“Music has a bonding power, it’s primal social cement.”
~Oliver Sacks
There we were. Our bottoms planted on the upper bleachers of the stadium, the roof of the dome wide open, the sky and stars above us, surrounded by 50,000 people sharing in a symbiotic joyful experience with internationally acclaimed musician Ed Sheeran.
I thought about the great effort we had put into getting to that show. My daughter Lara waited online months before to ensure getting a pair of tickets for the two of us. We had left hours earlier the day of the show and fought traffic for 2 ½ hours in a jammed commute that should have taken 1 hour. Searching busy streets for parking, walking cement ramps and stairs to get to the top level of seating in the huge Rogers Centre, hunting for food and washrooms. Waiting in lines with hundreds of other people. It was quite the effort. It wasn’t easy. But, oh, when we were finally there and the sun was setting and people were gathering, and the stage was glowing with colourful visuals on giant screens. Excitement was building!
A countdown began, . . . 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, . . . and the music exploded as the concert began. As the evening of great music progressed, I thought about the energy Ed and crew were putting into his 2 ¼ hour live show, sharing his talent, his tunes, and his very spirit with us. Inviting us to participate with him, cheering, clapping, screaming, singing, dancing. I looked at the gigantic set of cranes and screens, and listened and watched the high tech’ output before me and thought about the amount of creativity and work that had gone into creating this experience. For all of us. Not just the audience.
I realized that a live performance of music is a true coming together of creators and participators. We each had done our part to be there that night and communally participate in an experience that uplifted and bonded us together as one. For a few hours we all escaped our normal lives and were taken out of ourselves as we came together for this magical union. Connected. The same heart, the same spirit. Music has the power do that.
