Wingin’ It at Blog World Expo 2009

 

 

It’s been a busy last two days, and now that I’m sort of caught up on my sleep, I’d like to share some quick notes on the first couple days at BlogWorld 2009. Some of what I’m going to share with you are new topics for Live Fix.  And though I’m not focusing directly on live music these next three days, what I’m going to share with you is all about how blogging, social media tools and communities can impact our live  music experiences.

I’m really excited to share this and now that I’m done with the intros and disclaimers, it’s time to get to the goods!

Welcome to Las Vegas!

My flight to Las Vegas was full of excitement. I was also a bit nervous about what my first BlogWorld experience would be like.

So I did what I usually do to cope with nervousness.  I turned to my creativity and whipped out my moleskin since I couldn’t use my Blackberry during the flight. 

I hope you enjoy my quickly sketched representation as I gazed out from my window seat and pondered what it would be like once I got to Las Vegas.  I was also listening to Saul Williams’s Grippo which was a first for me on a plane. I suggest you do it to if you ever have the chance. The song is perfect for plane rides and listening to Grippo gave me some extra creative boost that I needed for my sketching.

What happens at BlogWorld Expo shouldn’t stay at BlogWorld Expo 

If you’re new to Blog World, here’s a quick explaination as far as I’ve come to understand it during my first conference.

For me it’s been a mixture of reconfirming , connecting and building new ideas.

And for the most part, BlogWorld is designed for two audiences: bloggers/social media folk and brands/marketing managers.   Bloggers are here to connect and learn with other bloggers and brands are here to learn how they can connect with consumers in social media.  I fall into both categories since I’m a “music” blogger who also helps guide brands and clients in connecting with their audiences in the socialsphere.

I’ve learned a lot new ways to connect with live music fans . And many of the social media  live concert experiments  I’ve done have been affirmed as I hear the panelist and speakers talk about how to build communities. (Stay tuned for new experiments in future posts.)

Mommy bloggers, news ideas, new friends.

Who are mommy bloggers? If you’re new to mommy bloggers, they are a niche of bloggers who are moms ( and who don’t like that “mommy” title) who blogging about all their family experiences. Mommy bloggers have exploded in numbers and have also greatly increased their influence growing influence which has gained the attention of big brands  who have courted several top mommy bloggers to blog about their brand and products.

Minds of Moms Summit: Value Exchange/Win-Win

 

At Blog World there is a Mind of Moms summit going on where top mommy bloggers are speaking on key topics such as the recent FTC  ruling, ethics and value-exchange.  I attended two sessions  yesterday because for a while now I’ve been inspired and fascinated by their community and blogging styles. I’ve been working on social media projects involving mommy bloggers over the last several months and I hope to have some of them share some of their favorite live music experiences, too.

The mommy blogger sessions have been some the most inspiring sessions at Blogworld because these ladies are fully aware of the power and influence they have, and many of them are doing som pretty amazing things with that power and influence.  Check out my tweet stream for some of my live tweets during these sessions. And visit TypeAmom, Rock and Roll Mama, Resourceful Mommy, Skepchick to see what else these ladies are up to. 

 Chris Brogan

On the plane I finished up read Trust Agents by Chris Brogan. It’s a great book to get learn how you can use social media to build trust and influence. It has a lot of helpful tips and profiles of others who are using social media tools to revolutionize their communities and business.

Brogan was the keynote speaker last night. And it was the first time I’ve heard him speak. And I have to say that I was very impressed and I’ll say it again: INSPIRED. 

His Keynote speech was an excellent mix of humor and practical kick-in-the-ass motivation for social media folk who he says “need to get passed the playing stage”and start using social media to impact real change in the world and communities they’re a part of. 

Brogan asked not to write a post about him. But as you can see I did anyway because his speech was right in line with what I hope and plan to do with our Live Fix community. 

