When do we lose just how free we are?

First off, I know it has been a very long time since i’ve written on here, but I really wanted to get back to writing, and I am kind of mad at myself for letting the blog go for so long without a word from me. Time just slips away. At this point given all the content that I have poured out, I might as well change the name of the blog to “Keeping up with The Gallagher’s!” It has been since November that I have written! My gosh! It really does feel like forever. In my defence,I did crank out two articles in the span of two days I believe, but still! I want to get back to writing more often, even just once a month. It’s good to flex your creative muscles once in a while, plus I just love to share my thoughts.

Right now with the way things are going in society, it’s hard for one to keep their spirits high. All this news of self isolation to keep away from this stupid virus got me thinking. It was one of the reasons I was drawn back to my blog, along with an instagram post I saw earlier this evening that helped give me the spark for this post. Yes, I have instagram. If you want to follow me, feel free, mbavau2. Anyways, the post was a short video of Noel from a show, and he started strumming the chords on his acoustic to the intro of live forever. He didn’t even sing, all you could hear was the crowd singing it together. I found myself smiling. I’m not sure if it was because I haven’t heard the song in awhile, or the fact that the song just brought everyone together. I even started singing along in my room while laying on the bed. For afew seconds, I lost myself. It was a moment of happiness. Togetherness. I felt connected with that crowd, not because we share the common love for Noel and his music, but the love of music itself.

That little clip made me think of the things going on today with this whole coronavirus, and the measures we’re going to have to start taking to stay away from it, and spreading it. Socially isolating ourselves. I thought to myself after, that clip was such a beautiful moment captured on video, and now moments like that won’t happen anymore. Temporarily for now. It makes me sad that live music has to take a backseat at this time, and obviously I know it’s for the better, but still. It’s sad because for people like me and you, going to a concert and being surrounded by people that share the same love for an artist makes me feel like I belong. It makes me not feel alone. It's that commonality, and the sense of belonging that humans need. Whether it be to a specific group, a church, a school, a team. We all need that feeling of belonging, and going to a concert is one of the best things ever. One of my favorite things to do, at least when I was on the floor for U2 shows, was just bantering with a fellow fan about the band, or sharing other artists that drew influence from the band I was there to see. It was the best! It was such an easy, harmless interaction that I enjoyed. In moments like that, I feel I belong, and I can talk to anyone haha. Now with this whole isolation, interactions will be becoming less and less.

Not only does losing live music and concerts suck for us, but it sucks for the artists too. Many of the up and coming bands rely on live shows to get their name out there. Even for the big artists that have world tours planned, it sucks to lose that. I feel most of an artists money is made on tour and merch. In this digital age, not many of us are rushing to the store to get a new album that was just released today. We're heading to Spotify and Apple Music. So if you really want to, support your artists. Head to their website, buy a T-shirt, a mug, whatever you want. They say you should buy albums and merch directly from a bands site, because it goes directly to the band/artist. The more you know! I just read an article that the Dropkick Murphy’s are live-streaming their St.Patrick’s Day show from Boston that got cancelled! What a smart way to perform and still share a show with everyone. Must be weird though to play in front of nobody..

It doesn’t have to be all that bad though. In times like these, we should be drawing on things that bring us together. The music, getting together with loved ones and the people that matter most. Put on a record. Reminisce about a song, share a memory, or share how a song made you feel, or share a new tune with someone. The bottomline is that we gotta keep our heads up and keep in touch with each other. We should always be doing that anyways. Listen to music. I know just from listening to Live Forever there for only a few seconds, made me feel just a little better. Let’s all keep our heads up and keep on going.

I know one thing that will reach far beyond this virus. The love for music, and the love we share with one another. Those bonds are stronger and go further than any virus will. They keep us together. Sending positive vibes to anyone that’s reading this. You’re not alone.

-Marco xx-

** I’d love to hear from you! Send me your favorite song if you’d like! I’m always looking for new tunes to listen to!