The Sounds of Music

 

One of my oddest stories from the time that I ran for CA Board was the person who accosted me on Election Day, accusing me of “being against putting a dome on Merriweather.” Until that moment I had not even been aware that this was a possibility which was under discussion. 

If anyone knows the history of that concept, I’m all ears.

Most of us are familiar with a certain local contingent who complain annually about the sound from Merriweather. I’m not talking about the one-offs for a particularly loud concert. I mean the steady and consistent complainers. Like sports fans, but, in the reverse.

Last night I spotted a rather plaintive thread on Twitter which spoke to an entirely different point of view. I’m sharing it with permission. 

I’m frustrated that I can’t hear Merriweather from my house tonight. Is it the weather? Did they change acoustics? Or (as I fear) did the build up of the buildings along the Merriweather District buffer everything? I miss my #MPP guilty nights from home when I can’t be there! I mean, even a lot of times when it was a band I didn’t know, I would sit outside or open my house windows wide just to feel the spirit & music. Please tell me that isn’t gone forever!  Merriweather is one of the deepest souls of the area.

There’s a sense of loss in these words, or, the fear of it. Concerts traveling on the breeze have long been a part of their summers. It touched me because it was the exact opposite of what one usually reads on social media. It came from the love of something which had become precious over time. And, as crazy as it sounds: a part of what made their house a home.

We haven’t had enough concerts yet this summer to truly judge if accoustics have changed. It will take a while. I suspect that this poster will keep sitting outside on summer nights hoping for the sounds of music.