Gary’s Q&A

Listener question & Gary’s response · Transcript passage

Larry Slavens asks, Since I was slow in asking last month… Did you attend concerts in your younger days in Wisconsin and Minnesota? Favorite or notable shows? Did you attend concerts on your world travels, and if so, were they US/international acts, or did you seek out local acts?

This answer is going to make me very unpopular, and I know that I am in the minority in this subject, but the truth is, I really do not like live music or attending concerts.

I have been to some concerts, and I did not enjoy the experience. I hate large crowds, and I hate loud noise.

I had a friend take me to see Prince when he opened up his Lovesexy tour in 1988 at the Met Center in Minnesota. I went to see Guns and Roses at the Target Center in 1992.

I’m not into bands and performers like other people are. I am the opposite personality type of a person who might be a passionate Taylor Swift fan today.

That being said, if it was a very small venue and if the sound wasn’t amplified, I’d have no problem attending. This would be something like a jazz club or an orchestra hall.

The great Canadian classical pianist Glen Gloud held the belief that the advent of high-quality recordings basically made live performances obsolete. I’m sympathetic to the idea, although I understand the appeal of a live performance.

For me, it boils down to disliking large crowds and loud music.