1. (30 points) Prepare a reflection post on the social (not the musical or aesthetic) aspects of one situation in the past year or so where music was performed. Consider factors such as:
- Briefly describe the social situation. What was the purpose of having music at the event?
- The nature of the music performed. What type was it? Were the works long or short? Was it background music for social activity? Was it intended for careful listening?
- The nature of the performers. What was the size of the group? Did they wear a uniform or other characteristic dress? Did they stand to perform the music? Did they interact with the audience? If so, in what way? Did they use printed music? Were their sounds amplified? How did they acknowledge the audience? Did they follow certain traditional customs such as acknowledging a soloist?
- The nature of the audience. What was the general age and SES of the audience? How large was it? Did they applaud the performers? Did they have a printed program? Did they dress up for the event? Did they participate in any way? Did they need to buy or have a ticket for the performance? Could they eat and drink during the performance?
I had the amazing opportunity to go see Billy Joel live in concert in January 2014. I had previously seen him in concert when he was in Florida back in 2009 with Elton John. My mother has been a Billy Joel fan for ages and I can still remember back when I was 3 years old, we were driving in her van and Billy Joel music was playing. I have been a huge fan of Billy Joel my entire life. When I went to see Billy Joel the first time, I wanted to go with my mother but she couldn't get off work so I went with a friend instead thinking this might be the only time I get to see him. My mother and I were extremely excited that he started touring again and we went together this time in 2014.
To talk about the social aspects rather than the musical aspects of this concert is hard because the musical aspects are what I want to focus on. However, I will put my memory to the test and see if I can remember all the different social aspects.
To start with, the concert itself occurred in a huge arena where hockey games usually take place. This, in an of itself, is a social aspect. This is a huge gathering place where people usually get together to cheer, scream, and root for their team. It was being used that night for the concert instead. But again, you could see that people came to this huge arena to cheer, scream, and root for Billy Joel.
Billy Joel was the obvious star of the show. He has his band and he is incredibly loyal to them. They were the same band that I saw in 2009. And, when introducing them to the audience, he stated that a few of them have been with him for decades. Despite this, no one came to watch his band play. They came to see Billy Joel. Billy Joel was incredibly interactive with his audience, as much as he could be at least. He couldn't go into the crowd because the probably would have mobbed him. But between songs, he would talk about his music, his tour, his life. It was as personal and intimate a concert you could have with a sold out crowd in a hockey arena.
The music of this event was not intended to be background music while people talked. The audience came to see Billy Joel! However, it was not meant to be careful listening either. People screamed, cheered, and sang along with each piece of music that was performed. Billy Joel encouraged the audience to sing along in several parts when he would point to the audience and he would stop singing. It was meant to be interactive and it wasn't meant to be a silent listening venue. And like a true hockey stadium, there were places inside to buy food and drink. Most of the people around us had hot dogs, pizza, chips, water bottles, beer, and more while they enjoyed the performance.
I believe the first thing I noticed when I went to my first Billy Joel concert in 2009 was that the audience had people from all ages represented. I thought that my friend and I would be the only younger people in the audience. When I rant and rave about Billy Joel in a normal day situation, people my age stare at me and ask, "Who is that?" So I was incredibly surprised to see that there were a LOT of people my age at the concert. There were people who were in their 60s and 70s, people in their teens and 20s, middle aged, and even children. I was very pleased to see that. When I saw him in concert the second time this year, I noticed that same exact trend. Billy Joel's music speaks to people across many generations.
You could see the love and devotion of the audience at this concert. They clapped and cheered for Billy Joel and his band. They knew every word to every song and sang along! And the only way they dressed up was to wear their Billy Joel t-shirts from his various tours through the years. I suppose that would be the way this audience reacted because you definitely had to pay for your tickets. I was in the upper levels and the tickets up there were selling for $80-over $100 dollars. I read the price of the floor tickets as being well over $5000 dollars in some cases. People definitely shelled out a lot of money to go watch Billy Joel perform. The people in this audience definitely wanted to be there!
The great thing about going to see him in concert is that he isn't the type of musician who gives a 1 hour show and calls it a night. When I saw him with Elton John, they put on a show that was 4 and a half hours!! They stopped playing about 2 and a half hours into the concert and some of the people around us left, thinking it was over. My friend and I just happened to sit for a while and they came back onto the stage about 15 minutes later and played for another 2 hours. It was absolutely incredible how much they gave to the audience that night. When I saw him this year, Billy Joel was by himself this time. But he still played for a bit over 2 hours with a small intermission in the middle.
The two concerts in which I have seen him perform were the two best concerts I have ever attended. I am probably very biased because of my love of Billy Joel. However, he put so much into the concerts and the music and the audience definitely loved being there.
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