delara, interrupted

I totally and utterly fell in love Sunday night. At the Mae concert. And not with just one guy... with five of them.

"Eh?!??" you say. Calm down. You'll understand what I mean in just a moment...

To say that I went to a concert Sunday night would completely negate the sensory experience I had at the House of Blues. To be fair, it was a concert - complete with opening bands, a swarming sea of fans, bright lights and all. But true to their moniker, Mae (multisensory aesthetic experience) gave a performance unlike anything I have seen for the past several years. Perhaps with the exception of U2, but that was an entirely different kind of experience. Thus, I fell in love during Mae’s performance.

It was intimate and at the same time thunderingly enormous. It was emotional and soft, yet powerful. The music was lyrical, deep and precious. If you haven’t yet picked up their album “The Everglow” - do it now. You just might fall in love as well.

But more than the music - in fact, transcending the notes, arrangements, instruments - was the connection of the band members. They were literally one body, one form, one instrument. Yet they were five individuals with their own personality on stage. It was amazing. The love and unity that bonded them was palpable, and I think everyone in the audience picked up on it. It is, perhaps, what made the experience so unique for me – that there was such love among the artists for each other and for their creation, their art.

I am still reeling. Today was a particularly emotion-filled day for me, as though I have reached some other height from which I cannot come down. And although it’s so hard at times, it’s so good in that I feel more alive, more present. Ah…

I have to pause here to give MAD props to The Working Title who gave a phenomenal opening set. They blew me away too, although not quite in the same way. Such energy and enthusiasm, such talent! Watch these guys - they’re taking it to another level.