The Avant-Garde Ceilidh

I feel like this is an article that I can relate to very easily as I lived in that sort of environment growing up. While there were a few acts that came into town now and then, Goose Bay never often saw big names. After a while there were hardly even any local acts. So my friends and I for years would have ceilidh-like times where we just got together and jammed and everyone contributed. There was a very strong sense of community there.

I totally agree with the author's musings on the excessiveness of show business these days. I feel like live music these days has become very impersonal in many ways both in the way we see live music and the way we listen to music on our own. Most people don't even buy cds anymore. This is one of the things that really interests me about avant-garde music. There is often little choice but to see performances in small, personal settings. Certainly, if our society continues in the destructive way that it's going there will be no choice but to return to the fundamental, communal musical practice of the ceilidh. And I can't say that I wouldn't welcome that.