Amen. I've been a "folkie" for so long now, it's been years since I attended
a "BIG" concert. Went to see James Taylor with some friends at the "PNC Bank
Arts Center" (which used to be the Garden States Arts Center here in NJ until
Gov. Whitman privatized it. . .) Anyway, I just wanted to see JT in action.
Unfortunately, most of our fellow concert-goers seemed to think they were
home in their living rooms watching a big-screen TV. Jumping up to go buy
beer, then jumping up as Nature urged them to get rid of the beer, talking,
laughing, yelling, and, oh, yes, smoking some mysterious substance, which I
dutifully tried not to inhale. I did *not* enjoy the concert.
I once played at a bookstore & I brought the sign home because I found it so
funny. It said, "7:30 pm: LIVE Celtic harpist!" I thought, geeze, what a
way to announce it. What's the alternative: propping O'Carolan up in the
corner and watching him decompose pieces? "niwrl ytxnalP yalp won lliw I."
We have so much background music in our lives all the time, I think people
are becoming immune to it. Could it be that, given our quick access to music
and art and writing these days, people are losing their appreciation for the
creativity and the energy behind bringing such things to life? And as
artists, what can we do about that?
--Debbie Brewin-Wilson
dbwharpy@aol.com
P.S.: Glad to see the world didn't end after all!