The most inspiring story he shared was about  how Facebook is being used to stop gang wars and connect with inner city kids using regular updates.  Now, those kind of stories pump me up because they get right at the heart of how social media can change the world on a real-world and everyday level. 

Like I mentioned, I hope to take what Chris encouraged all the bloggers to and use the knowledge to do the same with our Live Fix community.  Please hold me accountable and send me feedback because I’d love to hear your ideas on how we can make Live Fix better.

One of the great things about being at BlogWorld is meeting other bloggers and social media folk.  It was great talking with and inviting them to the Live Fix community, too.  And hopefully we’ll hear about some of their favorite live concert experiences.

Touring the Strip

Lastly, I took my first tour of the Las Vegas Strip last night as I ventured to the Blogworld party at the Bellagio.

 As you know, Las Vegas teems with sensuality, sex and over stimulation. And naturally, I was amazed to see everything blinking, pulsing and surging around me. Everything I saw conjured up a  bunch of ideas about connections to live music, so I’ll be exploring those stimulating ideas on a future post.

Coming up…

Once I get back to Chicago later today I’ll share with you what I learned at the Technorati  State of the Blogosphere and Death and Rebirth of Journalism panels.

Just because you’re not here at Blogworld doesn’t me you can’t join in. 

I invite you to join in at I live tweet during sessions @chriscatania

Do We Get In The Way of a Great Show?

 

 

Though most of the show shifted in all the right ways and flowed to all the right places on the strength of Noonan’s smooth and soothing lyrical storytelling, a bit of tension arose between Noonan and fans who gazed upwards in awe at him from the front row. Getting a bit frustrated, he wasn’t finding the intimate connection he was hoping for with the crowd. So he took a risk and decided to call out fans for abusing their right to record the show on video cameras and cell phones.  He smiled at fans in the front row and said “I appreciate the desire, but the Internet doesn’t need any more videos of us Irish lads floating about, so can we sing a song for you without a lens between us.”

 

This is a snippet from my forthcoming review for Popmatters of Bell x1‘s recent Chicago concert at the Double Door. It shows how lead singer Paul Noonan was expressing his thoughts on technology getting in the way of our live concert experience. 

Capturing his comment wasn’t something I had planned for the Live Fix Experiment that I was doing to test out experiencing “How Your Heart Is Wired” live.

Nonetheless Noonan’s comment came just before he was about to play “Eve, the Apple of My Eye,” a hit song that fans certainly were expecting to hear, so his move could’ve ruined the moment for fans.

 Then the other thing that came up about how we use technology to record our concert experiences was this comment left by a Live Fix reader on my post about Why We Tweet and Text During concerts. 

 Here’s the part of his comment that got me thinking:

At concerts I have witnessed people waiting for hours on end to get that perfect spot in front of the stage only to proceed to position their device directly between themselves and the artist during the entire show. Tell me how they are experiencing it in such a way as to be able to accurately describe it to someone else? They are viewing it through a phone. Even a photographer puts the camera down and looks at the subject periodically. In their attempt to so generously share the show, (are you sure they are not just bragging?) the fans around me have radically altered my experience.

I really appreciate this fellow concert fan’s comment, because he made several great points that challenged my thoughts on how we enjoy concerts.

So I’m wondering now if overusing our love for recording our live music experiences is actually holding us back from having a more transcendent live concert experience?

What do you think?

Let’s continue the conversation in the comments below.

 

Photo credit: Colleen Catania

Are We One Step Closer To a FANS Concert Model?

 

It’s been a busy week for stories that involve putting the fans in the driver’s seat in the music industry. 

First, it was Glastonbury’s early sell out then I read this story about Public Enemy calling on fans to front money for their next album and giving fans a share of the profits.

Both stories have really made me think that maybe I wasn’t that crazy when I started to think about FANS, a concert ticket model that gives concert fans more power and leverage when going to see live music.

Take a look at SellaBand, the new business model being used by Public Enemy, and tell me what you think about creating a similar model for the live concert industry.

