a concert is a concert.

recently, i was fortunate to see a show at Madison Sq Garden with 20,000 people on a Thurs night .. then a show at BB Kings the next night with about 500 people.. and then dance with about 100 people in a fabulously dirty basement of a Brooklyn bar to our friends' band on that Saturday night. the stages had gone from a massive end stage to a basement floor. and they were all stellar.

not to be outdone, when i was going home on the subway, a vagabond was wandering around the subway car, singing his heart out for our audience of 20. serenading us, like we had experienced so often.

so the obvious question is.. which performance 'counted' the most? which was the most legitimate, or is it possible that they all on the same level?

one can argue that the international superstar who played at the Garden was the most legit, simply due to the production of the show, the length of the massive world tour, the amount of fans, his notoriety in the media and in music culture, etc.

one can argue that the smaller bands, who pour their heart, sweat and tears into each performance, is more legitimate. they do it for the love, for an escape from their possible mundane lives and jobs, for that hour a night when they feel like kings. they wake up the morning of a show, knots in their stomachs, and look forward to spending the night singing, drinking and being with their friends. they don't do it for the measly paycheck, but they do in SPITE of the measly paycheck. they do it because its what they're meant to be doing.

most every performer is devoted to their craft. rearranges their life around it. its an extension of themselves, to show the world what they're musically made of. that they can reach that high 'c' note. that they can shred on their guitar so well that it makes the ladies scream and the gents wish they were him.

so who is to say that someone's concert isn't as credible as anothers? that their sweat onstage is somehow worth less than a higher-caliber artist? at that moment onstage, to both types of artists, the only thing that matters is producing the best music possible at that time. with the same goal, and at times, the same result, shouldn't the respect of both concerts be the same as well?