last night some friends and i went to see brandi carlile. it was a good show— a really good show, actually— and that’s coming from a non-fan. i like her music but i’ve never sought her out nor do i own any albums. i liked her more and more as the evening progressed, which i took as a good sign. in a way, it was cool not knowing any of her songs— i ended up paying attention more to her lyrics and the general mood of her music.
i have to say, though, that i hate sing-alongs. i hate clapping aloud. no snapping along for me. i don’t sing out loud to myself at concerts, either. i know what i sound like; i want to hear whomever i’m singning. so, yeah. last night’s concert had snapping and clapping and 3-part harmony where each third of the room had their own part. my friend S looked at me during the snapping part and said, what are you too cool to snap? and i said yes, yes, YES! i’m too cool to snap! singing along gives me the creeps, the heebie jeebs, it’s too touchy-feely and campfire circles and church.
i also really, really hate it when the singer stops and the audience picks up singning. it’s always out of tune and embarrassing. last night, brandi carlile did this and at the end of the song she said that she’s done that in the past and no one sang along. dead silence! it must have been a room full of me!