List: What Mandy Loves About Live Music

Scott's and my ears have been busy with shows since our first one together in October, and there's plenty more to come.  My third Mutemath show happened this weekend (featured in this pic, of course), Megadeth was this past Monday, Nightwish is this coming Friday, Disturbed after that is the following Wednesday (my teenage self cannot believe it), Fall Out Boy is on Easter Sunday, and don't get me started on April.  For someone who had only seen three live shows in a lifetime at this time last year, it's been a CRAZY year for these ears (at eleven and counting).  Good thing I found these fancy earplugs, or acoustic filters, so we can still hear like normal human beings.

I've caught the live music bug, that's an understatement.  Here's what I love about going to concerts / shows / live music / whatever you want to call it:

• You're seeing this band / artist in person, right in front of you.  Duh, that goes without saying, but the OMG THAT'S REALLY PAUL MEANY OF MUTEMATH IN THE FLESH, ONE I'VE IDOLIZED FOR YEARS, AND HE'S ONLY TEN PEOPLE DEEP FROM ME AHHHH feeling?  Even better if you get a NON-SOLICITED HUG from said flesh-man?  Intoxicating.

• It's being social without needing to be social.  I'm in a crowd of people who all have at least one thing in common with, but I don't have to talk or interact with any of them.  My introverted self appreciates this compromise.

• Your respect for who you're seeing increases with each act you see.  The band / artist, their genre / sub-genre of music, the musicianship and performance level in said band / artist, the process of touring, etc all goes up witnessing it all yourself.  All the hard work that goes into that album you're streaming has a smokescreen over it when you under-appreciate how it came about.

• The opportunity to get stuff!  Merchandise, set lists, confetti off the ground, whatever you want that's available GET SOME if you want!  The band gets more of your money this way than buying their stuff off some third-party site, right?  Make a difference, GET THAT TOUR SHIRT (if you want, if not that's cool).

• It's a great date night activity.  Obviously.  (Insert joke here cause this is how the whole Scott thing started.  Laugh it up 'cause it's TRUE.)