tiesto

on saturday, i went with a group of friends to see Tiesto in concert. he's supposed be to the #1 ranked DJ in the country. i really have no idea who ranks it or what being #1 really means, since i'm not a huge fan of trance music. but i had a great time. we got floor tickets, so we were right smack in the middle of the craziness. a lot of the friends that i went with were familiar with his music and actually recognized some of the songs he played. for me, it was the experience of it that made me want to go. 13,000 people there to see one DJ spin - unbelievable, isn't it? (http://www.tiesto.com/)

i can't really describe the music too much except to say that it was memerizing and almost hypnotic after awhile. but the most interesting part of it was just the different types of people there. there was so much variety in age, ethinicity, and lifestyle - probably one of the best things about going to these types of events in los angeles. i was so caught up in the concert, i didn't even get as crazy as i wanted to, just for fear of missing something. i don't think i've ever stood and danced for 4 hours straight like that.

besides the actual music, i was actually surprised to see the actual special effects and performances. there were flames and sparkles that shot up on stage, along with acrobats, an actual person singing, and even Taiko drums, with confetti dropping as the finale. It was an amazing show, and worth every penny. (the pictures i took with my camera phone just don't to justice to the event)

when the whole rave culture started, i was still living in new orleans, and didn't get a real grasp of what it was about. as far as a i knew it was just a few thousand people taking ecstasy and getting affectionate - drinking lots of orange juice. being in los angeles now, i have had the occasion to go to a few of the trance clubs - circus (actually went there on gay night, before i moved to LA), arena, avalon and vanguard. the strangest thing was that each place i went to was unique in its own way. sometimes the music was different (george acosta, crystal method, sasha and deep dish), sometimes the people were different (if you ever go the the avalon in hollywood - it will totally trip you out to see people your parents' age rolling on ecstasy), but there was always this consistent love of the energy of the music. you definitely don't see that at a club playing hip hop music. again, between the laser lights, the constant thumping beat, the smooth transition of the speed of the beat and the beautiful melodies - it's very easy to lose yourself in the moment, even without illegal substances.

don't get me wrong - deep down inside - i still love dancing to hip hop. i grew up and started partying in the "tootsie roll" and "whoomp there it is" generation. but hip hop is about gettin down and dancing your ass off.

trance music is totally different, it's much more about the individual, and as much as the bump and grind style is hot, trance emulates a different type of sexuality - one that is much more sensual. the constant beat of the music, along with the way the DJs speed up the beat and then slow it down - definitely gives the audience a very erotic energy.i don't know, maybe i'm putting more thought into it.

i do have to admit though, that it has given me a new appreciation for music and what it does to people. i've never really been a music person. i listen to the radio, have a few favorite artists, and love to dance - but i can probably count on my hands the number of times that i have just sat in a room and listened to music. i think it's because i'm by nature a more visual than auditory person. my one passion though has always been for music that evoked an emotion. there are songs that make you feel jittery, music that makes you cry, music that makes you feel sexy . . .and then there's brittany spears and backstreet boys - hahaha. but i think that too often music is not given the credit it deserves. for many people, music is an expression of your deepest feelings and emotions. ironically, think about some of the most admired artists and not only how they lived, but how they died - Jim Morrison, Curt Cobain, Janis Joplin, Jimmy Hendrix. what is it about music that can push you to such extremes. the hardest thing for me to understand was that their music was accepted, they were all at the height of their careers, widely accepted, and seemingly achieved everything they had hoped for, yet they chose to push their bodies and minds until there was no more life in them. definitely something to think about. what is it that people say about the candle that burns the brightest being the first to go out?

Music is what feelings sound like. ~Author Unknown

Music is the mediator between the spiritual and the sensual life. ~Ludwig van Beethoven

Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent. ~Victor Hugo

In music the passions enjoy themselves. ~Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil, 1886