(no subject)
Ohes :) Gilberto Gil was wonderful! We got there with like a minute to spare and all was well - then he came out and all the stress of nutty SF parking flitted away. He wasn't playing with the Symphony after all, just *at* the symphony, and I was a little sad because a skilled string section can make a bossa song SO pretty - but it was cool, it was him, a drummer and 2 one-man-band type setup guys (backup guitar, bass, flute, accordian, all sort of little percussive things, and computer sounds), all clearly supremely talented and happy to be there.
It did suck a little because the sound mixing was off - the bass drum and Gil's low e-string were both crazy loud and stormy and overpowered everything (presumably the mix was better not in the nosebleed seats, the mixing board being lower than we were - although for nosebleeds we did get a great position, front center) ^^;; so it sounded a lot better the couple of songs where it was just him, or where there was very little bass going on. And the songlist I think was meant to surprise us a bit; it was songs by him and a host of the other greats, and went from low and steady to loud, boisterous and jumping by the end - people down below were dancing in the back aisles and I wish I could have too! He seemed maybe a little frail when he first came out, and by then it was like don't you guys underestimate me :P
Towards the middle he sang Desafinado with one of the other dudes playing what I could only describe as a space teakettle - one steady, odd tone that just rose in pitch to go along with the song, and rose and rose and dropped and rose, like a theramin - it was an interesting take, though honestly a bit distracting :P perhaps if the meat of the sound had been a bit different. But don't get me wrong, basically everything was beautiful. I think it was cool that some modern music touches were explored. And he told a couple little stories - couldn't understand too well from where I was sitting :P and had the audience sing along in some places, it was sweet. I wish he'd called us all up to dance in the encore like they do in those Vegas shows ^^ I absolutely got my dollars' worth. And afterward we ate at Lers Ros Thai for the first time - nice decor, and very yummy coconut drink and sticky rice with ice cream - my sauteed rockfish was spicy to the point that I wish I'd been warned, though ^^;; Maybe next time I'll do the fried seabass with crispy basil. Mmm...
It was a happy (albeit freezing) evening! Tomorrow night, going to a screening of Bill Plympton's Cheatin' at the Roxie with Bill Plympton attending XD Yay!
It did suck a little because the sound mixing was off - the bass drum and Gil's low e-string were both crazy loud and stormy and overpowered everything (presumably the mix was better not in the nosebleed seats, the mixing board being lower than we were - although for nosebleeds we did get a great position, front center) ^^;; so it sounded a lot better the couple of songs where it was just him, or where there was very little bass going on. And the songlist I think was meant to surprise us a bit; it was songs by him and a host of the other greats, and went from low and steady to loud, boisterous and jumping by the end - people down below were dancing in the back aisles and I wish I could have too! He seemed maybe a little frail when he first came out, and by then it was like don't you guys underestimate me :P
Towards the middle he sang Desafinado with one of the other dudes playing what I could only describe as a space teakettle - one steady, odd tone that just rose in pitch to go along with the song, and rose and rose and dropped and rose, like a theramin - it was an interesting take, though honestly a bit distracting :P perhaps if the meat of the sound had been a bit different. But don't get me wrong, basically everything was beautiful. I think it was cool that some modern music touches were explored. And he told a couple little stories - couldn't understand too well from where I was sitting :P and had the audience sing along in some places, it was sweet. I wish he'd called us all up to dance in the encore like they do in those Vegas shows ^^ I absolutely got my dollars' worth. And afterward we ate at Lers Ros Thai for the first time - nice decor, and very yummy coconut drink and sticky rice with ice cream - my sauteed rockfish was spicy to the point that I wish I'd been warned, though ^^;; Maybe next time I'll do the fried seabass with crispy basil. Mmm...
It was a happy (albeit freezing) evening! Tomorrow night, going to a screening of Bill Plympton's Cheatin' at the Roxie with Bill Plympton attending XD Yay!