Concerts

A friend invited me recently to go to a piano concert at the Strathmore music hall. It was quite a new experience for me: I'd not been to the Strathmore before, and whenever the last time was that I went to a classical concert, it was a long time ago. I did not disgrace myself by dozing off (my usual unfortunate reaction to sitting still in a warm room--why I don't often go to live theatre). I quite enjoyed the programme, which was Prokofiev, Stravinsky, a Russian jazz composer named Kapustin, and several pieces by Chopin. I didn't reach the depth of analysis of the Post's reporter, but I thought the performance, by a young woman named Yujia Wang, was fantastic, very accomplished and, yes, very distant from the audience, but filled with emotion. The Strathmore's hall is quite remarkable, very beautiful in a spare, almost Art Deco style of pale wood. But it seems as if it must feel like rather a bear pit, especially if you are a soloist on its flat expanse of stage.

Last night we went to the other end of the concert hall spectrum, Jammin Java, the bar/coffee house and stage in Vienna. Richard Shindell was performing, and I love seeing him, the smaller the space the better. He was in fine form (apart from an early problem with the micing of a guitar) and played a number of pieces from his next album as well as several old favourites. He did two sets, and while I can't recall everything, they included Reunion Hill (which chokes me up), Deer on the Parkway (a new piece, which he remarked he had been planning to call Deer on the Sawmill until he realized that for those not from New York it might conjure up an horrible image), Are You Happy Now (perfect for just-after-Halloween), Somewhere Near Patterson, Clara (which I adore, I'm not sure why), Mariana's Table, Kenworth of My Dreams, Next Best Western, another new song mocking Objectivism, Wysteria (which makes me misty-eyed for family reasons), and There Goes Mavis (which always makes me cry--thankfully it had the same effect on my friend). Really, a great concert, and I can't wait or his next album!

And next weekend I have charming songster Al Stewart to look forward to, a concert I'm going to the Birchmere for with my dear buddy redactrice. A musical time I'm having!

Oh, and...

I had a very nice walk in the park yesterday. I went over to Rock Creek Park and walked for about an hour and a half. I had meant to spend longer, but to my annoyance I was actually a little footsore, and I did want to get home in time to shower and change before picking up my friend for the concert.

I tried to capture some of the autumn colours, which were rather lovely, though muted and already a bit threadbare. The sun was in and out of clouds, but when it was available, it made the whole day sparkle.

The walking gave me time to think; not that I came to any conclusions, but sometimes time away from the distractions of home can be good.

It was good, at least, to get my mind off my earlier encounter. I'd made the mistake, on my way to the park, of stopping to look at a house or sale in my neighborhood. It's perfect for the person I want to be but am not, quite yet: ready to settle down here in DC and in a long-term relationship with someone else who works. It's a beautiful Craftsman bungalow that's been well tended and gently modernized. Lovely rooms, a nice, though small, kitchen, plenty of basement storage space, a fireplace, a small back yard (large enough to stretch out your legs without being too big to easily maintain), amazing skylights, a screened porch...

the LJ tags I have used more than 100 times in almost ten years of posting

scotland
uk
history
politics
friends
humour
neta
bike
cats
weight
idiots
travel
wargaming

That draws an interesting picture of me and what I post. :-)