, is one of our favorite ways to connect to each other. But is rock music truly delivering the same communal and life-changing experience?

Are Our Live Show Expectations Changing?

I’ll wrap this post up by asking you this.

Is dance music more popular than rock music today because live dance music is giving fans a more satisfying and communal experience than a live rock show?

Are fans coming to shows will different communal expectations than they have in the past?

Are artists like Tiesto aware of this change in the fan experience? And are they working to make fan active participants instead of Looky-Loos?

Which artists do you think are delivering the best communal experience for fans?

The Eye will be tested out again at Metro on February 17th. And the “official” debut of the Eye Live Laser Lightshow will be on March 2nd at the Congress Theater with Zeds Dead, Dillon Francis, and AarabMuzik. Until then, you can check out tunes on the Midnight Conspiracy Soundcloud and Facebook page.

Were you there?

We talked to a lot of fans during the show and we’d love to hear what you thought of The Eye. Go ahead and let us know what you experienced and how you think clubland culture and live dance music is being evolved today.

Share your concert experiences and thoughts in the comments below, on Twitter @livefixmedia, on Facebook, Google Plus, or call the concert fan hotline at 773-609-4341, and we’ll include them in a future episode of Live Fix Radio.

Check out more of Colleen photos here.

You’re in for a special treat my friends. Because, during this episode of Live Fix Radio, we’ll journey through the amazing concert adventures of Eric “Nihilist” Kolkey. So buckle up and get ready for a wild ride as we explore Kolkey’s pioneering days promoting and celebrating Chicago’s legendary punk scene, discover his sensual rituals at Vivian Girls shows and relive a terrifying “Gaga moment” at Lollapalooza 2010.

Subscribe via iTunes.

Show Notes:

• Segment one: Live music news: Perry Farrell and Jane’s Addiction plan for escape, DJ Tiesto makes concert history on Twitter, Van Halen’s nervous reunion tour and more.

• Segment two (15:20): Feeling the speakers and being completely addicted to Vivian Girls.

• Segment three (24:46): Captivated by Alice Cooper’s “Nightmare”, remembering Chicago’s historic punk scene and what most people don’t know about California punk rock fans.

• Segment four (54:49): Why Lady Gaga is punk and how Eric survived her epic stage dive at Lollapalooza 2010.

Share Your Story

What are your favorite punk rock moments? What’s your scariest concert experience? Got a question about a topic we talked about during the show? Share your concert experiences and thoughts about this podcast in the comments below, on Twitter @livefixmedia, on Facebook or call the concert fan hotline at 773-609-4341, and we’ll include them in a future episode of Live Fix Radio.

We already know that President Obama loves live music and knows how to weave it into the fabric of his presidency. And now we know a little bit more after hearing him express his thoughts about experiencing Janelle Monae live during a recent visit to Chicago to raise support for the 2012 campaign.

The video is short but Mr. Obama’s comments do give us a little bit of insight into how Monae’s live show moved him and even influenced foreign leaders during a recent state dinner. And I wonder if he felt the same way during the Motown show?

But the fun wasn’t only had by the President himself, because the inspiration seems to be following in both directions.

Here’s what Monae had to say about the show:

“I was deeply honored to be invited by the President to perform at the rally in Chicago at the University of Illinois at Chicago. It was an amazing feeling to be amongst so many people, young and old, black, white, red, disabled, all united, eager to help support a man who has ended the war in Iraq, gotten rid of “don’t ask don’t tell”- allowing anyone to serve this country regardless of who you love, made sure women were not paid less than men merely because they are women, doubled pell grants, given 2.5 million young people health insurance, and has created a law that recognizes that crimes based on sexual orientation, gender identity, race or disability aren’t just any crime- they’re hate crimes that deserve justice. These are all things he said he’d do before he was elected and did them. There are more important accomplishments that can be added to this list. I strongly believe our nation should continue upon this path, bringing justice to all and change where needed. President Obama remains the candidate of hope and change, and he will continue to move our country forward, bringing even more change if re-elected.”

It’s interesting to think about how the inspiration and influence flows both ways, from artist to fan and vice versa.

