Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Moments in clarity

Simplicity is the key to greater understanding. Complexity only adds layers of distraction to an otherwise simple equation. Life is nothing more than a thread of moments strung together by the double-edged sword of memory. Our motivations, our dreams, our struggles, our transcendence would not equate to a speck of dust on the scale of geologic time. The greatest amongst us only live a few decades. Our greatest material creations have lasted but a few thousand years. How ironic is it that it is our modern waste materials that will likely last for eons?

In a universe billions of years old, only the ego of Man would make an argument that such short realities are of any significance. And this sort of thinking serves as the basis of my prime understanding, the root factor of my life's equation, if you will. These ideas also serve as the general basis of transcendental philosophies like Buddhism and Taoism, but are not totally unheard of in ancient, pagan traditions, nor in the more modern, monotheistic faiths. The creations of Man pale in comparison to the world in which Man exists. Does that mean that there is no hope and that there is no point to our various existences? Of course not. Our individual purpose is defined by our experience and perceptions, which serve as a guide to us as we travel from moment to moment. The point is living that purpose, rather than having it be just one more thing we talk about.

What we all need is more moments in clarity. We need to string more and more moments of clear, purposeful, directed living together. Otherwise, there is no point, there is no purpose, and you're just a clever monkey essentially flinging shit at the same world that provides you your existence. What could be more stupid and useless? Worse still, what could be more of a waste?

In other news, The Chancellor and I went to Tool's show at the Sundome tonight. We were assigned floor seats. I say assigned because buying them through Tool Army (Tool's street team/fan club) meant being put to the front of the line for "premium" seats. Unfortunately, being put at the head of the line meant having no say in deciding which premium seats you might acquire. It turned out that we purchased floor tickets, which meant that we would be standing for the entire show. No big deal, standing I can handle, though I knew that my lower back would eventually tighten up as the show went on. What was less than ideal was the fact that the floor is where the monkeys mosh.

The opening band was a punk act from Japan known as Melt-Banana. They were loud, and tiny, and off the stage in an hour. The crowd seemed politely supportive, but relieved to see them exit the stage area.

Tool went on at around 9:05pm. Inevitably, I found myself standing immediately next to the pit as a hole opened up in the mass of humanity we were standing within. It didn't take long for me to position myself safely away from the fray, and I found myself taking in the sights and sounds of moshing. It was interesting to watch human beings smash into each other in the name of fun. Like I said to Rory before the night began, pack the same number of chimpanzees in the same space, stimulate them, and inevitably you would get very similar behaviors. So it was, sweaty and drugged, that the mosh pit chimps smashed into each other for nearly the entire 2 hour set. They would occasionally pound on each other violently enough to push a piece of the crowd my way, but generally I was free to take in the show.

And it was an impressive show. This was my first time seeing a major/national band in concert, and the boys did not disappoint. Tool sounds big and heavy on disc, but they sound positively massive live. They played selections from AEnima, Lateralus, and 100,000 Days, with the focus being on 10,000 Days. You feel the music through the floor and under your skin, which probably means bad things for my ear drums, but the experience was worth the risk. They were on stage for roughly 2 hours, and in that time, they filled the dome with enough light, sound, and sinsemilla smoke to last me a good long time.

I'm glad I went, will not ever buy floor tickets again, and am thankful to have made it out of there without having gotten into a fight. All told, I think the idolatry and hero worship involved with these types of concerts really isn't my thing, but I would probably see Tool again, should they come back to town before retiring. My ears feel like they are full of cotton, but it was a definite good time.

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Posted by Erik @ 5/29/2007 03:48:00 PM