I find myself facing a relatively trivial dilemma for an event next week, and frankly it feels nice to have something trivial to worry about in 2025 for once.
The French metal band Alcest is coming to Boston next Wednesday. I first saw them open for Enslaved when they came around almost ten years ago. I didn’t know anything about them, so I didn’t know any of their songs, but the crowd seemed excited to have them as the opening act, and by the time their set was over I came away with an overall feeling of “that was really good.”
Time went by and life got in the way, and I mostly forgot about them. Every so often they’d creep into my head when I’d be listening to Enslaved and I’d think, “What was the name of that band that opened for them all those years ago? They were really good.”
The release of their album last year, Les Chants de l’Aurore, not only caused me to remember them, it also captivated me. I’ve listened to that album almost daily since it came out and its power over me hasn’t diminished. There are days when I get very emotional listening to it.
It should be a no-brainer that I go to see them live next week, but I find myself hesitating… mostly because I’m older now.
There are a few other factors making me consider skipping the concert:
It’s in the middle of the week, so not only would I be getting home late, I’d have to get my son up and ready for school the next day.
I’m wondering if I really want to be on my feet for approximately three hours in a venue with no seating. Metal shows usually cause the crowd to move around a lot, but Alcest’s brand of metal is dreamlike and doesn’t exactly inspire mosh pits. So I’d be standing on my feet, which get tired very quickly now that I’m in my mid-40s, which could distract me from the songs.
It’s on a Wednesday night, which falls on my treasured weekly remote game night with my friends. They wouldn’t be upset if I had to cancel for a concert, but I really, really like our remote game nights. Not only do I connect with my dearest friends, I’m cozied up in my pajamas with slippers and tea and the occasional cookies, and once we’re done I log off and stroll over to bed. It is a very comfortable night.
But there’s also the thrill of live music and performance, which can’t be replicated even on the most perfect of albums, even live recordings. A phenomenal stage show creates a memory that lasts a lifetime, and the physical feeling of live music is a temptation that can pull me away from even the most comfortable of evenings.
So that is my trivial dilemma. To go, or not to go. It feels nice to be fretting over this as opposed to, well, literally everything else right now. Maybe I’m holding on to this indecision because it’s giving me a break from the more serious things in the world that are worrying me.
I’ll let you know what I decide next week.
