Franti-liscious

A gig I needed and felt to the core. Michael Franti has a way with me (& clearly many others) that tantalises my very centre of being. He brings heart, beauty, music and life to every performance. Yesterday started with sunrise at Bondi and ended with a teeth-filled grin that couldn’t be wiped from my face.

I’m not sure whether it was the onslaught of a lunar eclipse on Saturday night and the energy change that comes with that or the awareness of a past love, still very much in my heart, closer at range than has been for months, but this past week has been a fragile one for me. I needed a life force to reckon with my unsteady stance. Enter Michael Franti!

When a gig starts with an acoustic yoga session, includes a mosh dance mania and ends with the musician staying on for the closing radio music as he noticed the crowd continuing in an impromptu sing-along to Arrested Development’s “Everyday People”, you know you’re in good hands.

There’s a reason Michael Franti was one of my relationship ‘outs’. He exudes an energy that overwhelms and induces the heart to feel for everyone around you. I remember seeing him introduce his documentary, “I Know I’m Not Alone” at Sydney Uni years ago. He was standing on stage barefoot with his son wrapped around his legs as he explained why he created this film on the Middle East. I was in the front row and already knew his music with Spearhead but now saw his yearning to use his skills in music to delve into our interactions in the Middle East.

So he went over to Iraq, Palestine and Israel with very little plan, but his guitar and a camera crew. The result is beautiful and telling of a different side of the story from both the inhabitants of these lands as well as the military personnel involved. He was moved by both sides of the story, as was I.

What am I on about? I went to this gig on my own and was engulfed in those around me. It seems Franti has found his path to share what he knows and enrich lives. You can feel he's on the right track, while I have no false sense of perfection in his life. He told his story of adoption, life from a mixed race, and his adopted mother’s strength to raise fulfilling, honest and accepting adults. You’ve done a good job Carole!

There’s happiness and sadness everywhere around us. Taking the day and filling your cup with beauty is a treasure. I’m reminded again of our innate need for love and that comes in many different forms. For me today, it’s music, friends, and giving back that which I have to give.

Thank you to the beautiful people that passed through my life over the past week, filling it with happiness and love. And to those that I shared last night’s gig – bliss!

Today is another day and what I can do with this energy boost is still unclear but I’ll harness it, share my thoughts and embrace it! Maybe it’s time for another salt water swim – off to the beach.

Peace and love to all you hippy folk out there – “you make the beauty of the world”.

#MichaelFranti
#Soja
#allthefreakypeoplemakethebeautyoftheworld