Yesterday I was fortunate to see a free gig played at my local music store. ‘The Divine Comedy’ (aka Neil Hannon) gave us nearly an hour of live music and comic moments. The occasional dodgy notes and memory loss on words adding only to the charm. I didn’t actually physically see him until he was signing autographs after his performance. But that didn’t matter. I know what he looks like and just being able to listen to him live was good enough for me.
It was fascinating to observe others in the audience who clearly didn’t share my perspective. There were complaints about not being able to see, babies in the way, big tall men in the way, etc. And then there were the cameras. One family behind me spent much of the time trying to get a photo. To the extent that they were talking (albeit reasonably quietly) over the music and Hannon’s chat. Though slightly irritated, my main fascination was their focus on getting the photo rather than enjoying the experience.
I’m reminded of ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ and the greed of Verucca Salt who always got what she wanted until it backfired on her. I can’t be certain but I would imagine that those who spent their time worrying about getting a photo enjoyed the experience less.
Of course I did queue for half an hour to get an autograph on my the CD I bought. I may be self-aware but it doesn’t mean I’m perfect!
