Sociology

What If Concert Fans Were LOST On A Desert Island?

Since I was out seeing Tim Fite last night, I just now got done watching the final episode of LOST. I’m not even going to try to tell you what I think about how the whole thing ended (or didn’t.) But I will tell you something else about LOST.

Live Fix Exclusive: Sci-Fi Concert Mashup Illustration

Contiuning our exploration into Real Live Concert Mashups, I’d like to share with you a Live Fix exclusive! The image above is a first ever Live Fix concert mashup illustration. It was created by my friend and illustrator Sean Sullivan who was inspired by my live concert mashup post. I had been asking him to consider contributing his [...]

Look What I Found At A Matisyahu Concert

Seeing Matisyahu on Tuesday night was just like I thought it would be. Communal. Eternal. Spiritual. It also was a very busy night filled with rare fan-to-fan interaction. I came across some very interesting fan inventions and had a full-circle and unexpected connection via Twitter. Ingenious Reflections of Matisyahu: Short Concert Fans Stand Up! My eyes bulged out and [...]

Do We Get In The Way of a Great Show?

Though most of the show shifted in all the right ways and flowed to all the right places on the strength of Noonan’s smooth and soothing lyrical storytelling, a bit of tension arose between Noonan and fans who gazed upwards in awe at him from the front row. Getting a bit frustrated, he [...]

You're Invited to a Live Fix Experiment!

I’ve been meaning to explain what exactly a Live Fix Experiment is, and why I do them. What is a Live Fix Experiment? It’s many things. It’s a test. It’s live. It’s experimental. It’s spontaneous. It’s fun. It’s social. It’s media. It’s about concerts. It’s about you. It’s many other things, too. [...]

They Took A Slice of My Head For Science

Well, maybe it wasn’t for the glory of any world-changing scientific research. But what they did cut out of my head definitely opened up a great discussion about live music in my mind. So I now have seven stiches and a pinched bump on my scalp where there use to be skin (see photo below). Truth is, I [...]

Nerdy Music Journalists ''Q'' It Up at Lollapalooza

Just one peek into the strange sociology of music journalists will show you that they’re a peculiar bunch. I can say this because I am one. And it’s true. We are just as eccentric as the artists we write about (if not more!) We are truly a strange and quirky breed. We’re obsessive and overly protective [...]

I Was Wrong About Sasquatch Festival’s Dancing Guy

Yep, I was wrong. Since my original post I’ve received responses back from inquiries I sent to both fans who’s videos I featured on the original post. And in the wake of their comments, I’ve had to rethink my initial thoughts about the swarm started by the Dancing Guy. Included below is the first response from the [...]

Exploring The Sweaty Crunch and Release of Mosh Pits

When I spoke with No Air Guitar Allowed author Steve Weinberger about his new book back in April, we talked about many aspects of live concert culture. But I wasn’t able to fit everything we talked about into the original interview post. So in this three part series I’ll be sharing with you three topics that were not included [...]

Sasquatch Festival’s ”Dancing Guy”: Was This Real?

Santogold’s ”Unstoppable” is a great song. And I don’t doubt its power to ignite a massive live concert swarming dance party. And it’s a great anthem for this story, too. But when I first watched the YouTube video from last month’s Sasquatch Festival where this “Dancing Guy” starts a dance party during Santogold ‘s “Unstoppable,” I [...]