Ray Isnato:

>Hmmmm....if one paces, scratches, dances or sings I wonder how much
>actual listening is going on.  Listening is an 'active' experience,
>not a passive one and to really listen to a performance takes
>concentration. If one can concentrate at home then one can concentrate
>in a concert hall.  If you can't focus in a concert hall, chances are
>you can't anywhere anywhere.

Words that should be written in gold!!!  Sensitive performers (is there
any other type?) pick up vibes from the audience, and a good audience
can spur peformers on to greater things.  The communication can go two
ways.  And, after a concert in which you've been actively engaging,
you're "transported".  Coming back to the "real" world is a jolt.

>How other people react has little effect on how I experience a
>performance at a concert.  I share Don's contempt for people who feel
>the need to habitually shout bravo and draw attention to themselves
>but ultimately it means little to my perception of the performance
>going on.  Of course, if you spend the entire concert worrying about
>how some dolt in the balcony will respond at the end of the evening,
>you have thrown your ticket money away.  Better then to buy a disc,
>disrobe and start scratching.

As above!  Worse still are those who listen, not to the music or its
interpretation, but for something to find fault with.  Live is just great
for this, because it's being created as we watch(listen) and quirky
things do happen.  But for me, hearing committed and creative musicians
do their thing is part of the excitement.

Anne
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