Saturday, January 14, 2012

I Did it My Way




Hippies are not generally classified as sophisticated, but last night, us Hippies went to the Symphony. I dressed to the nines-a dress, high heeled black boots, jewelry, and the famous polka dot tights-got a sitter, and soaked up Sinatra and Dorsey with my better half. We have made it a tradition to visit the symphony for one concert a year since we have been married. We have experienced some great shows. Last year we were convinced by a telemarketer that "we really should get great seats, and save 30% per ticket, by buying 3 concerts." I picked two Pops (my genre) and one Classical (the husband's). One that I inadvertently picked was the Leahys. Hands down best concert I have ever experienced! The classical pick was a put you to sleep line up of Mozart, and some other composers. The final concert was highlights from Wicked. Well, we enjoyed ourselves so much last year, that it took very little convincing on the sales person's part to get us to buy into a similar deal this year. Swingin' with Sinatra and Dorsey was the first of our season's concerts. And it was a fun show. No, Tommy Dorsey and Frank Sinatra didn't make an after death appearance, but some amazing people following their style put on a toe tapping time. Our age group made a minority showing. Most of the crowd was in their 60s or older. But, hey, they have good taste. I love big band music. All that brass and swingy sound. The orchestra was led by guest conductor, Jeff Tyzik. He comes up with each of his programs from scratch. He was a hoot to watch. His leg was jiggling in time to the music, and he was very expressive. He also hauled out his trumpet for a solo on one number. With the big band sound, you must have a good trombone player, and boy, did we! Jim Pugh has been playing the trombone for decades, and he is well known in the trombone community. He played an upbeat tribute to Dorsey that was amazing. I loved it. I think the best part of going to the symphony is being able to watch the musicians-their expressions, the lights glinting off the instruments, the showmanship. You can tell who is really loving what they are doing. And when they are loving it, chances are, the crowd is too. There was also a phenomenal guest drummer, Dave Mancini. He did a solo that was out of this world. As he was playing, I was wondering how so much sound and expression could come out of a drum set. It seemed to be more than just rhythm, it was also a melody too. Very cool. Last, but certainly not least, was the guest vocalist, Steve Lippia. This man had an amazing voice, that definitely reminded me of my limited exposure to Sinatra. It was smooth, and expressive both. He sang a bunch of songs I had never heard before. And he sang one I knew-I've Got You Under My Skin. Michael Buble' sings that one, which is why I know it. We have a new favorite, That's Life, kind of a bluesy Sinatra tune. He finished up with New York, New York. Our symphony did a wonderful job too. I appreciated that they highlighted the talents of different members, including the concert master, the pianist, and one of the bass players. The show received a standing ovation, and they played an encore, I Did it My Way. I have to confess that while I have heard many sermons quoting this song, I don't know that I have actually ever heard it. But I did enjoy it a lot.=) The crowd went wild when they started this for the encore. Definitely a crowd pleaser. We had a great time. I only think it could have been improved if they had a dance floor cleared. Just a thought. Not that I'm a dancer anyhow.

One down, 3 to go. And not a classical in the bunch!