The Magic Is In The Memory
I watched a debate the other day on Twitter. It was about using camera phones at a concert. In this case it was in a comedy club and when the comedian asked the person to stop, there was an argument which spilled over to Twitter.
It made me think about the number of YouTube videos people make from their own concert experiences. Almost all of them are fuzzy images and sketchy sound. I don’t really understand bothering with that.
So I sent a tweet that went as follows: I would think it takes something away from a concert experience recording it on a phone. The magic is in the memory.
That was retweeted by more people than almost anything else I have written.
The physical part of a great concert can’t really be duplicated. The goosebumps you feel when the artist first appears on the stage as the crowd roars their approval. The satisfaction of hearing your favorite song in person and being encouraged to sing along. Walking out afterward, exhilarated and feeling like it was money well spent.
Can’t capture that on a phone.
But since this is my story I have an exception to this rule.
There is a video of a Paul Simon concert at which he invited a young lady on stage to sing one of his songs. You can find it on YouTube. Her name is Rayna. And the song was Duncan. The joy of her moment on stage is amazing. She could play the guitar and sing. The sound isn’t very good, but you can see Paul Simon nodding his approval as she sings.
There are two versions of this: one from a random concertgoer and one from her husband.
The random one was taken by someone who just got the camera that day. I had a chance to talk to her in the comment section of her post and she was so excited to catch that incredible moment. It was in focus and very well done.
The other by the husband consisted of him yelling “Yeah, Baby” over and over. Rendering the video useless if the purpose was to capture HER Moment not his.
So, in conclusion, just because you can record a concert with your phone doesn’t mean you should.
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