The Power of Art

I write a monthly column in Northern Arizona's arts and news monthly publication, The Noise. My column is called "Letters from the Creative Bureaucrat." Here follows the column as published in the November issue... (pick up a copy of The Noise, too).


My job is mostly an office job.  Even working at an arts center, with art shows, concerts and fun performances, I sit behind a desk and computer a majority of any regular day.  And so every now and then I have to get out of this familiar space and experience an artistic epiphany away from home. 

I just returned from an epic journey to Los Angeles with my two friends (and co-workers), Joe and Robin, my girlfriend, Beni, and my son, Harper, to see The Arcade Fire in concert for two nights.  The group is a indie rock band that plays a sort of anthem-like orchestral rock that has some Bowie and Talking Heads influence, but really sounds like nothing else.  Violins, accordions, xylophones, keyboards, guitars and organs create a wild and ferocious sound.  They have a pretty strong following – their most recent CD, The Suburbs, recently hit #1 in the US on the Billboard charts – but I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve never heard of them.  Music in the internet era is strange.  A band can hit #1, sell out its two L.A. concerts in under an hour, and go on a sold out worldwide tour – yet the majority of America probably doesn’t know who they are.  Mainstream status is only afforded to the Lady Gagas of the world.

I wonder about mainstream status in the arts industry.  Some of the mainstream work that stays at the top of the charts feels more like commercial toys for purchase than art.  That’s part of what I admire about a group like Arcade Fire.  They create great music first, and have a solid business plan second.  They don’t appear affected by giant egos, and they don’t care about making big marketing splashes or capturing a ton of corporate sponsors. 

The concerts were unbelievably moving and felt like a kind of communal live music spiritual happening.  It’s clear The Arcade Fire are less interested in entertaining their audiences with fluff like elaborate costume changes or fancy stage sets and pyrotechnics.  They instead focus on their message and create a communion of sorts with their audiences by giving everything of themselves to each performance.  Several members of the band ran hurriedly back and forth on stage, sometimes in the middle of songs, switching up and playing a variety of instruments. Towards the end of the night, most of them were drenched in sweat.  I wondered what kind of physical training they do to prepare to go on tour.  Combine that manic energy with powerful, beautiful music and 6,000+ fans singing along in unison, and you have the recipe for magic. 

When I got out into the lobby after the second concert, Beni and I found Robin, Joe and Harper, and we gave each other giant bear hugs of joy.  Towards the end of the long, 8-hour drive home from L.A., exhausted, emotionally spent, and weary from the car ride, all of us decided to each choose our favorite songs from the two concerts and listen to them before we arrived in Flagstaff. As we listened to each song, I kept turning the volume up louder and louder, until there was nothing else to hear.  We were singing along at the top of our lungs, dancing in our seats, and sharing one final moment of glory from an incredible journey before we returned home.

Two days later, back home, back at work, everything feels different.  On Monday morning, Robin comes in to the office, we both just look at each other and smile.  What more could be said?  In the afterglow of the immersive concert experiences, we felt more empowered than ever before and more connected to one another.  It is possible for music – and art – to change us.  It’s like we had gone off to some spiritual camp in the mountains and had come back with a better appreciation for the little things in our lives, and especially the music and art that surrounds us each and every day.  This kind of power only comes from something special, from an artist dedicated to a higher call.

We came back feeling alive with music and love in our hearts. Forget the sarcasm that exists in our day-to-day grind, leave behind the cynicism that keeps us from dreaming.  The world is full of hope and wonder again.  The amazing is possible. 

That’s the power of truly great art.