We’ll be diving deeper to discover more details about Monae’s live performance and her own emotional experience. And I’m really curious to explore this, especially after I saw her last year at SXSW 2011, a show that turned out to be one of my favorite shows of 2011.

All this said, as you know, we’ve been on a mission to explore how shows like these and all of President Obama’s live music experiences have influenced his political and presidential decisions these last three years.

And in the near future we’ll be sharing “a special interview” with President Obama for our Live Fix community since we’d like to know how the live music experience will inspire and empower the upcoming campaign.

What’s Your Vote?

How do you think live music influences President Obama? What role has the live concert experience played in helping our presidents shape our country’s past, present and future?

Let us what you think and share your own concert experiences in the comments below, on Twitter @livefixmedia, on Facebook or call the concert fan hotline at 773-609-4341, and we’ll include them in a future episode of Live Fix Radio.

Social media and concert history were made this week as Tiesto, Twitter and HP teamed up at CES 2012 to deliver a live stream of the Dutch DJ rocking the a VIP crowd from the booth. And the event was a great opportunity to continue or live concert brand exploration.

As Billboard reports,

The private, invite-only set also marked the launch of another social media initiative for the man his friends call Tijs: “In The Booth,” a 10-part video series meant to document Tiësto’s fast-paced, globetrotting life, is set to premiere on the artist’s YouTube channel on January 17. Produced by Believe Entertainment Group – the digital content company behind Lebron James’ animated Web series “The Lebrons” – the documentary was also underwritten by HP and Intel, and features Tiësto prominently using the brands’ products.

As Mashable reports, the folks at Twitter were excited about the opportunity and the possibilites that it presents beyond 140 characters:

“We have offered streaming on the site before, but this is the first-time ever that the site will feature a live concert,” Rob Pietsch, Twitter’s director of West Coast sales, told Mashable. “HP came to us with the idea and we couldn’t be more excited to hear how the company and Intel will be using their Twitter brand pages to reach out to the public and become destination sites.

And What About The Fans?

This is all very exciting and boundary-pushing, but we must ask: what’s in it for the fans?

We must ask if the fan experience is really be considered, or if the fans are just playing the role of social media marketing targets?

As we’ve seen with our other brand experiments and explorations, telling or celebrating the fan experience isn’t always the first priority or a priority at all.

And with this new HP/Tiesto partnership it still remains to be seen how much of the fan experience HP is interested in celebrating.

Is This Really Anything New?

Not really. We know that using DJs, hip hop producers and the increasingly popular mainstream live dance music trend is nothing new for marketers to capitalize on. For example, Diplo has been the spokesman for Blackberry and Dr Dre has been used by HP in the past.

And, unfortunately, the list is short when it comes to brands that actually deliver on creative fan-centric social media marketing campaigns that don’t even feel like marketing at all.

In case you’re looking for evidence, these Rolling Stone/Dr. Martens, Scion, Sennheiser, and Pitchfork Don Q Rum experiences are some recent examples of brands doing it right or at least headed in the right direction.

That said, we’ll have to wait and see how the “In the Booth” videos turn out before we officially decide if HP has genuinely  integrated and celebrated the fan experience.

Will HP & Tiesto Innovate and Document the Real Stories?

Like we explored in the wake of Lollapalooza, there’s a lot of possibility for brands to deliver truly groundbreaking experiences while telling the brand AND the fan story at the same time.

I know I’m looking forward to seeing how HP’s does it this time and if they will creatively weave in amazing Tiesto fan stories like this one.

Tiesto has also been at the center of several ongoing controversial stories and it’ll be interesting to see how much HP documents those.

The history-making 2012 CES concert steaming footage was only available for 48 hours after the show, but it’ll be available on the HP Facebook page Tiesto tab after January 17th.

What’s Your Tiesto Concert Story?

Is this HP partnership cultivating a genuine sub-community of Tiesto fans, or is this just another timely marketing opportunity for HP? How would you make the fan experience a creative part of the “In the Booth” videos?

