What I didn’t know last week when I wrote about learning to appreciate something that was unfamiliar was that I was going to immediately get another chance to experience the phenomenon.
Yep, the very next day. No breaks for me - the universe has a lesson!
Photo by Belinda Fewings on Unsplash
I have a good friend and colleague and we try to go to a musical event every few weeks or so. This keeps us from becoming couch potatoes and connects us to the arts in a tangible way.
Side note: when you work in the arts, it is really easy to not actually participate in the arts. Everything becomes work related and you can find yourself appreciating anything BUT the thing that brought you here in the first place.
Back to my story. We went to an Andy Grammer concert last week. But was it a concert?
I mean, you’d think Andy Grammer would understand the concept of a concert…I buy a ticket. I sit in the seat. You entertain me. I am entertained. I go home. Pretty simple.
Oh no. Andy has other ideas.
First of all, we get there and someone hands us each a card with questions on it. Who has saved your life? Who has impacted you most? Crap Stuff like that.
Then, when the concert “starts” a fairly funny guy, who is not Andy Grammer, steps onto stage and spends like 15 minutes explaining how this show is different. We are going to share. We are going to laugh together, cry together. Oh, and hear some music along the way.
Noooooooooooooo! My friend and I look at each other, roll our eyes, laugh a little, and wonder how this evening will turn out.
And then I remember my recent lesson. How I sat in an excellent concert but was a little uncomfortable because it wasn’t what I was used to.
So, I took a breath and decided to roll with it. Well, I didn’t fill out and turn in my card. That was never going to happen.
But I did listen.
Photo by Marnix Hogendoorn on Unsplash
A little background: all I knew about Andy Grammer prior to buying the tickets was his song “Joy.” I liked its message and its style. I did finally listen to some of Andy’s music about 3 days before the concert. You know, research. Preparation.
Because everyone ‘prepares’ for a fun night out, right?
Weirdo.
Anyway, I listened. He did some talking, some poetry (remind me to tell you about some rather unsuccessful live poetry-reading experiences I have had sometime), and played past and present music.
And I realized - this is Andy Grammer’s show and he can build it any way he wants. He is clearly an excellent musician. A creative artist. Just because it wasn’t what I expected did not mean it was wrong.
It wasn’t what I expected. It wasn’t what I thought I wanted.
But maybe it was what I needed?
We can do, and enjoy, new things. Unexpected things. We just have to remember that it’s okay to feel uncomfortable and put off and resistant - than do the thing anyway and see how it turns out.
I’ll listen to more Andy Grammer music. It is uplifting, catchy, and insightful without being preachy. Obviously, I’ll talk about his concert.
And, I’ll remember what he was trying to do with and for his audience. Making music more than a product. Connecting people. Reminding us of the good in life.