I have great friends outside of this musical world, certainly, but the core of my most valued relationships could not and would not exist if music had not brought us together. The family and the church some of us grew up with is largely a thing of the past. Workplace loyalty is all but gone because the employee is increasingly perceived as an interchangeable part in an indifferent system. Our political parties and our political system look, to even the most optimistic, more and more like one big joke. At its base, economic shifts are bringing our old social order to the ground, but other values are bringing us together.
Music invites everyone to participate in some way.
It is a form of expression that has, historically, led armies to victory, broken down racial and social divisions, built up class consciousness and deepened friendships enormously-even turning friends into lovers and lovers into friends. Consider for a moment, when your favorite artist is playing, all of the emotional, intellectual and physical places you are transported that would never be accessible with mere words. Some of the best shows I saw this year were Boothill shows. I was there the night they rocked the Flamingo's outdoor stage before having all of their equipment stolen, and I last saw Boothill play a Zone show at the Grand Emporium. The show began with a psychedelic, garage cacaphony as bold as anything I've heard explode from the Emporium stage.