Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
Cole uses music to gather energy from his fans, and in fact, his musical skill helps reel in the unsuspecting Nikki. Based on this, we're thinking that music symbolizes Cole's darkly seductive nature. Ooh la la.
The first time Cole and Nikki meet, it's not at a show he's playing—but still, he drags her up to dance, and it's a feel-good experience for her: "Jules and I stuck together, but after a few minutes I got carried away in the music, and the fact that I was dancing with the Dead Elvises, and it was a long time before I remembered my mom was gone and her murderer's trial would start soon" (10.115). So in this case, music = forgetting. And Cole is the one who urges Nikki to have that experience. Interesting, since he ultimately removes all her pain.
At another concert, Cole's musical skills are part of what attracts Nikki to him:
Cole made it look easy and natural, as if he were surrounded by a cushion of the music he was making; his movements were so graceful. He was at once severe and beautiful, and the more he played, the more I felt surrounded by that cushion as well, as if I could fall and never hit the ground, as long as he was playing. (11.109)
Whew. We think we need to fan ourselves a bit after that description. Importantly, though Nikki's only watching Cole, she still feels consumed by him. His energy takes her in, pulling her away from the reality she actually occupies and into his world.
In contrast to Cole using music to seduce and soothe Nikki, he also uses it to attack her. At both the Christmas Dance and the reelection party, Cole's music damages Nikki. In the first case, Cole's feelings for Nikki cause the entire room to become full of discordant emotions. And in the second case, Cole feeds on Nikki using music as the vehicle. This is thoroughly unpleasant:
My eyes lost focus, and the noise from the band was replaced by a ringing sound in my ears. (28.51)
Music, then, is a double-edged blade in Everneath. Cole can use it to seduce, but as we see in the excerpt above, he can also it to assault. Nikki is defenseless against both kinds of interaction—just like she's defenseless against Cole's manipulative techniques in general.