10/22/2024

One of the best, if not the best concert I’ve been to is the one I went to most recently. Hans Zimmer. I have been meaning to reflect on that evening for over a month. These last few weeks have been extra chaotic for me and unfortunately I have been stuck in the rat race of life and never had the chance to sit down and get to it. We’re all busy though, it is never an excuse. 

I recently (as you all probably know from all my instagram content) came back from a 7-day vacation from beautiful Mexico. It was the wedding of one of my closest friends. Something about that trip, I guess just being around people you love and love and celebration in general. It did something that I didn’t know I needed for my soul. The reminder of the importance of my community to me was invaluable. So many friends and family were at a place for a whole week celebrating the union of two people. This past week returning from vacation has been absolutely crazy for me. I had to catch up on all the work I missed while being away, all while being hit with the annual flu we get because we live in this desolate wasteland. I was working from nearly dawn to dusk, but interestingly enough, my spirit felt rejuvenated and I felt almost excited to get my work done. Maybe it was because I hadn’t had a vacation in a while, and my mind needed some time off. My heart however tells me this was not the case. In most cases after a vacation I am usually dreading going back to work.  

These last few years, living life, I have been the most guilty in disregarding my friends and family. Maya, The Matrix, whatever you want to call it convinced me it was what needed to be done. I disconnected myself from so many groups of people that were important to me in my life. I am constantly missing family events, gatherings of friends or birthdays, for work that in the grand scheme of things isn’t even slightly important to me. Alas, that is something I am trying to work on. It is a fight I must fight every day so that I don’t forget what is truly important to me. 

Back to Hans Zimmer. This is the guy whose music helped me through my engineering degree. Something about his music struck a chord deep inside of me. The week prior to Hans Zimmer, I saw the living legend of Qawwali's Rahat Fateh Ali Khan front row. Even that was an inspirational, spiritual moment for me. One of my favorite things in the world is to experience a state of flow, a state of bliss, a state of unflinching focus when I am doing something I love or am extremely passionate about. Similarly, one of my favorite things to witness and observe is people in that same state of ecstasy. It was clear to me that Rahat and his entire group were masters at their crafts and were communicating on a higher frequency. I could feel the music coming from within them. It was a beautiful experience to put it lightly. There were a few things about the Rahat concert that I didn’t exactly love. The production wasn’t the best and I think for something as acoustic and sonic as a Qawwali, having a really good sound system is key. It sadly was not the case. The audience at the Rahat show was not the best either. I felt they were slightly obnoxious and loud. I understand that the culture for most concerts is to yell and scream, but for me personally, especially if it's a concert in which the music is what is most important, I really believe the audience should be silent when the artist is performing. To truly experience musical genius, I think it almost has to be in person and there HAS to be complete silence. The music deserves it. I think this was first and foremost why the Hans Zimmer concert was one of my all time favorites. In a sold out crowd of 20 000 people, when the music began, it was as close to complete silence as you could possibly hope for. Granted the sound system and acoustics of Scotiabank Arena, made it so any minor noise was negligible. I truly was able to connect with the music, and by extension the musicians as well. I was taken to a different place listening to them. Watching them pour their hearts and souls out, completely ignorant of the crowd and thoroughly lost in the music was so moving. They performed and performed beautifully. Listening to A Way of Life had me on the verge of tears. If I was alone that evening, I surely would’ve teared up. It was so emotional. It wasn’t because it reminded me of the emotional scenes in the movie (The Last Samurai) either, on the contrary I believe it was the music that made you really feel the emotion in the movie.

Every single member of Hans’s orchestra was a true master in their craft. With each song, Hans would introduce another artist and it created a personal connection for me with his orchestra. Nearly every member of his Orchestra had been with him for the last 20 or so years and you could truly feel the love and connection they had with one another. There were 3 artists that stood out for me apart from Hans of course. The first one was his guitarist, Guthrie Govan. After crushing an extraordinary solo, Hans revealed to the crowd that Guthrie improvises a new solo at each concert. That completely blew my mind. I couldn’t fathom being so in tune with the music that you could just have the music take over your body and flow. All while performing in front of a bazillion people. Simply magical. The second artist was a Flutist by the name of Pedro Eustache. Pedro created sounds that felt ethereal and otherworldly out of instruments he made by himself by hand. Again, unimaginable genius. There’s no one in the world I respect more than the craftsman. The last artist was a Cello player by the name of Tina Guo. Tina is a woman that I have noticed in videos of Hans Zimmer concerts before. She carries herself incredibly, and the way she plays that Cello is unlike anyone I have ever seen. Out of everyone in the orchestra, I think she might have been the best performer. She moved in complete unison to her Cello. That was the other thing that made me love this concert so much. You could see the artists morph into the instrument they were playing. Not to sound cliche, but the instrument truly was an extension of there being. Guthrie, throughout the show but especially during his solo moved to the chords of his guitar. His energy and music was electric and his movement mirrored that. Pedro moved like flowing water. His music was so ethereal, that as he moved it felt like he was floating higher and higher. Tina looked like she was possessed by the music she was playing. Not just by the sound, but by the passion of the music. It really came through in her performance. 

In my reflection of that evening, I realize how much I value spontaneity and improvisation in music. Particularly when it comes to live music. Some of my favorite genres, Jazz, Qawwali and old school Hip-Hop all have that in common. I think the level of expression you get when the music is created from the energy that artist is feeling in that exact moment is glorious to experience. The audience can feel it as well. It also shows a level of mastery and music genius that I really appreciate. This experience can’t be recorded, it cannot be expressed, it cannot be captured. It can only be felt in that moment.

-prabh