{"id":5035,"date":"2023-11-13T19:19:13","date_gmt":"2023-11-14T01:19:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/isplotchy.com\/blog\/?p=5035"},"modified":"2023-11-13T19:19:14","modified_gmt":"2023-11-14T01:19:14","slug":"people-have-the-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/isplotchy.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/people-have-the-power\/","title":{"rendered":"People Have The Power"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I said this before in a post <\/a>about<\/a> my <\/a>wife’s <\/a>art<\/a> — <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is what makes me happy \u2014 bringing some magic and joy into the world for no other reason than that \u2014 magic and joy.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only a few weeks into this resurrected blog and I’m quoting myself<\/em>. YEESH.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyways, look, these guys are doing this very thing — Choir<\/a>! <\/a>Choir<\/a>! Choir!<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was started by two guys as a weekly drop-in singalong in Toronto in 2011, and has transformed into a really amazing phenomenon that tours around the world. If the show comes to your town, you can buy a ticket and join hundreds of others for several hours to learn a song split into choral arrangements, and then after the rehearsal you will perform it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They have come to Chicago multiple times. My wife has participated in several concerts — I have made it to one with her and some friends. We rehearsed and sang the Chicago song “25 or 6 to 4”. It felt really special to be part of something that is creative, communal and all-too-brief. I still think about that night from time to time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Choir! has a lot of these collective concerts on YouTube. The majority of the videos there are only the two founders, Daveed Goldman and Nobu Adilman, plus the choir\/audience. However, sometimes they will have special guests. David Byrne joined the choir to sing the Bowie song “Fame”, Rufus Wainwright sang the Leonard Cohen song “Hallelujah”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My favorite of these “celebrity” choir concerts is the one with Patti Smith. The song is “People Have The Power”. You can feel the energy and warmth during the performance. I can’t imagine being in the choir for this — it must have been overwhelming. Smith herself seems pretty emotional about the whole experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh, Stewart Copeland is there too, for some reason, playing a skillet. I like Stewart Copeland, whatever and whenever weird place or time he shows up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hope you love this video as much as me. People have the power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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