My, My, Hey, Hey, Rock 'N Roll Is Here To Stay

I have been to see a lot of concerts in my life. It is one of my favorite things to do. I have seen many of the biggest acts in the world. While enjoying music I love occasionally the talent of the performer is blatantly obvious. This was the case last night when I saw the Godfather of Grunge, Neil Young performed last night at the Centennial Concert Hall in Winnipeg.

This was a Neil Young show. This was not a Neil Young and Crazy Horse show. This was not a Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young show. This was not a Neil Young with a backup band show. This was not Neil Young and a couple of guys show. The only one who performed was Neil Young.

If it was an acoustic song he played the acoustic guitar. If it was an electric song he played the electric guitar. If it was an organ song he played the organ. If it was a piano song he played the piano.

His talent for songwriting and his love of performing was obvious. He engaged the audience in a show that was how I would imagine hanging out in his basement as he played music for a couple of hours. He played songs I love and songs I didn't know. All the songs were great.

Often my appreciation of a performer increases if I get a chance to see them live. Now that I've seen Winnipeg's favorite son I truly and fully understand his broad and engaging appeal. He can truly communicate through music. He can grab an audience and keep them listening for ever.

Last night I saw one of the most influential people in music in the last 50 years perform. I am very glad I did.

The Dog Days of Summer

The weather in Manitoba has been strange this year. First there was the very early spring. Everything was dried up and leaves were out by the end of April. Following that we had a very wet spring. I thought a pre-historic lake was going to return. In the last couple of weeks the weatherman has not been close. It has been nice a lot of the time. It has been the dog days of summer.

I like the dog days of summer. Nice lazy weather is how I remember summertime as a kid. It makes for great memories. It makes it easy to have fun.

The idea of sitting out with a cold beverage at the end of a lazy day with the most important people in your life is universal. It can quickly become one of those moments you look back on with fond memories. Those are the moments that help make life worth living. The daily grind, is worth it when you can enjoy the dog days of summer. It is worth it when you have one of those moments that defines your summer, year, decade, or life.

I am around a lot of driven people who work very hard and make sacrifices. I hope one of the reasons they work so hard is so they can enjoy the dog days of summer.

Creativity vs. Conformity

Creativity comes in many forms and is essential within a society in order to progress. Without creative thought about everything we do advancement is impossible.

Conformity is an important part of maintaining order. By having the group conform to a set of norms, safety and efficiency are increased, assisting with the overall quality of society.

A society requires both of these to function but blind obedience to either will lead to failure. This leads to a very obvious question. How much of each do we need?

I'm not sure I know the whole answer but I'm sure part of it depends on your role in society. Where you sit in the system helps determine how much creativity or conformity you require.

For example, controlling air traffic requires a high level of conformity. Everyone in the system has an expectation on how the others will behave. Deviations from the expected norm will lead to potential safety compromises. On the flip side, designing fashion requires a high level of creativity as there is very little safety concern but if you are not new and fresh you are probably not going to be designing clothes very long.

These examples are very obvious but do point out the extremes. These is however another consideration of your responsibilities within an organization. If you are in the lower levels it is your responsibility to run the system. If you are near the top you may very well be responsible for designing the system. There is a problem. The people who are designing the system are not going to run it in the end and the people running the system don't have the resources to design the system.

So where does this leave us?

Everyone needs to have a bit of both but depending where you sit in the world you may need a lot of one or the other. The perfect balance has been haunting most if us forever, but we must try to do the best we can and adapt to the changing situation.

Youth Movement

Tomorrow morning we have ground training scheduled so some of the crew is taking advantage of this and having a few tasty beverages. There was a time that I would have joined in but I'm older and my workdays are long. The prospect of a hangover is not worth it for me tomorrow.

I have often heard that youth is wasted on the young. I can assure you that I did not waste my youth. In my hay day, not only was I in there like a dirty shirt, I was often a ringleader and some could argue, a bad influence.

Like I have mentioned in the past, I want my regrets to be things I have done, not things I have not done. When I was in my late teens and most of my twenties, I lived it up. I was always up for a party, and I did it right. I never wasted an opportunity and that was ok.

I'm older now. I want to do some different things with my time. I like to discover and reflect. I seem to want to try and be creative and that was partly why I write a blog or two.

Don't get me wrong, I still like to rip it up. I still have a lot of beer at times and I still have to nurse some killer hangovers but the frequency has dropped off. Too many days of clean living seem to get me primed for a good shaker, especially if I have been working hard and getting things done.

I think I have more balance in my life. It is hard to achieve balance but I have fun when I can and I am responsible when the situation warrants. Maybe I'm actually growing up a bit and that's ok, as long as it's not too much.

This week-end I may be on a mission but until then, I'm living the clean life.

The Power of Music

I often listen to music. I am listening right now as I type this. I was listening earlier today at work and as I got ready for work this morning. I find music can influence me. It can change my mood, remind me of an event, or inspire me.

Why does music have this influence on me and so many people?

Apparently, music can trigger emotional responses in the brain. It can be linked to lasting memories of significant moments. It can help shape those moments.

For me I find that music underscores everything. I often have a song in my head. I can hear songs in the sounds around me. If in see things that are happening with a rhythm I can score it with music in my head. Music seems to have a significant influence on my creativity. It also seems to effect my well-being.

Much like going to the gym, listening to music can make me feel better. I miss music if I don't hear enough in a day. I can enhance or mitigate how I feel with music. It makes can make me happy or jack me up if I'm feeling ho-hum.

I cannot imagine a life without music. It would be a life less examined or enjoyed. I think we all can use some examination and a lot of enjoyment in our lives.

Big Rock and Roll

Last night I saw Iron Maiden at MTS Centre in Winnipeg. This is one of the few bands left for me to see. I enjoy their music but never had the burning desire to see them.

I should have had a burning desire to see them.

Bruce Dickenson, who is the lead singer, is amazing. He has an amazing voice. He wailed all night long. It was on key, strong and smooth. Even more amazing is he is a pilot. I may have a small man crush on the guy. I wish I was him. To fly myself to a gig and then sing as only he can would be a rather awesome life.

Back to the show.

To truly appreciate Iron Maiden you have to see them perform live. The show has a lot of production. It is big, there are colourful backdrops, and it perfectly compliments the sweeping, full, rich, music. Of course there is Eddie. He may be the most identifiable aspect of Iron Maiden. This giant beast will strike fear in the hearts of small children and parents everywhere. At the end of the main set Eddie walked out on stage. It was rather awesome.

I can now say I've seen Iron Maiden. I wish I would have seen them sooner as this show was big.