Fans, artists, promoters and label owners: I’d like to know what you think.

 Photo credit: NME

 

 

Follow Live Fix to BlogWorld 2009

This post is a shout out to all my fellow blogging and new media buddies!  And a note to you my faithful and cherished Live Fix readers!

This Thurs-Sat (Oct 15-17), I’ll be taking Live Fix on the road to Las Vegas for the BlogWorld New Media Expo. 

BlogWorld will be my first “blogger conference” since I began Live Fix, so I’m excited to connect with and learn along with other bloggers. 

I’m looking forward to soaking up everything from the growing influence of mommy bloggers to the impact of social media on the music industry. Local Chicago blog network ChicagoNow will be talking about how they created their community.  And some of my favorite bloggers (Chris Brogan and Copyblogger) will also be speaking so I’ll be sure to share with you what I learn. I’ll also be writing a feature story for Popmatters about the key points during the conference as various industry leaders chime in on the state of the blogosphere, New Media and social media.

I expect it to be a huge learning experience and I hope that what I learn in Vegas doesn’t stay in Vegas, because I plan on returning with more ideas for future Live Fix Experiments that we can test out. 

Send me your Vegas tips!

This will be my first time visiting Las Vegas, so if you’re a Vegas veteran let me know if there’s something live music related that I should check out while I’m there.

If you’re going too, please drop a comment or send me an email or a tweet.  I’d love to connect with you during the conference!

I’ll be doing updates during the BlogWorld conference via Twitter @chriscatania and Live Fix blog posts, so stay tuned…

CHIPUBLIB Sound Off: See Who Won!

 

Congrats to Psalm One (Grand Prize) and Shawn Pennington (People’s Choice Award) for winning the CHIPUBLIB Sound Off Contest!

Both entries were my top picks and I’ll be looking forward to seeing them perform live on Oct 22nd at Pritzker Park.

It’s a free concert, so Chicago fans have no reason not to show up and support the Chicago Public Library and local artists.

Check out my previous post to peep Psalm One’s winning video, see what she won, and to get more info on the Chicago Public Library “Not What You Think” program.

If you were a part of the contest, or will be going to the concert, I’d love to hear your story. Drop a comment or send me an email to chris@christophercatania.com.

Is Glastonbury 2010 Sell Out Good For Fans?

I was amazed when I read these stories about Glastonbury festival 2010 selling out even before they announced who’s playing. 

Was it a promoter ploy?

Or a genuine case of fan diehard commitment?

Then I read these Billboard  and Gaurdian reports and remembered that last year’s Glastonbury festival did the same thing by selling out five months prior without many of the headliners confirmed. 

So I thought about how this would impact the and put us one step close to creating the FANS live concert model I wrote about recently. 

Putting all these stories and thoughts together, I looked at the Glastonbury 2010 early ticket sell out from a different perspective.

I looked at it as an investment by fans that could be seen as a move by fans that puts more pressure on the promoters to put on the best show possible.

Because if you think about it, by the fans putting down an early investment in the shows it forces the promoters to fill the stage with top acts.

And it just might be a step in the right direction of creating a fan-based ticket structure that puts more power in the hands and wallets of the fans.

What do you think?

Photo credit: Musosguide.com

 

Nas Tattoo Shows Us Something We Can’t See

 

Earlier this year, I began exploring the power of the “Little Things” with Bon Iver because, as I mentioned, having played baseball since I was old enough to hold a bat and toss a ball, there ’s one thing that the baseball taught me about live music; it’s that noticing and appreciating the “little things,” or the game changers, makes all the difference. 

And the same goes for live music.  

When I review a show I try to capture the big picture in broad strokes. But it’s in the details where the show can shift on a dime.

So I look for those pivotal moments, too.

Because when you notice the hidden nuances about your surroundings during the show, you also begin to discover what separates an average show from a great show and why certain shows have stronger subtexts and more significance for you than others.

