Something New VS. Something Known
A hypothetical debate on concerts to satisfy your pandemic boredom.
Among the laundry list of negatives we can attribute to this pandemic, the lack of live music in our lives hits particularly hard. If you’re anything like me (a human being with ears), it’s taking a toll on you too. To put it plainly, the world is worse without it.
Livestreams and drive-in concerts are nice and all, but they don’t even come close to replacing the feeling of pure ecstasy you get from jumping around, dancing, sweating, and being crushed under the weight of your fellow concert-goers while screaming the lyrics to that one song by that one band in that one venue you really love.
So how should we deal with this huge, empty hole in our hearts? Well, the answer is unnecessary, hypothetical arguments of course.
Today I’d like to start a discussion. I’ll pose a question and give you my opinion, then you can comment yours below, or at the dinner table with your friends/family, or on social media (the internet’s dinner table), or, honestly... just debate it in your head as you do with every thought you have at all hours of the day.
Would you rather attend the concert of an artist you know and love, or the concert of an artist you have yet to discover, one who could blow your mind and become your next obsession?
Personally, I’ve had incredible experiences in both scenarios. For instance, in May of 2011, I attended LA Rising in Los Angeles (my first real concert) to see one of my favorite bands, Rage Against the Machine, for the first time. RATM was fantastic of course, and in no way a let-down, but I was actually blown away by another band on the bill... Muse.
I was a freshman in high school at the time and had yet to discover the English rock band. But, after seeing them live that night at the Coliseum I was hooked, they instantly became one of my favorite bands for the next few years. Matt Bellamy’s unbelievable falsetto and Chris Wolstenholme’s melodic, synthesized bass-lines left me in awe. Not to mention the incredible display of showmanship and creativity put into their laser-heavy, futuristic stage design, and high-energy performance. To this day, Absolution is firmly in my top 20 favorite albums of all time (so is RATM’s eponymous debut album to be fair). But that album might not have meant as much to me today had I not shown up early enough to catch their set.
I won’t stand before you today and try to tell you, Muse is better than Rage Against the Machine, I don’t believe that at all.
But that night in LA,
the experience of being introduced to Muse was far more impactful to me than the experience of hearing my favorite Rage songs.
So here’s where my hypothetical dilemma kicks in. I’ve always wondered if I should try to recreate this experience? I was really lucky that night because I got to experience both something new AND something known without compromising the other. This is the biggest advantage of split bills, music festivals, and opening acts. But what if I had to choose one or the other? If being introduced to Muse that night was so impactful, shouldn’t I prioritize attending concerts of artists I’m unfamiliar with?
One of the biggest variables to consider in this debate is cost. With a limited budget, you could say it’s hard to justify spending money on concerts of artists you don’t even know. If you can only go to a few, or even one show a year, you’d want to see a band you really love right?
Like many of you, I’ve had the fulfilling experience of seeing my favorite band play live. I saw LCD Soundsystem (to whom I can quote almost every lyric of every song) perform at the Hollywood Palladium in November of 2017. I paid $80 to watch James Murphy and his onstage army recreate sounds I didn’t think were possible to produce live. I lost my voice singing along to my favorite tunes.
Dancing with all my friends to “All My Friends” was an almost religious experience.
It was easily comparable in greatness to the time I saw Muse (better in fact). I can't imagine a scenario where I sacrifice seeing LCD to save money.
But to be fair, you could argue that concerts of unfamiliar artists are, more often than not, cheaper. Perhaps I could’ve taken the $80 I spent on LCD tickets and seen three or four shows by lesser-known bands at smaller venues.
Back in April of 2016, I saw Goldroom play a live set at The Hub on campus at UC Santa Barbara. I paid $20 for an incredibly fun time. I had never heard of Goldroom before, it was just an easy, affordable thing to do that night. Not as great as seeing my favorite band, but, if you asked me to choose between four nights just like that, or one night just like the LCD Soundsystem show in LA, I would have to think long and hard about it (hence this ridiculously pointless article).
Also, I bet there’s at least a handful of people out there who love Goldroom more than LCD Soundsystem, or love Goldroom and have never even heard of LCD.
That leads me to another important variable. The decision obviously depends on the specific artists you are choosing between, and if you have already seen the ‘favorite band’ in question.
At this moment I would probably take four nights just like the Goldroom experience, over one night of LCD Soundsystem, but that’s because aside from the night I mentioned at the Palladium, I’ve attended two additional LCD Soundsystem shows. I’ll always want to see them again and again, but not if it means sacrificing other wonderful new experiences.
Now, I’ve never seen The Strokes play live. I’d absolutely pay $80 (or more) to see them and skip out on the four unknown concerts...
The final factor to consider is how performers don’t always meet expectations when they play live. Your favorite band might disappoint you, ruining the way you think about them forever. Or they may captivate you in a whole new way, and make you fall even further in love with them.
So what’s the conclusion? I don’t have one exactly. Maybe you do. Or maybe you have more variables to introduce.
I think most people would agree it’s good to have a mixture of both. Spend part of your budget seeing bands you love, and part of it discovering new acts. But that kind of defeats the purpose of this whole ‘would you rather’ debate. It's a bit of a cop-out.
Something in between new and known could be nice. Maybe see bands you’re somewhat familiar with, but have never really listened to on a deeper level? Yea sure. Honestly, there’s no right answer, it's just fun to think about. I wanted to hear everyone's thoughts! What do you think? What have your experiences with both scenarios been like?
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