Thank You, Tilly and the Wall
For the second Saturday night in a row, Lawrence and I were at the Middle East in Central Square for a concert last night. Last weekend, we saw The Mountain Goats. Although they were pretty amazing live, I wasn't too familiar with their songs. So I didn't find myself jumping up and down and singing along as I usually do. Last night, we saw Tilly and the Wall. Though I am only familiar with their 2004 album, the fact that I knew 1/2 of their songs they played made the experience that much more enjoyable for me than The Mountain Goats concert the previous Saturday.
The band was very energetic. They released balloons into the small crowd for tossing around, and I think that got the energy level up in the venue before they even got on stage. All the band members were in bright clothing and jumping around. There were seven people on stage, but perhaps most notable was the tap dancer dressed in a purple tutu keeping the beat for the band! There was also of course a drummer, but he, I think, was outshone by the tap dancer- she was on an elevated platform behind the rest of the band members and next to the drummer. High above the stage, her figure reminded me of the crucifix one sees at the front of Catholic churches by the altar; she stood above the rest in a royal purple, usually with her arms held in a hung fashion as sweat dripped from her face during her constant bouncing up and down from tap dancing, as if trying to breathe. (How's that for Easter imagery!)
One moment of the night was particularly memorable. Lawrence, 3 friends, and I were standing on an elevated part of the floor to the left of the stage that ran along the venue's length back. We were all in the back, but right on the edge of this elevated floor so we had a good view of the rest of the crowd and the band. About 3/4 way through the set, the band gets through their song "Nights of the Living Dead", which ironically (and of course intended by the songwriter) ends with a line "And I feel so alive" repeated several times. The band and crowd's energy reached a crescendo when "And I feel so alive" blasted from the speakers and filled the room. Everyone was jumping around, into, over, and under each other on the main floor. The main singer bounced up and down with the beat. She wore a rainbow colored frilly shirt, where the frills were neon layers of the material girls used in to 80s to make friendship bracelets or tie their hair with, and each layer was a color of the rainbow. With each jump, her frills would rise and fall with her. And while the crowd was jumping, all their arms were raised and moved back and forth in sync with the main singer's jumping.
Watching this all from the back of the venue, not to be cliched, but I literally just felt so alive. I could feel the life in me and all around me. I couldn't have been hit harder over the head with this feeling as I literally was singing along "And I feel so alive", jumping up and down, and just taking it all in.
The band was very energetic. They released balloons into the small crowd for tossing around, and I think that got the energy level up in the venue before they even got on stage. All the band members were in bright clothing and jumping around. There were seven people on stage, but perhaps most notable was the tap dancer dressed in a purple tutu keeping the beat for the band! There was also of course a drummer, but he, I think, was outshone by the tap dancer- she was on an elevated platform behind the rest of the band members and next to the drummer. High above the stage, her figure reminded me of the crucifix one sees at the front of Catholic churches by the altar; she stood above the rest in a royal purple, usually with her arms held in a hung fashion as sweat dripped from her face during her constant bouncing up and down from tap dancing, as if trying to breathe. (How's that for Easter imagery!)
One moment of the night was particularly memorable. Lawrence, 3 friends, and I were standing on an elevated part of the floor to the left of the stage that ran along the venue's length back. We were all in the back, but right on the edge of this elevated floor so we had a good view of the rest of the crowd and the band. About 3/4 way through the set, the band gets through their song "Nights of the Living Dead", which ironically (and of course intended by the songwriter) ends with a line "And I feel so alive" repeated several times. The band and crowd's energy reached a crescendo when "And I feel so alive" blasted from the speakers and filled the room. Everyone was jumping around, into, over, and under each other on the main floor. The main singer bounced up and down with the beat. She wore a rainbow colored frilly shirt, where the frills were neon layers of the material girls used in to 80s to make friendship bracelets or tie their hair with, and each layer was a color of the rainbow. With each jump, her frills would rise and fall with her. And while the crowd was jumping, all their arms were raised and moved back and forth in sync with the main singer's jumping.
Watching this all from the back of the venue, not to be cliched, but I literally just felt so alive. I could feel the life in me and all around me. I couldn't have been hit harder over the head with this feeling as I literally was singing along "And I feel so alive", jumping up and down, and just taking it all in.
posted by Christina at 5:06 PM
1 Comments:
You write very well.
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