Last night’s concert was a delicious swirling circle of art, community, and learning.  It was such an intimate setting… there were about 15 friends sitting in our friend’s duplex living room, and no one wanted to get up and get a beverage or another snack or even pee because the 3.5 hours of music was so engaging.  Matt played a Bill Mallonee and the Vigilantes of Love cd for me last week so I would get a sense for his sound before we came to the concert.  Coming to an artist’s concert with nearly no expectations because I only had a taste of familiarity was SO cool.  Instead of knowing the songs ahead of time and piecing together the stories he told to fit my preconceptions of what he meant, I was able to experience it all in person first, and now I can go back, listen to our cds, and mull over my thoughts.

I came away with so many thoughts… I started writing this blog post in my head during one of the songs because it was so beautiful and poignant.  Bill’s wife and the other half of his band, Muriah Rose, was singing about the fine line between the sacred and the profane and I was overcome by the profundity of her words and the Christian humanity of who she must be to be able to write about her experience in such a tangible way.  I don’t know them personally, but after last night, I might almost say I do.  And I certainly would like to!  They were so honest and approachable WHILE they were performing and the fact that they would come and do a concert for a fan’s birthday party demonstrates just what amazing people they are.  I wanted to be friends with them and live closer than we do so we could hang out (they are from Georgia).  Matt and I were both impressed with their marriage too… they shared the stage as band members but more so, as life partners.  They enjoyed each other’s performances and constantly glanced at one another to stay as one in the music, and in life.  There was a connection between them that would make anyone else say, “I want a marriage like that.”  It was beautiful.

Damon set up the concert and Matt and I have attended plenty of concerts with him in the past.  Kyle was at most of those as well.  When we aren’t losing miserably at spades while skipping rained out camping trips with these guys, Matt and I are enjoying music as it was meant to be enjoyed… live in concert, with friends, as a community.  I realized that the link between these bands that all 4 of us drive all over to see (Viva Voce, Over the Rhine, Bill Mallonee…) is their artistry.  They perform because they have to… not to make a living but rather as if this music and poetry inside of them will burst them open if they don’t get it down on paper and share it with as many people as possible.  Matt said this morning that Bill Mallonee has the mind of an intellectual, the heart of an artist, and the spirit of Christ.  When you have that to offer and you create shareable art, you offer a very rare gift.  A gift I received last night, even as a new fan.

Bill was so well-read and a deep thinker… to hear the thoughts that inspired his music was amazing.  A story he used to read to his kids, a friend he knew, a favorite author… there was a thread of stories of broken humanity trying to reach God and know Him, sometimes succeeding and sometimes failing but always trying, that was indicative of every human’s experience.  Like I said, approachable.  He mentioned that some critic had described the band as “scrappy, literate, folky music” and they were so proud of that.  That’s exactly how it was… personalized folk.  And really, folk means people, so people music.  Shareable and experienced by all.

I experienced this creation sensation last night, and I’ve experienced it before.  You see someone else create something beautiful and it is so inspiring that you want to go create just from the experience of seeing theirs.  I went home and wrote a poem about my mom after my first Over the Rhine concert because I was so touched by Karin’s stories.  It is still my best poetry work to date and I cranked it out around 1am because I couldn’t put my pen down after experiencing the music that Linford and Karin create.  Last night, I felt the same way.  I wanted to write or make or create something to continue on the beauty I had experienced.  I went to bed instead and hoped I could blog in the morning to pass something of my experience on to you.  This all stems from God’s nature… our Creator made us in His image and we see all He does and it inspires us to go do as well!

I often say that I keep this blog to document that I exist right now.  So I write here… I talk about the babies and our family and myself so that I show up as a complete person during this time of sacrifice to primarily be with my children.  I realized during the concert that we ALL do this.  We document that we exist.  Bill and Muriah have the unique gift of being excellent musicians and songwriters, so their existence reaches far and wide.  Mine is contained to people who like me well enough to read my blog.  Yours might be another venue.  But we are all just placing our stamp wherever someone might see it.  You see this everywhere… people define themselves by what they own or don’t own, what they agree with or don’t, what they invest their time in and what they choose as hobbies, who they invest time into knowing well, the art they make.  What we destroy is just as telling as what we create… many stamps are left by the love/people/community/relationships that are destroyed too.

I realized that we must be intentional about our stamp… the legacy we leave.  Because we are leaving one.  If my offering of myself could be contained in what I owned or how I kept up with the Joneses or that I slaved at a job I loved or hated just to make money, I wasted my life.  I’d rather know people who create and who inspire me to create and who help me invest in relationship and my walk with God as they walk with Him along with me.  That’s a life stamp too.  It isn’t as flashy because no one else can compare it… it isn’t an expensive, luxury car versus a cheap, crappy car.  It’s quality of life.  Bill and Muriah may not be in everyone’s cd collection, but the art that they offer could be.  It’s that good because they pour who they are into it and the value of life is priceless.