I’ve got this photo on my wall of a Big Jay McNeely performance from 1951. Big Jay is this sweaty black guy laying on his back, clearly under the trance of the devil’s cabbage, playing the ever loving FUCK out of this saxophone, and all these young white kids standing around him watching it are losing their fucking minds. I love the picture; because it perfectly captures this pure, extreme bliss these people are experiencing while Big Jay lays it down, and it captures a performer that’s clearly deep in the zone.
They look like they were in ecstasy. You could tell that this was one of those performances where the crowd, the artist and the music all just synched up perfectly – that rare burst of wonder and magic when you see a truly inspired performance. A really amazing performance like that isn’t just “entertaining,” it can change our expectations of human potential and lets us all know that unseen heights of connection are possible. It lets us know there are things in life that are really fucking cool and that these things that people create can actually make life more enjoyable.
It doesn’t have to be a song, it could be an athletic performance, or it could be a painting, or even the written word crafted so perfectly that it sneaks into your perceptions and rewires your imagination.
You can call it the zone, you can call it Zen, you can call it brilliance, but however you describe the particular expression – whatever the fuck you want to call it -
there’s something unmistakably satisfying about seeing a fellow human hit some rare air.
There’s a special strain of bliss that pumps through the cerebral passageways when you know you’re in the presence of the purest expression. When a person has tapped into that frequency where their whole being has tuned in, and they’re awash in a mad dance between selflessness and ego, directed by a radiant consciousness and opened up wide in front of a multitude of strangers who came there with hopes of seeing just that very thing. With the fuel of their awe, and the energy of their appreciation it bursts to even greater heights, and if it’s captured on TV it’s a motherfucking historical moment.
It doesn’t happen all that often, and sometimes you can go years without seeing someone really nail it, but when it happens again it will be all worth the wait.
Every now and then someone steps up in front of the world and really fucking smashes it, and it makes sitting through every other uninspired performance by every wannabe, bullshit artist, and mediocre hack more than worth your time. Every now and then human beings are exposed to a new benchmark.
I search for that shit. It’s a precious inspirational fuel for me. I love it when I see it, and in all my years on this planet searching for it, very few people have ever grabbed it, held it down, fucked it, lit it on fire, and blew up the fucking solar system with it like Pink did at this years Grammy awards.
Her performance was like Jimi Hendrix doing the star spangled banner while Michael Jackson moon walked and Susan Boyle sang back up.
The shit was fucking EPIC.
I was floored.
I watched it 5 times in a row on youtube.
Even with the shitty, grainy, pixilated youtube footage and compressed sound coming out of computer speakers it was fucking stunning.
I don’t even want to see it in High Definition on a big screen TV, because I’m afraid I might watch it and then jump out a fucking window.
I’m not worthy.
Brilliant! Thanks Joe,
She has talent and balls (bigger than mine)
well said joe. I always thought pink was a cool-ass chick, but never really paid too much attention to her. She really made people pay attention to her with that performance, without doing something extreme (i.e. tila tequila, lady gaga). Pure artistic talent-
LOL, the guy in the middle looks like a young Rich Franklin.
I absolutely love the way this entry was written. As some other person said, “Well said.” But honestly… you really know how to find a certain topic that is just.. never talked about in the detail that it could and probably should be. I guess I can’t explain it because I’m not in the zone right now.
Ah Big Jay has a special friend, Duyba Bush. Well according to The Franklin Cover Up (hint,hint), Big Jay would need to be a bit younger say about 15 to have any male Bush familia member in ecstasy.
Hey Joe,
Ever seen the film “The Last Waltz?” That’s one that “does it” for me. The final concert performance of The Band in ‘76, with special guests Eric Clapton, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Ringo Starr, Muddy Waters, and Neil Young. And directed by a young Martin Scorsese. Ho-ly shit. You’ve probably already seen it. If you haven’t, go buy the dvd/blu-ray right now.
The movie “Crazy Heart”, out in theaters right now, starring Jeff bridges, is another film/musical performance that got me fired up. Jeff bridges plays worn out country singer Bad Blake (if he doesn’t win the academy award, then they should just stop giving them out and end that awards show forever.) He sings all his own songs in the movie. I think they were all written and composed by T Bone Burnett. It was an awesome film watching experience. It killed Avatar. (Which is another discussion/post all-together.)
Any other live performances, in addition to Pink, that you dig?
Great 2nd show at the Ice House last Friday. I’m not sure what happened to that set, but it sure was a lot of fun.
Thanks,
-ursus-
Absolutely soul-splitting.
It made me think of the time I saw a DVD recording of the band Live performing live somewhere in England I think, and they ripped out a cover of Johnny Cash’s Walk the Line that blew the fucking doors off like I’d never seen before. Normally a cover of a classic tune like that would be shit, but they did the complete diametric opposite and nailed the fuck out of it perfectly.
Thanks Joe,
-G-
5 star blog post.
This performance was born of pure magic.
Nice!
Here’s a similar performance by her:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAe2_2bFjwk&feature=related
Sound quality isn’t that great, but still an awesome performance.
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by AndyTalbotSmith: http://blog.joerogan.net/archives/1791 Rogan sums it up like a Melon Farming God! Wise words…wise words…inspiring…
Love your posts Joe, you write well, keep up the good shit!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WiRLHBAxrU
Clip of the amazing band Counting Crows with singer Adam Duritz doing arguably the best piece of music ive ever seen. Makes me shiver every time.
nice, not really a big Pink fan but, really , a wonderful performance!!!
Totally unrelated.
Joe, you need to do a GIANT rant for Nodar Kumaritashvili, the Luger who died today at the olympics. totally fucked
Such a powerful performance. Hit me in the chest in fact. Reminds me of a video of one of the greatest guitarist in the world Paul Gilbert’s solo performance during a live recording at a show in Asia when he was on tour with Mr. Big in the late 80s early 90s. Nice, on youtube.. complete with red leather pants. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsUphx0yn4o&feature=related
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