Music Moves

It must be the inner maths geek in me, but last night, during the start of Darren Hayes' concert, I wondered what critical mass of people would be needed for the audience to go from being seated to up standing. The reason I wondered this was because my friend and I had already been told off twice by those behind us for blocking the view. Admittedly, they had every right, but we were only rocking it out as Darren opened up the show with a pretty funked up number.

Standing atop a mechanical gang plank right in the middle of the stage, his "One Show Only" Time Machine concert in Melbourne was off to a great start. The sounds were booming, the lights were flashing, and the screens were displaying random abstract images. It was very atmospheric and quite electric. The only problem was the two sods behind us.

It's an age old problem, isn't it? To stand up or to sit down? To rock it out without a care or to be restrained and considerate? Both sides carry valid points that could be argued until one is blue in the face, but really, all I wanted to know was, how many more people would it take to change the tide?

Apparently, two.

Whilst, there were random groups of upstanding peeps here and there, they were still outnumbered by the largely seated audience. And what a varied audience; lots of gay men, a sprinkle of lesbians and plenty of young women. Obviously, Darren's coming out hasn't had any ill-effects on his former-Savage Garden fans. And why would it, he still sang the same, if not better, and he looked very comfortable on stage.

Darren moved from one energised beat to another and my friend and I were once again on our feets. And predictably, we get asked to sit down. This time, though, instead of dropping our wiggly arses back, we leave our seats and head down the aisle to dance it up by the stage. At first, it was just the two of us. Then, two more joined, then three, and not long after, people began running from right down the back to swell the gathering throng up front. Suddenly, everyone else were up on their feet. And it was like that for the next hour and a half. Empty seats, almost the lot of them, save for those who remained rooted watching both Darren and the moving mass upfront, happy to have a clear view.

It was an amazing experience to be able to dance and enjoy a concert like it ought to be. And Darren seemed appreciative. He swayed close to the throng, grabbed hands and acknowledged the crowd. As for the cranky two behind us, well, they were up the front with the rest. Evidently, they couldn't restrain themselves either.

Music moves - never contain it.