Culture?

[SaggyBalls]

I can't help but feel compelled to start a discussion about our little heady scene.

I've heard it referred to as a 'phamily', a 'community', and a 'drug scene'

Of course, with the Rock and Roll comes the Drugs and (apprently) Sex, but why is that always the first thing to surface?

With many of us getting a bit older and having a shift in priorities with our personal, professional, and spiritual lives I feel that many of us are examining what we really want to get from life. Some of us rock it Full Tilt and some of us shy away - but what I'm interested in is what we identify with.

I know that when I'm at a psychedelic event I can be overwhelmed by the vibe. I feel like I'm in the right place as feels as though the majority of the crowd just is as they are (and not what they want to project), but of those that are approaching the scene like it's something to grasp ahold of with dear life, what could possibly be their motivation if not lack of personal identity?

[bokonon]

I'm a devout and regularly practising hedonist. This scene is a big part of my philosophy of living. Eat, drink and be merry are wonderful things to do. Listening to good music with a bunch of people that just want to play and have fun is a great time. I just find it disturbing how people in Toronto don't dance. Standing still and listening to music is just not as fun as dancing and getting rowdy.

[Jaimoe]

I just find it disturbing how people in Toronto don't dance. Standing still and listening to music is just not as fun as dancing and getting rowdy.

I'm one of the non-dancing Toronto folk. I do groove from time to time when the music is inspiring, but I generally hate dancing for the sake of dancing.

[Esau.]

Originally, I had written a long pretty detailed account to why I think I'm here, but in the end the reason was the same - Music.

The partying (drug/booze scene) was part of my life before and outside of that life already. I didn't need to be part of a scene, community or family for that stuff.

As for the digital community here, when I got my first computer (fall 2001) since the commodore 128 I had before the internet, I did a search for Fat Cats and found a link to the Phish Sanctuary (aka: jambands.ca) and a post from Secondtube about them. The rest here is as they say, history.

Edited March 19, 2007 by Guest

[dimafleck: the living legend.]

i like to get high and go to concerts.

[Jaimoe]

This kinda sums up why I love jams (and yes, it doesn't get any rarer ABB-wise than this): http://youtube.com/watch?v=D29T-VhqUNQ

[Esau.]

I think dima just summed it up for me in nine words. :thumbup:

Jaimoe, I really need to make copies of these for you.

[Jaimoe]

Yes, Alabama Man, you certainly do need to make me some copies except the Allmans at The Fillmore. I picked up a copy in Greenwich Village a couple of years ago, however it doesn't include the alternate Whipping Post...

[Jaimoe]

I'd kill for a full concert of these guys in their prime: http://youtube.com/watch?v=JduIWJFGsBE

[phishtaper]

i enjoy paying $5 for a bottle of water. thats why I go to concerts.

i go to a lot of different sorts of shows with various friends, and I know a lot of others who I tend to see only at shows. does that make it a "community"? i dunno. i just know that i dont tend to see my grateful dead friends at erasure shows.

and i've never done drugs or had sex.

[shainhouse]

I like good music...

[Dr_Evil_Mouse]

of those that are approaching the scene like it's something to grasp ahold of with dear life, what could possibly be their motivation if not lack of personal identity?

While I wouldn't want to reduce enthusiasts of the genre to that kind of description, my own pet theory is that we live in a culture where deeper systems of meaning have been eroded, and being able to lose yourself in music (sure, and/or drugs and sex) provides something of that meaning and mystery. And for people on the "outside", that can be unsettling.

[edger]

Good times are better when they are shared with others. Good music is the tie that binds. All the rest is gravy.

[StoneMtn]

"Culture"?

Great reggae band; for sure.

[The Chameleon]

I'm a devout and regularly practising hedonist. This scene is a big part of my philosophy of living. Eat, drink and be merry are wonderful things to do. Listening to good music with a bunch of people that just want to play and have fun is a great time. I just find it disturbing how people in Toronto don't dance. Standing still and listening to music is just not as fun as dancing and getting rowdy.

Bokonon what you have just detailed is the Toronto "I have seen everything and am not easily impressed" disease.

I have witnessed this from both sides of the bandstand. I think this occurs because Torontonians et every major tour of international talent and big name acts coming through all the time. SO if you are music lover you et to see the best in the world on a regular basis. So then when you go to a smaller local show in town subconciously in your mind you are comparing them to all the other bigname talent you have seen.

You then become very hard to impress. I have noticed though when an act does get the Toronto crowd dancing and win them over, they are the best , and loudest audience you can get. It is just really hard to get them to that point.

This is obvious to me as when the Chameleon Project has played on the East-Coast people are partying and freaking out before you even lay a note. They are with you from the word go.

Smaller town, less bands to compare you to.

I think this is the dicotomy.

[boiler]

I like to dance, listen to good music and hang out with my friends. It seems the hard core party days are curtailing but my love of music has not. We'll see what happens after September though. I may end up being an almost exclusive downloader. Scary

[d_rawk]

I thought dancing was just something that happened in Kevin Bacon movies until I moved outta the city.

"What are these strange people doing with their strange bodies .... ?"

