Music concerts seem to exist on a continuum. At one end are the big stadium and arena shows—the kind of events that many of the major rock acts of the day, like the Rolling Stones, were known for. More recently, pop stars like Beyoncé and Taylor Swift have filled a similar niche, with legions of fans packing massive venues. On the other end of the spectrum are the small cafés, listening rooms, and most notably, house concerts. There, you’ll often find lesser-known performers with devoted audiences. The artists might be Irish or Scottish groups, blues or jazz combos, but—particularly on the house concert scene—they are most often singer-songwriters.

The stadium and arena events are not primarily about the music. They are spectacles—extravaganzas of artist and audience in a shared, joint performance. It’s not that the music doesn’t matter, but in many cases, the music—or at least the lyrics—can’t be heard by most of the audience. The sound level, both from the bands and the audience, is so loud that it drowns out most of the words. But in a sense, it doesn’t matter, because most attendees know the songs, know the lyrics, and are often singing along with—or perhaps over—the performer. It’s about the scene. It’s about the celebrity. It’s about the fandom.

A small coffeehouse, listening room, or house concert is a much different experience. Often, the attendees know the performer and see themselves as both fans and supporters. They come to listen. They come to hear the lyrics. They come to hear the stories behind the songs—the experiences that drive the performer and shape the creative process. Respect for the performer is important, and there’s an ethical commitment not to interfere with either the performance or other audience members’ enjoyment of the event.

Large events with light shows, choreography, and spectacle are elaborately staged, leaving little room for spontaneity or surprise. You might get professionalism and high production values, but you won’t get anything truly unexpected. You won’t get magic. You won’t get that moment when Anne Hills, sharing a workshop stage, suddenly starts singing “Georgia on My Mind,” with the other performers spontaneously joining in. You won’t get Rod MacDonald looking up the lyrics to his song “In Another Teenage Dream” because you mentioned it was Memorial Day weekend and that the song would be perfect for the occasion. You won’t get Swedish singer-songwriter Sofia Talvik telling the story of driving through a California snowstorm that inspired her next song. You won’t get Zoe Mulford singing “The President Sang Amazing Grace” with just six of us in the room—and then all of us singing “Amazing Grace” and crying together.

No, you won’t get magic—because magic does not come prepackaged and pre-programmed. You have to go seek out those special niches and let the magic find you.

 

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Ron Cooke is the author of a book of short stories and poems entitled Obituaries and Other Lies (available at Amazon); writes a well-received blog (ASSV4U.com/blog); and hosts a weekly radio show called Music They Don’t Want You to Hear on KTAL-LP in Las Cruces, NM.  He is also a founding director of A Still Small Voice 4U, a not for profit supporting arts, culture and community that presents folk concerts, sponsors artists, festivals and community groups. Ron is an avid cyclist, racer, blogger, sculptor and ne’er-do-well.