And the Little Things come into play even more when the artist has many “little things”  permanently written all over his body. 

Little things that you usually can’t see from afar. Like an artist’s tattoos.

But even though you can’t see them, they still become part of what I like to call the concert’s Collective Subconscious. 

And somehow the concert’s collective subconscious is created by a mystic process that happens as all of these “little things” come together during the show and have a huge impact on the artist’s performance, which then flows right to our hearts and minds during the concert.

Nas: “The Helper and Protector” of the Collective Subconscious

This photo I’m featuring on this “Little Things” post  is a close up that Colleen took during Rothbury of  rapper Nas.  We had also seen Nas a week earlier at Rock The Bells; and though both shows failed to impress or truly move me, I’ve had a chance to see it from another more microscopic perspective.

And Since those shows, I’ve been intrigued by this tattoo on his neck of his full first name: Nasir, which after my some research, I learned means ‘helper’ or ‘protector’ in Arabic.

And when I  looked into Nas’s love for tattoos and saw how important a role his tattoos play in his music and self-expression, I also wondered more about the meaning of his ”Nasir” tattoo and the placement of it on his body, and when he got it, etc.  

That said, every time I look at this Nas photo I think back to the Rothbury and Rock the Bells shows wondering about the connection between self-expression, subtle tattoos and Carl Jung’s Collective Subconscious. 

Psychiatrist Carl Jung coined a phrase known as the Collective Subconscious  which this wiki defines as ”a part of the unconscious mind, shared by a society, humanity and all life forms.”  

Now, this is amazing when you think about the CS in terms of the live concert experience because the live music experience is such an electrifying moment of self-expression that’s filled with intense emotional peaks that are simultaneously shared with hundreds, or even thousands, of perfect strangers who only have one thing in common: the person expressing themselves on stage. 

And, in most cases, that artist on stage is giving up a part of themselves–a part of their heart, mind and soul–that fans can’t see. And whatever they’re giving up we absorb into our hearts, minds and souls, too.  And whatever we absorb is becomes a part of our experience consciously or subconsciously.

And just because we don’t notice or can’t “see” the self-expression doesn’t mean that we can’t feel it. Because we do feel it.  And that’s where the collective subconscious comes in. Because  a crucial part of feeling evolves engaging the collective subconscious. 

So, again, I think it’s amazing that looking at this tattoo close up on a photo reminds me that, as concert fans, we’re participating in a massive experiment with perfect strangers and fellow fans involving the heart, mind and the collective subconscious. On a very deep level we’re all merging and melding together as one.

And this Nas tattoo reminds me that whether we’re aware of this merging or not, it still happens and, as fans, we can enjoy the concert experience on so many levels, together or individually, consciously or subconsciously.

The mystical beat goes on

During Rothbury and Rock the Bells,  Nas was using beats and rhymes to act as tangible by-products of the Collective Subconscious.  And all of it, from his tattoos to the emotional call-and-responses with the crowd, merged together in one big mystical self-expression subconscious stew during the concert.  We swim around in it voluntarily or involuntarily.

Will knowing this make my next Nas concert better?

Maybe. 

But I know this much is true.

When we go to concerts, so much goes on below the surface deep within our minds, that it’s nearly impossible to be completely aware of it all during the concert. 

But we can revisit the power of the Little Things if we want to.

That’s why I love this photo because it 1) helps me to relive the moment and 2) when I relive the moment I can soak up all the nuances of the Nas show that I missed and 3) when I do that I almost always return to the artist’s music with a fresh perspective that I didn’t have before.

I’d like to share with you one last thing that deepened my understanding of those Nas shows.

When I watched this YouTube video I learned even more about his other tattoos that were hiding underneath his t-shirt and influencing the flow of the collective subconscious during the concerts.  

 Photo by Colleen Catania

What have you noticed lately about the collective subconscious at your last concert?

Have you returned to past shows with a new perspective after seeing a photo or watching a video?