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September 20, 2012
voice (v., n.)
I attended Voices in the Park last weekend and I think it's about time I reflected and committed something into words.
The concert was organized by Sarah McLaghlan to fundraise for her School of Music that she founded in 1990 to bring musical education to underprivileged kids. The line-up was spectacular and even Bill Clinton himself made an appearance commenting on how he owes his presidency to the music instruction he received from an early age. He said music helped build his character so he could better deal with politics, which he referred to as a "contact sport" (no pun intended).
The concert series' cleverly ambiguous name got me thinking about what it means to not only have a voice but to also make your voice heard. I was there to hear the voices of Jann Arden, Stevie Nix, Bryan Adams, and of course, Sarah McLaughlan. But by being there, I was also voicing my support for a good cause.
The reason I pinpoint this particular set-up is because of what I witnessed sitting in Section 2, row 1 that night. It was jarring, cacophonous, inharmonious - and just plain awful.
There was a lady sitting next to us who from the very beginning of the show seemed to have forgotten what brought many of us there in the first place: The desire to hear - and support - artists singing for a good cause. She seemed committed to making sure that those around her were not having a good time - or at least a worse time than she was having. Every few minutes, she'd get up from her seat to shove (yes, shove) someone out of her line of vision and yell out "MOVE!".
The area in front of us was a walkway, yet she took every opportunity to hurry people along by yelling at them and pushing them. She even aggressively pushed a man away who slowed down, leaning on his walking stick, to take a photo of the show. From the place where I was standing, I could see fine - and so could she. But for some reason, her voice seemed to be the most important thing in attendance that evening.
I mentioned that she was being quite rude (though hostile would have been a more accurate description of her behaviour), while others seated farther away gave flashed looks of complete disbelief or repeated and utter disapproval. But none of this seemed to faze her. Our remonstrations seemed only to encourage her.
At one point, even security had to intervene when the lady picked on some semi-inebriated teenage girl who was apparently a bit too Bryan-crazy and anxious to get a closer look at him by standing "too close" to us. I didn't mind at all, and even let the girl share my spot so she could enjoy the show for a bit; but the lady wouldn't have any of it.
But karma did as karma would.
The security people eventually came back. Many of us thought they'd escort this lady out of the show; but instead, whether borne out of intentional wit or not, the security personnel just planted their tall authoritative selves right in front of her for the remainder of the concert. She shut up soon after that (though, believe it or not, she still tried to push one of the security guys away).
There's nothing like having the universe echo your sentiments.
But beyond that, the concert was oh so very moving. Listening to Jann Arden sing "I Would Die For You" with Sarah McLaughlan, cut right into the very core of me. The show had great and well-planned momentum, ramping up with Stevie Nix and Bryan Adams, and as per my taste, closing with some slower music to lull me into the night.
I truly found my peace amongst all the noise that night.
 |
| I kept hoping Bill would play the sax. |
The concert series' cleverly ambiguous name got me thinking about what it means to not only have a voice but to also make your voice heard. I was there to hear the voices of Jann Arden, Stevie Nix, Bryan Adams, and of course, Sarah McLaughlan. But by being there, I was also voicing my support for a good cause.
 |
| Enjoying sunny Stanley Park with Ben! |
Stanley Park was beautiful. We arrived around 4:30pm, grabbed a plate of $10 dim sum from the food truck, and headed to our seats, as close as we could get to the the stage without dropping $285 for the nice chairs. Our view was spectacular (I'm pretty sure Bryan Adams and I made eye contact).
The reason I pinpoint this particular set-up is because of what I witnessed sitting in Section 2, row 1 that night. It was jarring, cacophonous, inharmonious - and just plain awful.
 | |||
| I didn't let myself get too distracted by the obnoxious lady sitting next to me at the concert. Not only did I enjoy the show and getsucked into the music, but I even found a moment to make it ontothe live Twitter feed! (@vishmili) |
The area in front of us was a walkway, yet she took every opportunity to hurry people along by yelling at them and pushing them. She even aggressively pushed a man away who slowed down, leaning on his walking stick, to take a photo of the show. From the place where I was standing, I could see fine - and so could she. But for some reason, her voice seemed to be the most important thing in attendance that evening.
I mentioned that she was being quite rude (though hostile would have been a more accurate description of her behaviour), while others seated farther away gave flashed looks of complete disbelief or repeated and utter disapproval. But none of this seemed to faze her. Our remonstrations seemed only to encourage her.
At one point, even security had to intervene when the lady picked on some semi-inebriated teenage girl who was apparently a bit too Bryan-crazy and anxious to get a closer look at him by standing "too close" to us. I didn't mind at all, and even let the girl share my spot so she could enjoy the show for a bit; but the lady wouldn't have any of it.
But karma did as karma would.
 |
| We are all going to find things that stand in our way. I think that how we deal with those things will determine if they're actually in our way or if we're in our own way. |
There's nothing like having the universe echo your sentiments.
But beyond that, the concert was oh so very moving. Listening to Jann Arden sing "I Would Die For You" with Sarah McLaughlan, cut right into the very core of me. The show had great and well-planned momentum, ramping up with Stevie Nix and Bryan Adams, and as per my taste, closing with some slower music to lull me into the night.
I truly found my peace amongst all the noise that night.
"Each one has to find his peace from within. And peace to be real must be unaffected by outside circumstances." - Mahatma Gandhi
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