This past winter I attended a dinner set at Smoke Jazz Club in New York City. It was very disappointing that there were only one third of the maximum audience for the dinner set. From my personal experience attending jazz clubs in New York City, I never know if I will be struggling to find a seat or have my pick of location. My feelings are that the popularity of the more intimate and small setting jazz clubs seems to fading. In 2016, the live jazz experience is more about the ambience, location, menu, and music. Only the pure jazz listeners are seeking out the small venues. The commercialism of the current jazz scene is filling up the larger venues such as Birdland, The Iridium, The Blue Note & Dizzy's Club Coca Cola.
Tickets to a live performance at Lincoln Center's Metropolitan Opera can cost up to more than thee hundred dollars. With the economic situation, an opera might chose to go a movie theater and see a live stream of the same performance for one tenth of the cost. Here we see modern technology drawing attendance from the live opera performance. Daniel J. Levitin, a neuroscientist from McGill University and the author of "This is Your Brain On Music" proved in 2008 that an audience has a higher emotional response from a live concert as opposed to watching the same concert on a live-size screen. This was done with Boston Symphony Orchestra, one of the most respected musical groups in the world.
Just as humans associate great pleasure with drinking fine wine and wonderful cuisine, it is the sensory experience that leads future indulgence. This is exactly the same with music. These wonderful sensory connections with our favorite songs, keep us longing for more. People develop relationships with the artist they are listening to and not just the song. Ipods have revolutionized the way we listen to music. The experience of owning your own personal jukebox the size of a wallet (or smaller) is very enticing.
New York City holds a legacy of live music and is home to some of the greatest music venues in the world. Some of these venues include Radio City Music Hall, Town Hall, The Theater at Madison Square Garden, Lincoln Center, & The Beacon Theater. These venues are home to the greatest live music available to a listening audience. Some of these establishments have become landmarks and will guarantee a great future for future audiences. The Grand Ole Opry located in Nashville, Tennessee is the most recognized country music venue in the world. Anyone who has ever wanted to make a name for themselves as a country musician must cut their teeth with an appearance on this stage.
The places I have mentioned represent that a musician has "arrived." It is unimaginable for any steadfast music fan not to want to view his favorite artist in close range sharing this experience with other people who share a common bond. The experience of hearing a live concert is something that can never be reproduced or replaced.
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