For our live music project, we attended the show in the Caine Conservatory. The event was led by Scott MacLeod and his Musical Theater Scenes class. The vast majority of the music that we experienced was from various plays and movies. There were several solo performances, and also a mixture of duettes and group performances. The music itself ranged from opera-styled songs to an acoustic guitar solo, and many genres in between. We were extremely impressed with the performances, especially because there were no prior requirements to be a member of the organization. Each of the performers brought something unique to the stage, and their ranges of vocals came as a complete surprise to us. They didn’t only astound us, but also the other attendees. We interviewed a total of six people- a few of them being participants and the others being observers. The consensus was nearly unanimous: the show was awesome! We asked everyone the same three questions and recorded their responses. To begin with, “How was your experience?” People responded with either, “good, fun, 5 stars, lovely,” or some other pleasant comment. We truly believe the music had brought everyone together for a completely unique experience, and that really caused a deindividualized social setting. Following our initial question, we inquired about everyone’s favorite performance. This yielded some variety in our answers. Each person had their own opinion and interpretation of their favorite performance, but they also knew almost immediately how to respond. A notable aspect of the concert was that there was a song or performance for everyone. At some point during the show, any given person in the audience was able to truly appreciate the work that was put into the performance. The last aspect of the show that we inquired people about was the environment that it took place in. We believe this was the most controversial part of the concert, as certain people really enjoyed being in a unique environment, and others strongly disliked it. The conservatory is completely filled with plants, a coy pond, and large ceiling fans. All of these things play into being possible prohibiting factors for a live musical performance. Despite this, it did provide us with a completely distinctive experience. The glass structure we were housed in provided unique sound qualities, and many of the massive plants made it difficult to see the performers during the show. This made it necessary for certain attendees to move around to take pictures and videos. The general consensus we received from our questions about the setting were split, though. The observers didn’t seem to mind the environment as much, while performers had more of an issue with it. We believe this is most likely due to the hard work and dedication they put into their performance, and the setting not being ideal for them in all regards. As observers though, it provided a unique setting that most of us had never experienced before. Overall, the concert was something very special to attend and it was a memorable experience for all of us.
Separately, I attended the Lil Baby concert in Charlotte, North Carolina for the live music project. Lil Baby along with several other artists performed many of their most famous songs in front of over 10,000 people. His concert took place on September 11th, 2021. There were a few openers for Lil Baby and they ran over time forcing the main event to be delayed about 15 minutes. However, the opening acts were so amazing that the crowd was unable to notice the short delay in the main act. The concert was held at the PNC Music Pavilion and it was a designated open-air arena for concerts like the one I went to. The Pavilion was filled with advertisements and decorations that enhanced the viewing experience. The atmosphere was electric, the environment was very casual as everyone gathered there to experience music from one of their favorite artists. I felt very welcome and everyone I sat near was friendly and expressed similar interests as me. This was my first ever concert of this magnitude in size or genre of music, I was blown away and entertained to the fullest for the several hours that I was in attendance. My friends and I had lawn seats and although there was plenty of room to move freely, at times it was difficult to see what was going on onstage. There was a wide range of people in attendance but the majority of people were between ages 16-24. It was mostly men and a lot of the people seemed to be regulars of concerts of this manner. During the many performances, people were singing, rapping and dancing along. This rhythm raised the energy of the crowd and I joined in. I went to the concert with several of my friends, after the concert ended I interviewed 3 of them, asking them “how many times have you been to a concert like this?”, “How would you describe the concert?” and “why did you want to go to this concert?”. I interviewed my roommate Aidan Brunner who initially mentioned the idea of going to the concert. He said he's “been to at least 5 concerts similar to this one” a fanatic of rap music and live entertainment. Additionally, asking my other friends who I went with, they both described the concert similarly, one said “nothing beats seeing your favorite artist perform live”. In consensus, for my friends it was an exhilarating experience that they want to continue experiencing in the near future. (Michael Martino).