Authentic or Not?

Each day in my life I am faced with the idea of authenticity, though I have never put that name to it. In working with high school students you get to see both their authentic side, and their not-so-authentic side. With them, the struggle to find their “true self” is extremely difficult. And the struggle to have their peers accept their “true self” is even more difficult.

This acceptance of the “true self” occurs throughout each aspect of our lives; with our friends, our family, and in our jobs. I believe that if you become a musician, with the aspect of fame, this drive for acceptance is even greater. due to being in the limelight, your livelihood now depends on creating that authentic self and having people connect with and believe in it. But, what is this “it” that musicians have to get their sudience to believe in?

According to David Pattie, they way in which a performer creates his or her authenticity is through the music. In fact, he states that the music is the “ultimate proof of authenticity.” This means that the audience must believe in the song that is being performed to us.

Once they have us hooked by song, the performers must themselves be real. This gets a little more complicated. We, as the audience must believe that the performer is onstage giving us their true self. We want to see, know, and understand who they truly are. But, we also know that the self that they are showing us is a performance.

When we finally believe that the “true self” is shining through, and we have a connection to the song, a miraculous moment happens. We connect. And it is almost like the audience and the performer become one.

I do not believe that there is one person out there who can say that they have not felt this bond. That they have not been listening to one of their favorite bands or vocalists and they have felt a deep connection with the person on stage. At times it has felt that they were singing specifically for you (or me). This authentic moment is exactly what these performers want to happen.

Do they all do this? Do you always feel this connection? Probably not. I do like the idea of taking a peek at those that I deem worthy of paying money to watch them play music. So, who would I consider to be some of my favorites? I think I will have to take a look at The White Stripes and Bright Eyes.

The White Stripes

To start with a little background of this band, they are considered a rock duo. In fact, when these two first made it big, they were a self proclaimed brother and sister band. Too bad their divorce papers surfaced later on.

I have seen them in concert three times. The main reason for this is my connection to the music. The connection I have with the music is not on a deep and personal level, however. I just think that they are able to write lyrically fun, musically wonderful songs.

The first time I saw them in concert, they were at Roy Williams Arena and my seats were in the nosebleed section. This made the experience difficult for my by not really allowing me to connect with them. They were too far away to really have a feeling like they were singing to me. It did briefly occur once, when they sang a cover of Bob Dylan’s One More Cup of Coffee. And this was mainly due to the fact that I was one of a handful of people who knew what they were singing.

The second time I saw them they were playing The Orpheum Theater. This venue was much smaller. That allowed for a bit more intimacy and connection to occur. In fact, that night they had much more discourse with the audience than during their first concert. I wonder if they even felt more of a connection with their audience. But, what makes me feel that their performance is really about their true self is what happened during the third concert I saw them perform.

This concert actually occurred the night after I saw them in concert at the Orpheum. They played a second show and I was in attendance. To back up a bit, the night before Jack and Meg had gotten a little frustrated with the amount of people taking their pictures. They continually asked the audience to stop. Flash forward to the next night and you see Jack walking on stage snapping a Polaroid picture of himself. As it develops, he tosses it out into the crowd. This gave him a bit of control of the situation while also interacting with the audience.

One other way I know that they are authentic (in my eyes) is due to the fact that when Meg developed a case acute anxiety, or stage fright, and had to cancel a bunch of concerts, I really felt for her. I felt such a personal connection for her that I remember thinking that I hoped she was okay.

Bright Eyes

The band Bright Eyes is made up of a band with ever changing members but one main singer, Connor Oberst. I have also seen both his band and him playing solo shows a multitude of times. In fact, I have probably seen him in concert more times than any other band.

Do I think he is authentic? It’s complicated. I think that he began authentic and is slowly fading into the inauthentic realm.

His music, and specifically his lyrics, is amazing. He writes some of the most poetic words that I have ever heard (now remember, I am kind of naïve when it comes to music). This is especially true of some of his first albums. Each and every song is able to pull you in to the story. And the story is beautiful.

However, I feel less of a connection with some of his recent albums. In fact, I can’t even name one of the songs on his newest album. I don’t know if it sue to my tastes changing, or him changing.

I do feel like he has changed over the time of his career, and I feel like that has affected my belief in his authenticity. When he first began, he played venues such as First Avenue and the 400 Bar. While First Ave. is a pretty good sized venue, it is nowhere near the size of the venues he is playing now. And the 400 Bar was even smaller. The first time I saw him at the 400 Bar, he told a story about his connection to that venue. He actually knew and was really close to the person who owned that venue and he said he wanted to show his support for that place and was glad that we came out to show our support as well. I think that this declaration really hooked me. I fell for his true self [act] in that moment. However, he has not played this particular venue in a really long time.

Although I can make a case for his authenticity (even though I think it is waning) you can definitely make a case for his inauthenticity. He has been criticized for both over writing his songs and over emoting when on stage. Since these are both important qualities in the idea of authenticity, if you felt this way you would definitely not believe he was authentic.