build your beautiful self

When a room becomes an altar
And what beast that must exist
It flies with music from our lips
And steals a kiss and blows it
Out into the mist
Where castles stand on cliffs
And cobbled streets they wind and drift
And moods are made and set but shift
This place where skies are low
And birds are big
We went to sleep in day
And woke again the same day
We have learned to cheat the time
And find the hours
That the clocks cannot define
As I looked up from that stage
I felt the thing that had been made
And how it raged
And how it raged
How to explain?
Something makes me howl
And shiver to the core
Ah outside if it was raining
Then inside there’d be a storm
We’ve got a pair of hands for climbing
And a pair of knees to spring
And a pair of balls for strength
And a pair of lungs to sing
And these simple chords
That say: music is the language of us all

How to Explain – The Cat Empire

I Went to a Show

I had the pleasure of attending an amazing concert at a very intimate venue in Solana Beach CA on Tuesday night. The band, The Cat Empire, was a band from my younger years. They originated in Australia, and while only 2 of the original members are still in the band, they have pulled talent from across the globe. Each member of the band is amazingly talented. Each plays multiple instruments and sings with passion.
I hadn’t heard them in probably 10 years (I had their CD if that says anything about when they were infused in my life, haha). One of my dear friends was talking about the venue, Belly Up, she said that she was going to see the band there in November and asked me to go with. I immediately bought tickets. I remembered the joy the album brought me, and was instantly excited.
Fast forward to the day of the show, my mind was fighting me. I was stressed out, frustrated, sad, and just kind of lost feeling.
Does that happen to you sometimes?
It certainly happens to me on occasion. Life isn’t always sunshine, roses, passion, ambition, success, positivity, love, peace, and happiness, and that day was one of the days that wasn’t.
I had an event earlier in the evening with the association. I had to remember that I was there to serve others and was able to regroup to offer my special sauce to it. I left once the speaker started to head to the show. On the drive, I sat in silence with my thoughts reminding myself that this was going to be an amazing show and will lift my spirits. I had to remember all the gratitude for being able to go even though I could have easily stayed home and felt sorry for myself.

My spirits lifted instantly outside of the building when I saw my friends. We went inside and there was a warm up band playing. Standing room only left. All the tables and bar stools were taken so we got ourselves a little corner with a rail to hang out at. The band that was playing was from Scotland, which was cool by itself, but I was amused when they starting picking up the pace of the music and the drummer started head banging and spinning his hair around – While drumming might I add…that’s some talent. Anyway, that reminded me of the good ol’ days of live music.

Sidebar – I love live music of any kind. I love watching the individual instruments come together to make something beautiful. Also have you ever watched anyone in a band solo…when given their 5 minutes to shine, you can SEE and FEEL the love flowing out of them. They either move their mouths to the rhythm of the notes they play or they have a HUGE smile on their faces. Eye are even closed sometimes. I LOVE seeing that. Look for it next time you go to a live show.

After the brief intermission where they are switching out the equipment, The Cat Empire makes their entrance from the back of the room, through the crowd, in a drumline. Who doesn’t LOVE a good drum line!?? You can feel the beats in your torso and it makes you want to groove with the beat.
I am hooked in at this point and super excited for them to perform.
They have a funky mix of music styles that they play and each one is filled with a full band (brass and all) harmonizing with one another.
The songs start and I am still feeling a little reserved but lightening as it progresses. I went from standing and watching, to swaying slightly, all the way to jumping, dancing, clapping, and singing along.

At the roughly halfway point of the show, I paused, and looked around, and watched. The love in the room, the excitement, the joy, and soul were palpable. The vibration of the music from the speakers into my whole body was like a magnet connecting me to everyone else in the room. The audience was filled with such a diverse crowd, old and young, every nationality you could think of, corporate casual to surfer…it was amazing. I watched the joy and the love on their faces, watched as they swayed jumped clapped and danced to the music, felt the energy of the room coursing into me and I found myself holding prayer hands over my heart.
The singer, Felix, told us a story about his younger brother. He was on the stage with them when he was around 7 years old and they allowed him to play 3 notes on the trumpet. He loved having his brother around and he eventually joined them in making music. His brother recently passed at a very young age. The entire room felt his pain, but they also shared in the joy that his brother brought to the band in the emotions shared in the story. He then used the stage as his platform to bless and share empathy for all us in the room. He had us in tears feeling into his pain and ours. It was amazing and heartfelt, and yes, I cried too.

He told us that he cannot express in words how he felt so he expressed his love and sorrow and grief in a song.

The one thing that I really understood while watching the crowd join him in his emotion, slowed down and quieted down while he played, and you could just tell that he was speaking to everyone in the room through the song. We were one in the moment. What a blessing.

The rest of the show were songs that allowed for crowd participation and the participation was unanimous. I left a little deaf, and a whole lot happier.

Which leads me back to the title and the lyrics I opened with.
“We learned to cheat time and find the hours that the clocks cannot define. I felt the thing that had been made and how it raged”

We work so hard to build a life with what we think we want or what your people want you to want that we are able to cheat time. Less sleep, less family time, less self care time, less friend time, less you time. It is mainly work time. One day, you may sit back and look at the thing you built and the moments you missed and ask yourself how did I get here. It raged.

Something makes me howl
And shiver to the core
Ah outside if it was raining
Then inside there’d be a storm
We’ve got a pair of hands for climbing
And a pair of knees to spring
And a pair of balls for strength
And a pair of lungs to sing
And these simple chords
That say: music is the language of us all

If you don’t like where you have arrived or what you have built, you have hands to climb, knees to jump, balls (actual or theoretical ;), lungs to sing, and simple ways to express yourself. Take action.

Music brings people together, it expresses emotion and allows you to feel emotion. You can connect an entire room of people together in an instant with 1 song. Music has vibrations that allow you to vibrate higher and lift your energy and spirit. I felt all sorts of feels in that room. I am always amazed at the power of music. Even if you don’t speak the language of a song you hear, you still feel the feelings from it. Look at La Bamba for goodness sake, there are a ton of people who don’t speak a word of Spanish, but they sing the song and dance to the melody and it brings all people together to sing and dance with them!
Sometimes it soothes me, sometimes it lifts me, sometimes I get goosebumps from it. I love it.

Music is the Language of Us All. Love you Felix and The Cat Empire. You are beautiful souls.