My life has been changed. Not by some global event or long term relationship. No, my life was changed the day after Saint Patrick’s day when, for the first time, I heard the elegant, soulful tunes of Saint Paul and the Broken Bones.
Paul Janeway stepped on the stage on Saturday as his band St. Paul and the Broken Bones performed as one of the closing bands of the Saint Patrick’s Day celebration in five points Columbia SC.
When it comes to music it doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from it brings everybody together. To be honest standing there waiting for him to come on the stage I wasn’t sure what to expect because I had never heard their music but my sister was filled with overwhelming excitement. I now know why.
But when Paul came out on the stage and opened his mouth for the first time belting out a perfectly pitched note I instantly fell in love.
Over and over I heard my dad shout from behind me, “This is one of the best voices you will ever hear live!” He’s probably right.
Saint Paul and the Broken Bones’ rendition of the Beatles’ classic “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)”, but it made me fall even more in love with the soulful sound of their voices.
I felt this memorizing calm fall upon me, a feeling of inspiration that can’t be described. Looking around and seeing thousands of strangers enjoying this single voice; some screaming, some singing as loud of they can, some dancing. The joy you can see in their eyes, it reinforces the idea of how the simplest of things can be the best moments in life. I might not have been a fan when I arrived that day, but I was a fan when I left.
All it took was the first blow of the trombone, the sound of the flute, that pure voice, and one hour for me to fall head over heels.