Live!

In 1972, when Robert Elms was thirteen years old, he saw the Jackson Five
play live at the Empire Pool. At some point during the performance,
he describes experiencing three minutes of 'divine delirium' as he found
himself in a state of otherworldly perfect synchronicity with everything happening
around him. This single event would set him off on an endless pursuit
for that same height of pleasure.
Since then, Robert has lived his life through live music, from pub
rock to jazz funk, punk to country, and everything in between.
Each gig is memorable in its own way, and his snapshots of
musicians past and present are both evocative and
startlingly concise: *Tom Waits showboating with an umbrella,
Grace Jones vogueing with a mannequin, Amy shimmying
shamelessly like a little girl at a wedding, Gil Scott-Heron
rapping with a congadrum.
*
While in our changed times, Robert notes that we have found new ways of listening-
of being part of something special by uniting fans with their favourite performers
online- there is not, nor can ever be, anything quite like the live experience.
Live!: Why We Go Out is a memoir and a musing on why experiencing live music
really matters.