Live music is not a concept.

It is not something you can hold

in the palm of a sweaty hand

until the night has ended

and then release like a caged animal

when the band has exited the stage

and the lights have gone dim again

and your body is aching for sleep

but still vibrating with adrenaline.

 

Live music cannot be bought.

Sure, you can purchase a ticket

but that just allows you to

enter the venue

push to the front

buy the merchandise

and wait for the show to start

while security scans the crowd

to makes sure no one is too drunk

and no cigarettes are burning anyone.

 

Live music is actually quite tangible.

People will tell you that it isn’t

because you can’t touch it

You can’t taste it or grasp it

but you can feel it in the way that

your chest pounds with the beat

and the ground shakes with the bass

and the crowd pulses with an energy

so strong that it would destroy

each of you if you were not all there

as one unified organism.

 

Live music is a fluid being.

It is a vibrant scarlet liquid

that the lead singer injects

straight into the core of your carotid

It travels up

It travels down

infects every ounce of blood

within your body and when it is done

it remains there for hours

makes your ears ring

makes your head hurt

makes your feet ache

until you do not want to stand

you do not want to move ever again

until someone says

“Hey, do you want to go see them live?”

 

Live music is a drug.

And if you do not believe me

ask any addict and they will tell you

withdrawal is an awful experience

for after several weeks when

the concert has begun to fade

you will scour the internet

searching for another show to attend

and when you find it

you will purchase the ticket

enter the venue

push to the front

buy the merchandise

and when the lead singer takes the stage

you will scream so loudly that

your throat goes numb

and you will beg her to give you more

of that drug you just cannot live without

once it has become acquainted with 

the calcium in your bones

and the flesh that covers you

and every nucleus in every cell

and every iron particle in your blood.

 

Live music is not a concept.

Live music is

an infectious disease

a gift

a feeling

a sound

a drug

and withdrawal is an awful experience.