Five Concerts So Far
I've only been to five concerts with a total of six bands thus far this year, and I've already summarized some thanks to the Last Weekend series, so this may seem familiar to consistent readers (both of you).
1. I first became aware of Ben Caplan because my co-host Colleen played his second album "Birds With Broken Wings" on our show. Regrettably, she discovered him after he'd come through town (which was apparently his second ever visit), so I didn't get to see him until January 11, when he played the Beachland Tavern on a Thursday night.
Caplan played guitar and keyboards, and was joined a lone drummer. He hit "Birds With Broken Wings" heavily. He has one of those distinctive voices where either you're going to love it or hate it. I personally enjoy it, and I appreciate his heavy biblical imagery, in the manner of some of Sermon on the Rocks by Josh Ritter. I did buy his album and shake his hand after the show. My father would likely enjoy this.
His opening act was a duet from Toronto called Harrow Fair. The man and woman in the group may or may not have been a couple, but they certainly had a interesting sound in the manner of a greatly slowed down Legendary Shack Shakers. I liked them enough to buy their album, which I have enjoyed.
2. As previously noted, on Friday, February 23 my friend Danita and I saw the Cleveland Orchestra. The standout piece in my mind was Jean-Yves Thibaudet on piano for a performance of Ravel's Piano Concert for the Left Hand.
3. Also as previously noted, on Saturday, March 3 M and I saw the Cleveland Orchestra perform Elgar's Symphony No. 2 as well as Beethoven's Emperor Concerto with Yefim Bronfman on piano.
4. The third weekend of the orchestra in a row had me going with Lily on Friday, March 9 with Michael Tilson Thomas on the podium and Daniil Tifonov soloing for Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 2.
5. Last Wednesday, March 21, my radio station colleague Prosper Hazzard hooked me up with two free tickets to see Wu Man & Huayin Shadow Puppets at the Cleveland Museum of Art in Gartner Auditorium. Wu Man is the most famous pipa player in at least the western world. She's also quite famous in her native China and has played with many people, including Kronos Quarter and Yo-Yo Ma and Silk Road Ensemble. The Huayin Shadow Puppets, also known as the Zhang Family Band, are a band from (apparently) rural Shaanxi Province in China.
What this meant in practical terms is that Wu Man played some solo pipa, then the band joined her on stage and things went nuts. Playing mostly traditional instruments that I cannot name, the eight (I think) members of the band supplied a raw energy that Wu Man didn't necessarily have on her own. In particular the percussionist who played a bench (not a typo; they said he had a special travel case for it because he found other furniture didn't sound as good when he hit it) was completely over the top, although he had plenty of competition from everyone else in the band, particularly the horn player and the lead singer who had a two string guitar-like instrument. There was a lot of joyful yelling.
The shadow puppets came in for two numbers later in the set. A screen was pulled to center stage, and a bright light turned on. Some of the band ducked behind the screen and then really detailed shadow puppets were cavorting across the screen. These were apparently famous sequences from Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and as such featured a lot of jousting and some kind of very large predator. It was a lot of fun.
As Prosper Hazzard said after the show, that was very likely a once in a lifetime experience. M and I had a good time, and I'm very glad I went.
Note: For those who are keenly observant, I am counting The Judy Show as theater, not a concert.
1. I first became aware of Ben Caplan because my co-host Colleen played his second album "Birds With Broken Wings" on our show. Regrettably, she discovered him after he'd come through town (which was apparently his second ever visit), so I didn't get to see him until January 11, when he played the Beachland Tavern on a Thursday night.
Caplan played guitar and keyboards, and was joined a lone drummer. He hit "Birds With Broken Wings" heavily. He has one of those distinctive voices where either you're going to love it or hate it. I personally enjoy it, and I appreciate his heavy biblical imagery, in the manner of some of Sermon on the Rocks by Josh Ritter. I did buy his album and shake his hand after the show. My father would likely enjoy this.
His opening act was a duet from Toronto called Harrow Fair. The man and woman in the group may or may not have been a couple, but they certainly had a interesting sound in the manner of a greatly slowed down Legendary Shack Shakers. I liked them enough to buy their album, which I have enjoyed.
2. As previously noted, on Friday, February 23 my friend Danita and I saw the Cleveland Orchestra. The standout piece in my mind was Jean-Yves Thibaudet on piano for a performance of Ravel's Piano Concert for the Left Hand.
3. Also as previously noted, on Saturday, March 3 M and I saw the Cleveland Orchestra perform Elgar's Symphony No. 2 as well as Beethoven's Emperor Concerto with Yefim Bronfman on piano.
4. The third weekend of the orchestra in a row had me going with Lily on Friday, March 9 with Michael Tilson Thomas on the podium and Daniil Tifonov soloing for Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 2.
5. Last Wednesday, March 21, my radio station colleague Prosper Hazzard hooked me up with two free tickets to see Wu Man & Huayin Shadow Puppets at the Cleveland Museum of Art in Gartner Auditorium. Wu Man is the most famous pipa player in at least the western world. She's also quite famous in her native China and has played with many people, including Kronos Quarter and Yo-Yo Ma and Silk Road Ensemble. The Huayin Shadow Puppets, also known as the Zhang Family Band, are a band from (apparently) rural Shaanxi Province in China.
What this meant in practical terms is that Wu Man played some solo pipa, then the band joined her on stage and things went nuts. Playing mostly traditional instruments that I cannot name, the eight (I think) members of the band supplied a raw energy that Wu Man didn't necessarily have on her own. In particular the percussionist who played a bench (not a typo; they said he had a special travel case for it because he found other furniture didn't sound as good when he hit it) was completely over the top, although he had plenty of competition from everyone else in the band, particularly the horn player and the lead singer who had a two string guitar-like instrument. There was a lot of joyful yelling.
The shadow puppets came in for two numbers later in the set. A screen was pulled to center stage, and a bright light turned on. Some of the band ducked behind the screen and then really detailed shadow puppets were cavorting across the screen. These were apparently famous sequences from Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and as such featured a lot of jousting and some kind of very large predator. It was a lot of fun.
As Prosper Hazzard said after the show, that was very likely a once in a lifetime experience. M and I had a good time, and I'm very glad I went.
Note: For those who are keenly observant, I am counting The Judy Show as theater, not a concert.