too much of a good thing?

There have been a few times in my theater history when I’ve been in a production that was so loved and successful, the show was brought back to life in an attempt to make it bigger and better than before. But mostly, my memory of those occurrences are Frankenstein creatures. Certainly, there was more strength, more wisdom… and even a little more soul going into it… but the superlatives didn’t gel or mesh in quite the magical way that made the original so unique and special. Indeed, the attempt to bring it back diminishes that element of special in some regards.

Creativity is a drug. Intoxicating when the inspiration takes hold and directs an artist to her brilliance… and the gratification of knowing it is pleasing to an audience. That an audience will reward not just with praise… but in some cases… cash. It isn’t difficult to understand why anyone would want to push the boundaries of creativity even further. To get more money… and more love. But sometimes… I wonder if that pursuit causes the artist to lose sight of the original goal and vision of beauty that started the journey and made the thing so wonderful in the first place.

And yet… part of being an artist is pushing one’s limits. Thinking beyond the perimeter, stretching the imagination beyond what is good and works, avoiding the banality of habit. Just because a habit works, doesn’t always mean it’s a good habit. And yet… sometimes I think the experiments really do lose something…

Last night I went to see Ray Lamontagne. I love him. I love his voice. I love… I love that voice. Seeing him live is a pleasure of which there are few likes in my world. And yet… in spite of that, I have to say last night wasn’t his best.

It wasn’t the fault of the music. Or the band. Or the man himself. It was the setting. And the fact he shared the stage with an equally talented musician… but with whom he was a pretty opposite style. 

The thing I like about watching Ray live is that it is about the music. He isn’t there to entertain the audience with his comments and charm. He always stands stage left and focuses on the music. One could see it as arrogance to ignore the fans… or one could see that it is a stripped down show meant to direct that audience away from the hoopla.

The other performance… was definitely more produced. Now… don’t get me wrong. I became a techie years ago and value lighting and sound and all that astounding imagery. But it just didn’t jive with Ray’s normal style. And it’s a difficult switch to make from one music listening attitude to the next. Or at least… that’s what I thought anyway.

So I was sitting there thinking… hm, who had this idea anyway? What producer thought it would be a good show to divide styles like that? Maybe it seemed good in a production office … or maybe it was a way to maximize profit. Or maybe… it was just an experiment to see if these guys could fill a larger venue so they can take their solo tours to the next level.

But that made me think… is going to the next level always a good thing? I regret I didn’t know about Ray when he was playing in smaller, more intimate venues. I’ve heard when he was in those rooms with just his guitar… man… I can only imagine. And I think the echoes of that are lost under a big tent by Boston Harbor. Maybe that’s the progress of his music career… or maybe that’s the ambition of his producer. So I don’t know… is that growth? Or is it filling a good thing with too much of a good thing and making a Frankenstein experiment?

But… the Creature had a soul. Indeed, he had an incredible ear for music. And last night, when my eyelids were weary and I was parched but unwilling to fork over $4 for a bottle of water… ready to go home… the two artists joined together on the stage for a mutual encore. The first was fun just to see them together and their completely antithetical body language. But then… all my thoughts died when they harmonized and rocked it out to Dig a Pony. It wasn’t Lennon and McCartney atop Abbey Road Studios… but man, this was a pretty damn close second.

So I don’t know. Maybe one can find the magic by ramping it up to another level. But sometimes the original pieces are best kept small and finite.