I saw a show a while back where the sound crew was way behind on setting up stage. No power anywhere until 10 minutes into the set, and then no monitors for the remainder of the set.
It was an acoustic act so it wasn't a devastating blow to the set, but the singer made a BIG deal about it. After every song, a half-hearted joke about not being able to hear herself. You could feel her unhappiness dripping through her pores.
It got me to thinking.
In the world of art, you'd better get used to having no "monitors". Getting regular, constructive criticism of your work is in no way guaranteed, even if you're in art schools. For large spans of time in your artistic career you may hear only haters, idiots, and sadists talk about your work. They can be suffocating, and it's easy to beciome a slave to the cult of negativity.
The measure of a true artist is whether they are able to persist past the onslaught of negativity and indifference to create their beautiful art.
No monitors.
Can you play without them?
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