What did you think of the Tiesto Twitter concert? Got a Tiesto live show story? Share your concert experiences and thoughts in the comments below, on Twitter @livefixmedia, on Facebook or call the concert fan hotline at 773-609-4341, and we’ll include them in a future episode of Live Fix Radio.

Yes, even rock stars get nervous. And as Van Halen gets ready to rock once again, one band member got vulnerable with fans during a smaller, more intimate show at a historic venue.

As Pollstar reports, Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth and the band took the stage at the Cafe Wha? in New York and Roth told the crowd, as he recounted that Bob Dylan had played on the same stage, that “I’m more nervous about this gig than I would ever be at [Madison Square] Garden.”

Why Intimacy Rocks

It’s kinda cool to hear an artist like Roth say something like that. It’s also interesting to think about what happens to the mood and feeling of a show when an artist is vulnerable and honest about the fears and emotions they’re experience at that moment because it really does make the performance more intimate.

And it just goes to show that the size of the venue, how close the band is to the fans, and what legends played before on the stage are all important factors to how and what an artist feels during a show.

It’s Why We’re Addicted

And regardless of how experienced they are, the emotions are still there and very real. And when the artist does get vulnerable the fan is almost always the one who benefits the most because that emotional exchange is what we hope to experience at every concert. It’s why we’re addicted to live music.

But will this sort of small venue intimacy be achievable on Van Halen’s 2012 area reunion tour? And after watching the video above, I REALLY hope, for the fan’s sake, that the live show will be better than “Tattoo,” the first song off the new album.

Who knows, maybe the flood of nostalgia and memories that will be flowing through fans minds and hearts during the show will make up for any rock the band’s lost over the last 28 years.

What’s Your Van Halen Story?

Are you excited about this Van Halen tour? Got a cool live show story? Share your concert experiences and thoughts in the comments below, on Twitter @livefixmedia, on Facebook or call the concert fan hotline at 773-609-4341, and we’ll include them in a future episode of Live Fix Radio.

Yes, it’s true. In a recent Pollstar article Perry Farrell expressed a genuine desire to perform on a more intimate level with fans as the band travels the world on their upcoming 2012 tour that begins in February.

“We chose to play as many of the great theatres that we could find because we wanted to immerse the audience in a unique experience unlike any they have ever seen at a rock show,” Farrell said. “Expect an orgy of musical and visual delights. We like orgies, and hope you do too.”

Well, now the concept of orgies at shows is definitely a provocative one. And as we’ve rethought Farrell’s visionary live show approach, we know Farrell’s choice of words to describe their live show is no surprise because he’s had a history of pushing the boundaries of the live music experience with Lollapalooza and other creative endeavors.

And this makes perfect sense because, as we predicted in our 2011 Live Fix Radio 2011 wrap up episode, more fans will continue to go to smaller mid-sized venues to experience live music in 2012. And Jane’s Addiction seems to be positioning themselves to be right in the thick of that trend.

And by the looks of the Jane’s Addiction fan site, the fans are ready to embark on the next phase of the band’s career this year. Here’s a snippet from the blogs section where a fan, “Acidhead Medusa” has excitedly shared rare concert footage with the JA community.

I have the complete concert of Janes playing at Subteranea in London in september 1990 this was filmed with a single video camera from a balcony position and it is pretty good quality for this time. I have also got their gig at Brixton when they supported Wonderstuff and some of them at Rock City in Nottingham. As far as i know this is the only footage of them in the UK. If anyone would be interested in seeing this let me know and I will upload it. If anyone has got any other film from UK gigs I would be very interested to see it ( 1989 – 91 ).

What’s Your Jane’s Addiction Story?

Are you excited about this Jane’s Addiction tour? Got a cool live show story? Share your concert experiences and thoughts in the comments below, on Twitter @livefixmedia, on Facebook or call the concert fan hotline at 773-609-4341, and we’ll include them in a future episode of Live Fix Radio.

I’ve always wondered what artists do backstage to warm up and get in the mood before a show. And my chats with Saul Williams, Ant of Atmosphere and Secret Machines all gave me a fantastic look in to the psychological, behavioral and emotional baselines of an artist before they perform.

And because of those experiences I began to experiment with the concept of a BAAD show. And see how Broken Social Scene does this too.

