Fred Small in concert
Last night trowa_barton and I attended Fred Small's benefit concert for the Beloved Community Fund of the First Parish UU Church in Cambridge. We were happy to run into wolfkitn and her boyfriend there, and they invited us to sit with them. I've been a Fred Small fan for about 20 years now, well before he entered Harvard Divinity School and became a UU minister. He only performs public concerts about once a year now, usually to benefit a good cause (the last time we saw him, the concert benefited a scholarship fund to enable the youth of First Church Unitarian in Littleton to attend UUSC's JustWorks camps). He seems so much happier since he entered the ministry, and I think that gives added power to his music.
Last night he played a lot of old favorites, and I'm not ashamed to admit that many of them still have the power to make me cry. Last night's set included:
In between the songs -- because he is an activist and former staff attorney with the Conservation Law Foundation as well as a musician and a minister -- he made a point of talking about climate change and climate justice. I especially appreciated this because it's one of the big issues being addressed by my employer, specifically the environmental justice angle. (I actually have some other stuff I want to write about that later, as we recently were visited by Ross Gelbspan to discuss that very topic.)
He also had guest musicians Rosi and Brian Amador of Sol y Canto, a pan-Latin ensemble based here in Boston. I'd heard of them before but had never heard them play, and I see now that I was missing out. They were wonderful, singing songs in both English and Spanish; and their sign language interpreter was also great to watch (not to mention totally adorable). Rosi in particular exudes this immense joy as she sings and drums, and I couldn't help but get swept up in it. Their twin daughters, Sonia and Alisa, accompanied them for a few songs with their lovely voices and also sang Irving Berlin's "Blue Skies" by themselves. Trowa was especially happy when the show concluded with Fred and the Amadors singing José Martí's "Guantanamera."
Random bit of trivia: Tim Berners-Lee was in the audience last night and was the winner in an auction of the original lyrics draft of the song "If I Were a Moose." :)
Afterward we hung out with wolfkitn and Robert at Herrell's, and walked home afterward. A lovely evening all around.
Last night he played a lot of old favorites, and I'm not ashamed to admit that many of them still have the power to make me cry. Last night's set included:
- "Jaguar"
- "Hot Frogs on the Loose"
- "I Will Stand Fast"
- "350" (a new song about global climate change)
- "Not in Our Town"
- "All the Time in the World"
- "The Heart of the Appaloosa"
- "Guinevere and the Fire"
- "Everything Possible"
- "Cranes Over Hiroshima"
- Some Hannah Montana song, just for his daughter :) (I think it was called "Hoedown Throwdown")
In between the songs -- because he is an activist and former staff attorney with the Conservation Law Foundation as well as a musician and a minister -- he made a point of talking about climate change and climate justice. I especially appreciated this because it's one of the big issues being addressed by my employer, specifically the environmental justice angle. (I actually have some other stuff I want to write about that later, as we recently were visited by Ross Gelbspan to discuss that very topic.)
He also had guest musicians Rosi and Brian Amador of Sol y Canto, a pan-Latin ensemble based here in Boston. I'd heard of them before but had never heard them play, and I see now that I was missing out. They were wonderful, singing songs in both English and Spanish; and their sign language interpreter was also great to watch (not to mention totally adorable). Rosi in particular exudes this immense joy as she sings and drums, and I couldn't help but get swept up in it. Their twin daughters, Sonia and Alisa, accompanied them for a few songs with their lovely voices and also sang Irving Berlin's "Blue Skies" by themselves. Trowa was especially happy when the show concluded with Fred and the Amadors singing José Martí's "Guantanamera."
Random bit of trivia: Tim Berners-Lee was in the audience last night and was the winner in an auction of the original lyrics draft of the song "If I Were a Moose." :)
Afterward we hung out with wolfkitn and Robert at Herrell's, and walked home afterward. A lovely evening all around.