Sunday, May 18, 2008

introduced to the paramount theatre

last night kristin & i were both introduced to the historic paramount theatre here in austin. we were part of the sold out crowd celebrating the paramount theatre’s 92nd & the state theatre’s 72nd birthdays. the main attraction of the night & what i enjoyed the most was listening to the legendary kris kristofferson perform in such an intimate setting.

after all these years of performing live, the 71 year old kristofferson approaches the show with such cool & calmness. he came dressed in a newly starched black long sleve shirt & matching black slacks. when i googled for pics of kristofferson the black on black appears to be his signature outfit. it was his beat-up old grayish cowboy boots that grabbed my attention.

i view those old boots as kristofferson's way of saying no matter how much cash i've got or what i'm supposed to be wearing these boots are mine, they are comfortable, & i wear them because they feel good on my feet. unfortunately not enough of us take advantage of the simple liberty of wearing & doing what we want. we unfortunately conform to what society expects of us. we give in to the hype of conformance & do what someone our age, in our professional position, in our social status is supposed to do. i've always respected artists, musicians, etc. for their ability to not conform to the typical standards. i suppose that's the implicit aspect of what most of us appreciate about artists & musicians.

so i'll pose this question. is conformance necessary & why?

some really cool & historic info about the paramount theatre & why the historic theatre is such a treasured jewel that continues to grace congress avenue after all these years.

more about kris kristofferson. i bet you didn't know that he is a rhodes scholar who holds a masters degree in english literature, he was a helicopter pilot in the army, & he was assigned to be an english professor at west point (the US military academy).

2 comments:

Unknown said...

i like to take a shot at answering your question whether conformance is necessary and why. one prime example...sagging pants. ever see those MTV "thugs" that have their pants sag all the way down so that their boxers or underwear show? it drives me insane seeing that sloppy dressing. The "saggy pants" is stems from prison mates not allowed to wear belts which could be used as weapons. I bet 9 of 10 of them don't know that and 10 out 10 wouldn't really care.

Brian Kirk said...

that's horrible! i didn't know that.