Lets turn the tables

Recently I came across a poster for Cameron Carpenter, a concert organist who is growing in popularity. What seems to be distinguishing him from 'the rest' of the organists out there is his peculiar performance attire.



My first impression simply upon looking at the poster, without even hearing him play, was 'Oh no, not another organist trying to be the next Diane Bish...' (Known more for her flamboyantly gaudy outfits than her musicality)


Later, I decided I was actually going to listen to him play - I was expecting that he would be musically 'capable,' rather than the genius everyone makes him out to be. The public has a tendency to view the more 'gaudy' performers as more talented. Case in point - Lang Lang.  I hate him. I hate the school of piano that says 'the more you wave your arms about like an idiot, the better musician you are.' I can't stand watching those performers, the visuals completely distract me from the music.
When I youtubed him, he was actually fairly capable. My organ knowledge is basic at best, so I'm not comfortable giving a full review. 
What I saw however, was that he was dressed in a 'pretty sparkly t-shirt and pants,' quite different from traditional performance attire. 


My point in connecting this to WOMEN in music has to do with the attire. My last post concerned the ridiculous things that some women wear when they perform, and how men usually wear 'justatux.' In this case, there is no justatux - there is a man with glitter make-up, sparkly clothes, and an electric organ  (which is quite a 'no-no' to most organists. )      


Strangely enough, I found myself actively trying to judge him more based on his attire, I was LOOKING for flaws, and was slightly discouraged when I couldn't find anything obvious. I'm not sure what that says about me as a person, but clearly what we see has a significant impact on what we hear.

In the videos of women wearing ridiculous things, I found myself trying to aurally reassure myself that the performance was good despite the outfit, and in videos of Cameron Carpenter and Virgil Fox (another 'visual' organist) I found myself trying to condemn the performance because of the outfits.      


Maybe it's a gender role thing,  'women are SUPPOSED to be pretty and sparkly,' and men who follow the 'pretty and sparkly' aesthetic are weak and inferior.