I attended my first concert in 14 months on Thursday, April 29. Three vocalists and a pianist representing the Lyric Opera of Kansas City competed with the yaps of agitated lap dogs, the shouts of playful toddlers and the pings emanating from nearby pickleball courts at the free recital at Meadowbrook Park in Prairie Village.
Two days after my second vaccination jab, the experience left me conflicted. Maybe I should quash my notorious compulsion to spend several nights every week listening to live music. I once took pride in attending more than 365 performances every year. Thursday’s concert indicated I should consider becoming less indiscriminate.
First and most essentially, the somber shadow of the deadly virus continues to loom large. Even though I claimed I was “ready to rage” on the most recent episode of my podcast, I’m still squeamish every time I enter an enclosed public space. I’ll need to overcome my fear when I take my first post-quarantine ride on a flying germ tube in a couple weeks.
The pandemic changed me. After listened to recorded music in optimum conditions for 15 months, I’m less willing to accommodate people who treat music as obtrusive background noise. Discovering sonic paradises amid serious music enthusiasts at festivals including Cropped Out and Big Ears and at big city nightclubs in recent years, I’ve learned obtrusive audiences aren’t inevitable at performances of improvised music.
That’s why Raj Ma Hall is among the jazz-friendly Kansas City venues I intend to visit first in coming weeks. The outdoor space is an alluring alternative to the region’s established rooms for jazz and unconventional music. Here’s hoping patrons of the grassroots initiative live up to my persnickety standards and fussy sense of decorum.