I have a confession to make. I love the Heavy Rotation concert at the BPC. I'm not supposed to, it's supposed to be a big pain in my side, but I can't help really enjoying myself on that night. I'm sure everyone who played that night might find it hard to believe since I probably looked ready to hit someone. Situations such as that, where there were nine different bands (that's a lot for a ninety minute show) require the stage guy to be a bit of a hard ass. It's part of the job, admittedly one that is difficult for me to execute, but I do it. I stand around frowning with a "no" ready at my lips for any one who dare inconvenience me with a request. I hurry bands through their sound checks cutting them off when their 15 minutes are up. I'm snappy, rude, a bit condescending, at least that's how it feels, definitely out of character for me. But I want all the bands and participants to know that despite all of my griping I thought it was a great event. It wasn't perfect, it went long, some of the bands were difficult, it was disorganized, the high hat clutch broke, bottom line, it was a stressful two nights. Despite its faults it's probably the most fun night of music at the BPC. Most of the shows I see are small reserved events. Small, respectful crowds out to her some good music. The quality of the performance is often very good and the quality of the music even better, but it's usually so very serious. I feel sometimes that people spend so much of their time thinking about music, analyzing music that they forget the joy of music. That can't be said for last night's performers. Even the sound check was fun to watch. My favorite moment was when the guitarist from Sex! overestimated the length of his instrument cable and in his excitement pulled it right out the amp on the first chord, then proceeded to do it again (we rectified the problem for the day of the show). And really every band had that same excitement, they seemed giddy with it. Like kids playing rock star in front of the mirror. I don't get to see that much in the BPC, usually everything is orderly and routine. That's right, I'll admit it, I like that the concert is a bit unorganized, it's a frenzy, which makes it all the more exciting.
This year all of the bands were good. I haven't been able to say that about every year, but I can't honestly say that I disliked any of the groups that performed. My personal favorites were Nini and Ben who I heard last year at the New Music festival, White Shoe Brown Shoe, 'cause their second song was just so catchy, and Sex! who were too much fun to watch not to love them. Even watching the crowd dance with the DJ in between the acts was fun. I could never really tell if they were really into the music or just mocking him, but regardless every one there was having a great time. Some people even jumped up on stage during a particularly long change over. I didn't have the heart to kick them off the stage right away and really anything to distract the audience while we hustled to find a working high hat clutch was welcomed. Really the only low part for me was when Shea Rose added a song and two singers to her ten-minute spot. Obviously she went way over her allotted time, and on top of that her performance was weak compared to the rehearsal night. I thought it looked sloppy, and her actions unprofessional, which tainted my opinion of what was shaping out to be a wonderful event.
Regardless of what went wrong, this concert made me feel like for one night the Boston music scene comes to me, since I rarely have the chance to go out and experience it for myself. I get to taste it all, rock, pop, hip-hop, blues, the sweet and simple, the outrageous, it all gets bundled together into one night of music. It's a night of variety and lots of talent and that's really all I want out of concert after listening to and watching the same shows seemingly over and over again. Something about the Heavy Rotation concert always stays with me. Even years later I could sing for you word for word songs I'd heard played at the heavy rotations event, and I sure this year will be no exception (Down the Road has been stuck in my head for a week). Working this event makes me feel a part of something new, outside of the little Berklee bubble. Reminding me of why I enjoy doing what
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