All this said, I love the above backstage video via Paste of Wilco, Mavis Staples and Nick Lowe, warming up backstage before their recent December show in Chicago at the Civic Opera House.

Watching the clip I thought about our amazing experience seeing Mavis Staples at the Hideout Block Party and the fact that Wilco is still one of the best live bands I’ve ever seen.

How ’bout you?

What do you think of this backstage clip? Were you at the Civic Opera House or any of the other Wilco shows in December? Does watching this video change or enhance your concert experience?

Share your concert experiences and thoughts in the comments below, on Twitter @livefixmedia, on Facebook or call the concert fan hotline at 773-609-4341, and we’ll include them in a future episode of Live Fix Radio.

I don’t know about you, but I think most concert fans don’t have evil intentions.

Most of us just want to spread love, escape and have a good time during a concert.

But sometimes what happens is that we get so worked up and emotional at a show that we just can’t contain ourselves.

And believe me, I know the live concert experience can make us do a wide range of crazy things, even when there’s no “external substances” flowing through our bodies.

In response to the natural emotional surge that live music generates within us we’ve been known to …

riot,

rush the stage,

cause earthquakes,

fight each other,

flash someone else’s police badge,

cut ourselves,

get creative,

do Harry Potter chants,

tweet what we love/hate,

grieve and mourn,

return Rolex watches,

try to sneak drugs in and get caught,

get married,

make documentary films,

create complaint choirs,

get really scared,

start dancing swarms,

and celebrate our weirdness.

Those are just a few of the things that concerts can make us do. And when I read this TMZ DMX story, initially, like most of us, I thought the worst too.

But then I thought… what if the fan was simply so overjoyed to see DMX back on stage that he just wanted to give DMX a big “welcome back” hug and not a harmful headlock?

Of course, there’s always several complex perspectives to this kind of fan behavior. And as of today, we really don’t know much about this DMX fan or why he jumped up on stage.

So why do we automatically assume he had malicious intentions?

We just never know until we actually talk with the fan to get his side of the story.

This DMX situation also makes me wonder if it was a crafty pre-meditated publicity plot to generate some DMX concert buzz.

I say that because the fan just easily popped up on stage, did his attempted headlock/hug and then security grabbed him and DMX went right on with the show as if he knew it was coming.

Anything is possible and the psychological subplots to the live music experience are so fascinating to uncover, which is why we love exploring and experimenting with this stuff.

How ‘Bout You?

Were you at this DMX show? What’s the funniest, weirdest, craziest fan behavior you’ve seen? What do you think of concert fan behavior?

Share your concert experiences and thoughts in the comments below, on Twitter @livefixmedia, on Facebook or call the concert fan hotline at 773-609-4341, and we’ll include your stories in a future episode of Live Fix Radio.

Yes, my fellow concert fans, it was another amazingly complex, transitional and evolutionary year of live music.

During this episode of Live Fix Radio, we explore the top shows, our favorite concert fan moments of 2011 and trends we expect to develop in 2012. Catch up on what you missed and listen to all 2011 episodes here and rock on!

Subscribe via iTunes.

Show Notes:

• Segment one: What is Hatsume Miku, live music news, concert fan fraud

• Segment two (37:00): Critic trends on the interwebs, our top shows of 2011, what it all means

• Segment three (1:08): Best concerts fans of 2011, most read stories, trends and predictions

Links and stuff we talked about:

• 2011 In Live Music: Rock Critic Pleasure Trends, Best Bands, New Discoveries

• Fan Gets Arrested After Flashing Cop Badge To Get Better Seat At Concert

• Old Town School Of Folk Music To Celebrate 55 Years With New Music Venue, Expansion

• Why I love talking to concert fans and what’s coming in 2012

• TuneIn mobile app

• SCVNGR

• SMART Goals

Share Your Story

What were you favorite shows of 2011? Got a question about a topic we talked about during the show? Share your concert experiences and thoughts about this podcast in the comments below, on Twitter @livefixmedia, on Facebook or call the concert fan hotline at 773-609-4341, and we’ll include them in a future episode of Live Fix Radio.