[SaggyBalls]

Dr. Mouse, not all enthusiasts approach the scene as if it's something to cling to. Most people are just there. it was a blanket statement for hangers-on.

I know I'm generally not impressed easily Chameleon - but it's not because I'm comparing anyone to bigname talent. I'm not always impressed by bigname talent. I would wager a guess that those people that don't dance at your shows also don't dance at the bigger concerts either.

Perhaps most of the smaller acts just don't quite hit the mark. It's a bit out of line to expect anyone to live up to another's expectations (something I'm really trying to live my life by these days) but just because someone CAN play a show does it mean they SHOULD?

Anyway, that's getting a bit off topic.

Thankyou Bokonon and Edger and Dr, Mouse for actually engaging this thread. Not 'why do you go to concerts' not 'what do you like about this pastime'.

Sure some of you have said what you like about the scene, but what do we seem to IDENTIFY with? Anything? Nothing?

If you're in a hurry to post or to get your point across make it count. It's easier to shrug off a trite jab at our community than it is to know what it makes tender.

It's fair to say that some of us identify with the people, some identify with the messages in the music, some of us identify with the feelings that sonics create in our bodies, some of us identify with hedonism and some of us yet identify with a crowd.

I'm sure some of us identify with the potential identity this scene lends itself to, while others still don't identify with anything here and only come for the music and party.

Anybody else care to speculate or share their understanding?

[StoneMtn]

Given that I made a short, sarcastic, off-topic comment, I will post again.

I come for the music. I only come for the music. I do not come out for the "hedonism" and I have little interest in meeting people or socializing. I am there for the music, and that is all.

Am I always blown away? Usually, I am not. There was a time that I usually was blown away. I don't know whether I have gotten old and less-easily impressed, or if it is something else, but I usually come out of shows with my heart beating at the same rate as when I went in. I almost always dance, but that is because I want to. I only find that the "music moves me" about 10% of the time anymore.

I still usually have fun, but the "wow factor" is mostly gone.

As far as the "size" of the band, that really doesn't matter to me. Of course The Grateful Dead always blew me away. Phish almost always did, too. That said, Days of You used to blow me away most nights, and Bob Loblaw never failed to blow me away. The same goes for God Street Wine, who put on killer shows, despite having only dozens of people in attendance.

In conclusion...

(I have no point; just lotsa words.)

[Sarahbelle]

Good times are better when they are shared with others. Good music is the tie that binds. All the rest is gravy.

word up Sara!!!

I missed the live music when I was away soo much, I missed the 'scene' so much too!!! We are sooo lucky to have such wicked tunes around here

I have met the best people EVER just because we dig the same stuff..

Music rules..

Edited March 19, 2007 by Guest

[Tricky]

I find it to be the best form of escapism I can identify with. Everyone has their own thing. For some it's shopping, daydreaming, eating, drawing/painting, writing, etc. I like music, drugs, alcohol, and people that are a little more easy going than most of the uptight society I live in. And I'll be having a baby in the next week or two so my shift has changed a lot to being much more responsible as I have another life to take care of rather than just my own...

[Jaimoe]

It's all about the music. I find music by The Allmans, Dead, Hendrix and even some of Phish enriching to my soul. I don't care if it connects to anyone else (even though it does). I can't really relate to hardcore scenesters other than on a musical level. The friends I have on this board pre-date the "scene" anyway.

[timouse]

...And I'll be having a baby in the next week or two so my shift has changed a lot to being much more responsible as I have another life to take care of rather than just my own...

wow...congratulations ricky and tina! one more week...that's awesome!

[Tricky]

Thanks Tim...soon...very soon! I'm so excited!

[d_rawk]

I came for the party, but I stayed for the kitty ears

Long answer (feel free to skip, I'm mostly just entertaining myself):

Honestly Beats, I'm not sure how to address the question without well-intentioned (if flippant) sarcasm. I've never really had a sense of a scene per-se, or a community, or (ph/f)amily. But I don't say that negatively - maybe it's because that just isn't something I was looking for .. certainly some people do seem to be drawn to that aspect of it and do have a sense of all of that. And that's wonderful, but a bit alien to me, and the question that you're asking is probably over my head.

It's a lot of great (and sometimes not-so-great) music, and a lot of cool, unique people to bump into. That's true of other 'scenes' as well though, and I find those shows and crowds satisfying for the same reasons.

One thing I do appreciate a lot about this group (in general, not necessarily the jambands.ca gang specifically - although them too, maybe especially - but the jambands 'scenesters' as a whole) is the connectivity - that any given person is likely to know someone that you know well, and that makes for some instant, easy familiarity. None of the butt sniffing and sussing out that usually characterizes human interaction. Maybe that is what is meant by community. If so, I dig it. But then, that could just be the booze and E and whatever else everyone is full of, too. I've no complaints about that, either.

Short answer:

Rock and roll and drugs and sex are the first things to surface, because, well, they are exactly the things on the surface. I don't see how anything deeper would be visible except through testimony, and outside of maybe churches and 12-step programs, sincere testimony is something preciously rare. Maybe that's what you're phishing for? The preciously rare?

I'm not sure I understand what you're asking. But I hope that you are well.