A NIGHT OF MUSIC
this is what i saw last night as i came on stage.
MOV00024.MPG

everything has been building up to this one. hometown. 18 500 people. music. music. music.

at some point of the set, i left my body and i still havent returned. the idea that i could possibly judge this performance as "good" or "bad" became absurd. my fingers kept playing, my voice kept singing, my body kept moving, but it all happened on its own.

so what could anyone say when the show was over? no one said much. when the joy gets this big, when the intention this strong, when the band feels this right, there isnt a whole lot to say. music is above the law.

if you were there, dont forget what happened last night.

sitting in the airport lounge on the way to bris-vegas and im ready to do it all over again.

i love my job.

i hope youre all well

xoxo
b 

posted by Ben Lee at 7:19 PM 86 comments

  THIS IS REALLY HAPPENING
well. after allowing everything to sink in over the last 36 hours its starting to becoming clear that all of that did indeed actually happen! wow.
the arias were quite an intense experience. in that room were the people that had helped me start my career 13 years ago, foes that i had battled with, musicians i had jammed with, musical heroes that i had looked up to, and friends that i am in constant orbit with.
when the awards started rolling in, my night was made by neil finn, one table over, turning to me and shaking my hand and saying "well deserved!" i tell ya it doesnt get better than that!
id been watching an ad for the commonwealth games on the plane the day before and one of the athletes said "we came as competitors and left as friends" and i have to say that this very much echoes my experience in the world of music. there was great comraderie at the arias. i cant explain how awesome it was to give missy a big hug at the end of the night as we both exclaimed "we took the whole game between us!" quite a moment. i cant explain what it meant to see phil from grinspoon grinning ear to ear after winning their award, and knowing that he lives his dream to the bone.
and what does it all mean? i hope it means that the good fight will continue. i know that getting a couple of minutes of live television to talk to 5 million people in australia found me echoing the same sentiments in different ways: follow your heart. pop music can change the world. gratitude. gratitude. gratitude - but there was no time to overcomplicate matters. the message is the same as its been for millions of years and im gonna keep declaring the truth that we need more love, more tenderness, more courage and more heart, as long as theyll let me keep talking.
thank you everyone here for all of your support. in some ways place like this blog are the nucleus of this creative enterprise. a place to recharge.
lets keep doing what were doing. it seems to be working.
xoxo
b 

posted by Ben Lee at 5:50 PM 74 comments