Boots to the Moon

My last cultural event was a musical event. I tried to go to something of a more classical nature, but was unable to do so. But I think that the show I did see had some really interesting aspects to it that I wouldn't have seen at a different type of concert. I saw the band Boots to the Moon on Friday night. Normally, I would have said that going to a concert at The Velour would probably not be appropriate for the type of musical analysis that we need to do for Humanities 101, but this one was a bit different.

As I was trying to figure out what performance I could go and see this week, I came across this article in the Daily Herald about Boots to the Moon. I've actually seen this artist perform before, and I have to say that it was one of my favorite local performances that I've been to. Also, Jack Purcells is a really nice guy. When I heard him perform before, I had to buy his CD. I only had $9 instead of the $10 that I needed to buy a CD. He was so nice and friendly; he let me buy his CD with just the $9.

In the article, they mention something about his performances that I find very intriguing. He wears a mask at each performance. I'm not sure how many masks he has, but I'm pretty sure he has a lot of them. I think this is an interesting twist on performing worth discussing later on.

So, feeling justified, I went to the concert on Friday. Two other guys played before him, and they were both really good as well. But I was really excited to watch Boots to the Moon. He started off with a new song that they talk about in the article in the Daily Herald. They say that it's eleven minutes long, but I'm wondering if it's longer than that. It was an amazing song though! One of the things that I remember about his performance that I saw before this one was that the music was loud, but not abrasive and rough like heavy metal. It's hard to describe, but it's a very smooth sound.

Sure enough, in this performance, he did the same thing. I really really like how it sounds. I think part of why I like it so much is because (we talked about this in class) the sound just surrounds you and envelops your brain. I can't remember much of the specifics of the brain and music, but I think it has a lot to do with why I like his music.

This eleven minute song was great! He had another guy playing guitar and keyboard with him. They have this special effect that they do with the sound. They make it echo-like, so that it's always echoing back whatever he sings into it. This is going to sound a little weird, maybe, but this is honestly what I was thinking about while Boots to the Moon was playing that first song. It reminded me of the universe. Just the volume and timbre combined with the echo effect made me feel like I was in some huge, vast area, like somewhere out in space. Even the lighting made me think of the universe. I think it might be because of the disco globe combined with how dark it was on stage. For the most part of the song, just two red lights were shining from behind the performers. It was like watching the stars, really. I know it might sound a little strange, but if any of you were to go to a live performance of his, I think it might make more sense.

And now, onto the mask. I had a little trouble figuring out what his mask was last night. At first I though it was a dark, phantom-of-the-opera type mask. Then I thought maybe it was an animal of some kind. I came to the conclusion that it was just a dark, kind of creepy face mask. The light stayed fairly low on stage, so it was difficult to see what the mask was.

But I was wondering about the nature of wearing a mask on stage in a concert. What is the purpose of doing it? I don't think he's trying to hide, or else he wouldn't be performing. What are the purposes of masks? Well, besides hiding, there's changing, covering, deceiving, showing emotion, hiding emotion...can anyone think of any others?

I really like that Boots to the Moon wears a mask when he performs. It's like watching more than just a concert.