Live music is good. Not all of the time, but most of it, surely. I’m past my prime show-going days, which doesn’t necessarily have to be the case, and yet happily is—2012-2018 was a period full of indie bands, huge artists, even huger music festivals, and one (1) Burning Man tossed in for good measure. (Yes, I know BM isn’t a music-centric event, but come on, take a ride out onto the playa any given night.) That said, even though I am now 33 and for some reason can’t stand upright for hours on end anymore without fidgeting and/or complaining, I do enjoy a good ‘ol musical act from time to time. And let me tell you, dear reader—if it’s a band I really like, I’ll even dance! That’s right. Dance.
Last night, Emily and I saw STRFKR (use your imagination for the right pronunciation) at Brooklyn Steel. They are not only a band I like, but in fact my favorite band, whom I hadn’t seen since 2018. I discovered them in 2011 and immediately fell in love, and 13 years later I still can’t get enough of their funky/electric/sad/joyful/energetic/slow tunes. They’re all over the map, layering dancy beats over Alan Watts lectures on death, crooning softly about love, and generally getting existential. Sometimes all in the same 4-minute track. Whatever frequency they explore, I’m always thrumming right along with them. So suffice it to say I rocked out basically front row, and it was all in all a very enjoyable time. Emily still likes me afterwards, too (I think). So that’s great.
Almost exactly 11 years ago I wrote about going to a STRFKR show, and you can tell pretty clearly from the tone and material that writing on the Internet in 2013 was different (and dare I say more fun) than it is 2024. Still, I have to say it’s reassuring to know I felt pretty much the exact same way walking out to Lionel Richie’s All Night Long last night as I did at age 22. Times may change, but my enjoyment of a band that never got huge probably in part due to their name, well, that stays the same. I genuinely even like their new album, Parallel Realms, just as much as the first two albums that originally got me hooked. They’ve been releasing music for 16 years, and honestly? I kind of see a potential 2040 in which I’m 49 and limping out of another STRFKR show with a smile on my face. I should be so lucky.
If I were to channel this meandering account of a night well had into a broader statement, it might be to appreciate the stuff you’ve hung onto (or will down the road) that started out as a discovery and a piece of culture that felt just for you. And to take every opportunity that comes to live it, and relive it, and enjoy it fully. You won’t know it’s the last time until much later unless the band tells you so directly, and even then that could just be a marketing ploy. So, you might as well go to the show if you can, and have a hell of a time when you get there.