Capture The Moment
I count three Roc signs…and three cameras.Downloading may have ruined record sales, but cameras are starting to ruin live shows.
Look up live performance footage on Youtube: Most of the videos are shot by amateurs off their flip cams, their cell phones, or their digital cameras. But when you watch the videos, you’ll notice that half the people in the audience are shooting a video of the exact same performance on their flip cams, their cell phones, or their digital cameras.
It seems like just about everyone in the audience is in the trenches trying to get their Speilberg on. Fans don’t look at the stage, they keep their eyes on their camera. They don’t sing the words, the camera would pick up their voice. And God forbid that they jump around (And you know, have some fun) because the camera would shake. They end up capturing moments, but they don’t create memories.
I’m guilty of this myself. At the Nas show I was busy recording footage. Yes, I did it for the same reasons as everyone else but I also knew my work was going to be posted on sites like RapRadar (Although I didn’t expect it to end up here). The point being, I’m willing to give myself a bit of pass since I was technically “working” as a camera man that night.
But most people aren’t like me. They’re there to enjoy the show. And I’m here urging them to go ahead and enjoy it. When I was recording Nas, I realized I could never fully apprecaite seeing one of the greatest rappers of all time performing classics like “Get Down” if I was too busy keeping my hands up and camera pointed.
So the next time I go to a concert, I won’t get caught up trying to record every memory so I can remember it forever. If the concert is any good, I’ll remember it forever anyhow. I’ll definitely take a few pictures, but I won’t get caught up.
Do I wish I had a photo of Method Man standing on the hands of fans in the center of the Webster Hall throwing up the Wu sign? Of course I do, but I’ll always remember that moment. And memory always alters images, that’s how nostalgia gets created. The last thing I’d ever want is for my nostalgia to be ruined by reality.
The next time I go to a concert, the only time I’ll put my hands up in the air is when I wave them like I just don’t care.
