Spring Break / Justin Vernon / Sunny days

Went to the finale of the Music Now Festival last night, and WOW.... what a way to start off spring break.

First, the concert was in Memorial Hall - right next to Music hall, it is a 612 seat venue. The building is BEAUTIFUL. Think Music Hall - era construction, in a small, intimate venue. I was surprised I'd never been there before, but it was something. I'd always heard about it, but wow... being there.....

And secondly - and maybe even most significantly - it was the single best behaved crowd I have been a part of in I can't remember how long - Better than even symphony performances. There were times that I could hear people around me BREATHING. You could hear the click of camera shutters, but that was it. No comments, no running discussions. And - interestingly, because this generation is much more used to being tuned into their cell phones, they actually understood the etiquette better than the symphony crowd that forgets to turn theirs off or don't know how to make them silent. One phone beeped very early on once, and that was it.

The opening act was a Colin Stetson - who played bass saxophone (the largest saxophone I've ever seen), alto sax, and clarinet. He had completely mastered circular breathing, so there was never a gap in sound in the songs he played unless he wanted there to be. It reminded me much more of a conservatory-type recital than an opening act to a band. The kind of thing that is fascinating live but would probably be a miserable experience if just listening to a recording. He coaxed sounds out of that bass sax that I can't even understand how he did it.

The "band" - really an amalgamation of people coming together for this event only - was simply a treat. Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), Bryce Dessner and Aaron Dessner (the brothers from The National), St. Vincent, and as string and brass section from yMusic. A wonderful selection of covers He finished the concert without any microphones - just "Skinny Love" on a 1929 steel body resonator guitar on the edge of the stage. The audience somehow managed to get even quieter - no one even daring to shift in their seat.... The evening was one that will never be repeated - the right group of musicians practicing their craft and love with one another outside of their regular bands.


In some ways it renewed my faith in audiences, and affirmed some of the power that good music can have over an audience. Josh said something about feeling lighter afterward - and it was true - there was a true joy and passion that was onstage that was shared with the audience... and I say shared, because everyone there HAD to have felt it.

What a start to break.

And I capped that off with truly sleeping in. I feel great. A great start to break. Now a few days of good hard physical labor, a day with family, and a few days with my love. It's shaping up to be a very good spring break.