Evening music

Over the last few weeks we have talked of wanting to do something to mark the Winter Solstice. We didn't really know what and then this morning we saw an advertisement for a concert that intrigued us, A Musical Dreamtime Journey. It was put on by The Drum Brothers.

The Drum Brothers is a pair of brothers from the area who make music together for a living. It is mostly percussion but also world type instruments such as the didgeridoo. They also teach music and the creation of drums.

Tonight's event was with one brother and another person. They played an assortment of instruments from the Native American flute to drums to the harp to Tibetan bowls in surprising combinations. They also recited some poetry from Rumi and Wendell Berry about dark and light.

I wish I had brought the camera so you could see the elaborate set-up. You can kind of see it in the link to the concert above. The concert took place at the Downtown Dance Cooperative. (I thought they had a website but I can't find it right now.) The room was rectangular with one long wall almost all mirrors. The only lighting during the performance was probably two dozen candles. They reflected nicely off the mirrors, easily doubling their glow. Most people were sitting on the floor with blankets and pillows.

It was a great evening. We were both so glad we decided to make a night of it for ourselves on this Solstice which also happens to be the first night of Hanukkah. We hope you did something to commemorate this, the longest of nights. Time to plant some seeds in preparation for the light.

one concert or two?

I've had a minor dilemma to mull over this weekend. I am currently holding a ticket to two major concerts coming here: Elton John and James Taylor. When it was just Elton John, I could sort of justify the cost. It was just one ticket (it happens this Friday while Rob is still in Canada). It would be a lot of fun, great social event, yada yada. And it's only once in a while these opportunities work out.

And then I discovered James Taylor was also coming to town. I have been wanting to see him in concert for over 10 years. It just hasn't ever worked out for one reason or another. This time isn't quite perfect either. As luck would have it, Rob is out of town again* when JT is here. And yet, I still really wanted to go so I made arrangements to go with some friends of ours and picked up tickets last week.

Now my dilemma. It simply seems too extravagant to go to both concerts. Especially since I just got signed up for ArtFest. I could probably buy most, if not all, of my ArtFest supplies for the cost of the EJ ticket.

I bought an EJ cd on Saturday that came with a dvd of some concert footage to help me decide if it was worth it. I found that while the concert looked good, I wasn't all that drawn in. On the other hand, when I put in my JT concert dvd, I am moved as much as the first time I watched it five years ago.

I'm bummed at the idea of missing a great friend event on Friday night but I think my decision has been made.

*Yes, unbelievable as it sounds, Rob will be out of town that weekend, too. He *never* goes on solo trips and leaves me at home. Amazing coincidence these two events should occur while he's gone. I did get to talk to him about the JT concert. He was disappointed he would miss it but encouraged me to go anyway.

ticket karma

I am pretty psyched, in spite of the lousy ticket sales set-up, I ended up with a ticket for the Elton John concert at the end of the month. Yes, that's right, the Rocket Man is coming to Missoula!!! My co-worker was able to score a group of us tickets on the floor, in the 19th row. And it's on a Friday night. Woohoo!

Tonight we are going to our favorite brewery, Bayern, for their Oktoberfest braut, German potato salad and accordion music. It's cheap eats and we usually run into folks we know including my college adviser and her husband.

Ciao for now.