Midge Ure and the Power of Live Music

(Note I took all the pictures in this article)

I went to see one of my music idols last week. I saw Midge Ure in concert at Yoshi’s in Oakland. Midge was the lead singer of Ultravox in the early 80’s.

I was a big fan of Ultravox and the year after I graduated high school, Ure came out with a solo “Answers to Nothing”. That album became (and still is) one of my favorite albums of all time. I know a lot of people say this but his songs really spoke to me. Almost 40 years later, they still speak to me. It was so cool to finally see him live.

One thing I have learned in my battle against my inner demons is that I really love seeing live music. It is amazing how much music is good for the soul. For me, seeing someone create music is amazing. Over the last year, I have seen a lot of music. A lot of it is local small bands playing at different events but it is still cool. I really enjoy hearing different people play.

Case in point, I was walking in the downtown region of the town I live in and passed by a local watering hole and some people were play as a brass quintet and stopped in and even though they were not super professional quality, I had a beer and listened to them play for a little bit. I felt uplifted after I left and continued on my day.

About two years ago, I started recording a song or two from music I was hearing and posting it on YouTube (Very self-serving here I know) and it is cool to look back on some of the smaller bands that I have seen once and never heard of them again. To hear the diversity of music that is around me has been amazing.

Sorry for the long side note, Midge Ure played an amazing show. He started off by playing an amazing version on “Dear God” and it just better from there. He interacted with the audience and was funny. He played an old Bowie tune and then said “Since David Bowie died, the world has gone to shit.”

People were dancing in the aisle’s and the small room was hopping. I felt very alive. Ure was amazing playing his music. He warned us that he would not be playing anything new and that was great by us in the crowd. He did not disappoint in any way.

Man, it was a super cool show. Midge played his heart out. You could see the passion in his playing and singing. He was able to transfer that passion to the people in the audience.

It was a great night and it flew by. Midge said “The last time I looked, I didn’t own the place and the next song will be my last,” to the groans of the crowd.

Live music is powerful and for me it is having the power to help keep my demons at bay and help me keep my sanity.

The power of live music is amazing and I know I will have more opportunities to hear more of it in the coming weeks, days and months.