Jam Session
The event I attended for this assignment was a folk night at a local coffee shop (Café on 1st) I frequent. I had also heard about the folk night through people at the organization I work for. Spy Hop Productions is always providing me with live music at work and ideas outside of work. I will be discussing the atmosphere, my thoughts on the night as well as some ideas talked about in class.
The café is somewhat quaint with sunflower yellow walls, wooden tables and tans couches. Those who choose to play throughout the night have a seat or two near the front of the café. There isn’t much of a stage or focal point for someone playing an instrument. Few people were there at the beginning of the evening and there weren’t many people playing live music. As the night progressed I saw a couple girls and guys walk in. They hung out for a little bit then got up and started playing. At first it seemed as if it were going to be a cover. However, they just started messing around with a couple guitars, tambourine and one brought out a harmonica. It was incredible what one of the girls could do with an acoustic guitar. The harmonica added flavor to the guitars but nothing in which stuck out. You could see as though they had played like this before. Some of them laughed together but began getting more serious and really getting into the music. These four people were the only ones who came in and stole the show whether it was on accident or not, they did wonderfully.
In the jam session powerpoint, it was mentioned in which jam sessions can be somewhat competitive however it discusses earlier it’s more of a learning experience for other or new musicians. This seemed as if it were something fun but didn’t happen all that often. It seemed as though they had to do this in their band in order to see eye to eye when recording or performing. They also weren’t prepared for what they were going to play and never ended up playing a cover at least in what I could hear. It seemed as though their little set had turned into a jam session.
I tend to listen to this kind of music and sometimes attend themed nights or open mic nights at our local coffee shops however, I had never seen that happen at one of those nights. Maybe it’s because I don’t stay for the entire time but as the night went on the more people began to enjoy those playing. Throughout the night, I saw about six or seven people play. A good majority was fairly slow and obviously folk like however, poetry was incorporated once in the night. The poem being about his love of coffee, which turned out to be cute and clever. He also did a little bit of rapping as well. However, the band I discussed previously seemed to grab the attention of most of the people in the café. They were fun but between the girl’s guitar playing and the few lyrics sang by one of the guys, I was very engaged. They had probably done it before maybe with others but it was definitely a first for me in that environment.
I discussed my experience at a local coffee shop while a band did an acoustic set. I had sat in on sessions in a studio at work and also other local studios, which had turned into what seemed as though it could be categorized a jam session. However, the public doesn’t necessarily get to witness such things. I feel as though it is incredibly important for jam sessions to happen like that – at least periodically. It was certainly a band I would choose to listen to after seeing their chemistry. I always love what a live performance can do for the soul. They have the capability of bringing up so many emotions. Music in any form is a wonderful therapy and that group brought everyone some enlightenment on Saturday night.
Reflection: It was enjoyable having to attend a couple concerts throughout the semester which usually didn't entail my typical musical genre taste. These concerts had me enjoying classical music, film music and other examples from our books. It made writing these papers a little bit easier considering I was intrigued by most of the music. Definitely opened your ears up in this class.
The café is somewhat quaint with sunflower yellow walls, wooden tables and tans couches. Those who choose to play throughout the night have a seat or two near the front of the café. There isn’t much of a stage or focal point for someone playing an instrument. Few people were there at the beginning of the evening and there weren’t many people playing live music. As the night progressed I saw a couple girls and guys walk in. They hung out for a little bit then got up and started playing. At first it seemed as if it were going to be a cover. However, they just started messing around with a couple guitars, tambourine and one brought out a harmonica. It was incredible what one of the girls could do with an acoustic guitar. The harmonica added flavor to the guitars but nothing in which stuck out. You could see as though they had played like this before. Some of them laughed together but began getting more serious and really getting into the music. These four people were the only ones who came in and stole the show whether it was on accident or not, they did wonderfully.
In the jam session powerpoint, it was mentioned in which jam sessions can be somewhat competitive however it discusses earlier it’s more of a learning experience for other or new musicians. This seemed as if it were something fun but didn’t happen all that often. It seemed as though they had to do this in their band in order to see eye to eye when recording or performing. They also weren’t prepared for what they were going to play and never ended up playing a cover at least in what I could hear. It seemed as though their little set had turned into a jam session.
I tend to listen to this kind of music and sometimes attend themed nights or open mic nights at our local coffee shops however, I had never seen that happen at one of those nights. Maybe it’s because I don’t stay for the entire time but as the night went on the more people began to enjoy those playing. Throughout the night, I saw about six or seven people play. A good majority was fairly slow and obviously folk like however, poetry was incorporated once in the night. The poem being about his love of coffee, which turned out to be cute and clever. He also did a little bit of rapping as well. However, the band I discussed previously seemed to grab the attention of most of the people in the café. They were fun but between the girl’s guitar playing and the few lyrics sang by one of the guys, I was very engaged. They had probably done it before maybe with others but it was definitely a first for me in that environment.
I discussed my experience at a local coffee shop while a band did an acoustic set. I had sat in on sessions in a studio at work and also other local studios, which had turned into what seemed as though it could be categorized a jam session. However, the public doesn’t necessarily get to witness such things. I feel as though it is incredibly important for jam sessions to happen like that – at least periodically. It was certainly a band I would choose to listen to after seeing their chemistry. I always love what a live performance can do for the soul. They have the capability of bringing up so many emotions. Music in any form is a wonderful therapy and that group brought everyone some enlightenment on Saturday night.
Reflection: It was enjoyable having to attend a couple concerts throughout the semester which usually didn't entail my typical musical genre taste. These concerts had me enjoying classical music, film music and other examples from our books. It made writing these papers a little bit easier considering I was intrigued by most of the music. Definitely opened your ears up in this class.