The Wonders of Live Music and Tame Impala
Tame Impala’s lead man, Kevin Parker stands above the floor of Madison Square Garden. Admiring fans extend their arms towards the one man who brings 20,000 strangers together in dance and celebration of life. A lost touch of reality has a funny way of unifying a crowded jumble of sweaty bodies. “Feels Like We Only Go Backwards” vibrates through every bone in our bodies as we belt the chorus and reach out our hands to our hero, Kevin.
Live music is an experience like no other. The man in the second picture looking to the right with his side profile facing the camera was a complete stranger to me at the beginning of the night. I ended up standing near him and his friends for most of the concert, and he later invited me to go out with him and his group after the show. I politely declined because I had a train to catch and I was 17 years old, far too young to go anywhere that late in New York, though I often imagine what would have happened if I accepted his offer. The anomaly of live music bringing people from all walks of life together is something I am extremely passionate about. As a frequent concert-goer, I can conquer that there is nothing that can bring a crowd closer together than live music. Not only are you packed in tight general-admission quarters, but you all have a common passion for the artist.
Even on a stage twice the size of Madison Square Garden, and an even bigger audience, Tame Impala never ceases to capture fans with other-worldly light displays and beautifully original music. The third photo was taken at a music festival in Boston, a few months prior to the date of the previous two photos. Even from standing what seemed like miles away from the stage, that same sense of being out of touch with reality clouded my brain. Seeing your idol in person sends a rush of chemical reactions through your body, almost like a drug. A mix of adrenaline and dopamine make the perfect storm of pure joy and awe that cannot be recreated, only experienced through the viewing of live music. For these reasons alone, the times I was able to see my favorite artist perform were the greatest nights of my life.