We Spend Our Nights So Bon Vivant

So as you all probably know, Taryn returned from Spain this weekend, and came to Frederick to fetch McKenna. It was quite the event, getting to the airport to pick her up at the hotel where she spent Friday night. Apparently no one between Frederick and Chantilly thought it would be wise to drive the speed limit. Nothing infuriates me more than people who bedeck their cars in Nascar-themed paraphernalia, only to drive 5 miles under the speed limit on a one-lane road. But I finally made it (a whole half an hour later than expected), and we went to lunch at a rather special little restaurant called The King's Bite. I'm sure she will describe this place in detail on her blog, but basically, it was a tiny takeout place recommended by a cab driver that morning, which reminded us of Babu's Dream Cafe on Seinfeld. After lunch, we returned to Frederick, where McKenna about had a heart attack from glee at seeing her mother. After relaxing for awhile, we went to the cheap theater to see Mamma Mia for...let's say, not the first time. It gets no less awesome the more you see it, particularly the end. And we've seen it enough to know. My goal is to see it at least once more before it leaves theaters - anyone interested?

On Sunday, we were joined by Tricia to go to a concert in Baltimore. This concert was quite the event. Last week, Sara had sent me a link to the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's site for their performance of Billy Joel music, along with Michael Cavanaugh, the kickass singer who was in Movin' Out on Broadway and strangely resembles Luke Russert when you see him up close. Sara is Favorite Person of Last Week for sendng this. I don't know if it was some type of special discount that was just in the link she sent, or if I didn't know that you could do this, but we were able to get tickets for just $20 apiece. Yay, cheap tickets!

The concert was at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore, a lovely venue. However, you might not realize this judging by the number of people who thought jeans were appropriate attire for the symphony. Also popular were boldly patterned jackets, knee-high boots (which seemed to cause the wearers to clomp around like Clydesdales), and/or musically-themed ties (although, sadly, no piano key neckties. Mugatu would be sad), although luckily not all on the same person. All in all, a veritable wonderland of poor fashion choices.

Once we were seated, we began to notice the great number of elderly people. Apparently a nearby retirement center provides transportation for their residents to attend the symphony. Taryn likened it to the scene in The Producers where Max Bialystock goes to Little Old Lady Land and they're all dancing with their walkers. However, no one thought to warn these people that the day's program consisted of 70's and 80's pop music, presented by not only the orchestra, but also a very exuberant young man who frequently referred to his audience as "you guys," and often requested for them to clap or snap along with his songs. Not at all unusual for the musical selections, but clearly, it rattled some of the audience members. More than one person got up during the show to sit in the lobby, or perhaps leave, which was sad, because it was all kinds of awesome. Others sat there like stones when poor Michael Cavanaugh would try to encourage audience participation, including the person sitting next to Taryn, who left at intermission. This gentleman, who greatly resembled Howie Long of the era when he did commercials with Teri Hatcher, would fall in the category of "people wearing symphonic neckties." Clearly, the tie did nothing to encourage his enjoyment of this particular music. Honestly, I don't understand what these people expected of a concert that was advertised as being "The Music of Billy Joel," and featuring a vocalist! I understand that perhaps the elderly people were not familiar with it, particularly if the information was not passed along by whoever at the retirement home had organized the symphony activity, but a number of these people were of an age that they should recognize Billy Joel, and know if it is something that they would be interested in.

As for the concert itself - on the whole, it was very well done, and an interesting take on Joel's music. It was nice of them to include some of his classical pieces in addition to his more common works, and the orchestration added a great new dimension to some of the songs (although not all...there is no reason whatsoever to mess with the beginning of Angry Young Man. None.). Definitely worth the ticket price, if not more. I would highly encourage attendance if you ever get a chance! Just don't follow the kind of directions that Taryn's GPS gave us on the way out of the city...it seemed to have no problem with driving us into a traffic jam in an unfavorable area of Baltimore in an effort to get back to 95. Luckily, and to paraphrase Billy Joel, "[we] made it home alive, though you said that only proves that [the GPS is] insane."

Oh, and, as usual, bonus points to whoever guesses the song that the title lyric came from, without cheating. Yay contest!