December 2009 - A "Musicalitious" Month

Good morning everyone. It is bright and cold out this morning in The Big Apple. I have a show scheduled for this afternoon, the Broadway musical, “Fela,” which I described in an earlier posting and then nothing, yet, for the evening. Meaning, I have no excuse for not posting the stats for the month of December 2009, which was an interesting and somewhat different month, a month I will label as “Musicalitious.”

Yes, the month was a bit different from most of the others, primarily because of the number of classical music events I attended, but more details on that a bit later. First, the raw stats ...

In checking my daily log (log, not diary - real guys don’t keep diaries) I find that during the month I saw/did/attended the following:

1 Broadway show (“A Steady Rain” with Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman); 10 Off Broadway shows; 11 classical music concerts (details below); 1 dance recital (“The Nutcracker” - performed by the Joffrey Ballet Company); and, 2 movies (“Up In The Air” and “Me & Orson Welles”).

I was out of town for 5 nights for my trip down south to Columbia, SC, for Christmas with family. Was able to spend some quality face-time with student/bartender/manager Scott Reed.

On the downside - December marked 3 years since my dear friend Randy Bentley left us. The weather was generally cold and nasty. Also, in the name of fair and unbiased reporting, was the major ass-whipping The Gators received from The Alabama Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship game, losing by the humiliating score of 13-32. That loss required me to wear ‘Bama stuff at Christmas dinner. Barf, barf and double gag!! Anyway ...

Now, about the concerts - and I think you, my loyal and faithful readers, will agree that the diversity of events is sufficient to label this month as “Musicalitious.” What do I mean? Let me explain. During December I attended 7concerts by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra @ Lincoln Center (3 regular subscription series and 4 special events: “The Concert to End Polio” with Itzhak Perlmen; “Holiday Brass with the U.S. Military Academy Band;” "The Messiah;” and, “The New Year’s Eve Gala”).

These performances alone are enough, in my opinion, to earn the title “awesome,” but then add the following 4 other special event concerts: "The Vienna Boys Choir" @ Carnegie Hall;” “Mozart’s ‘Great’ Mass” @ Carnegie Hall; “The New York Gay Men’s Chorus” @ Town Hall; and, “The Complete Brandenberg Concertos” @ Symphony Space, and then ...

I humbly suggest that my use of the description “Musicalitious” is proper, but ... it is up to you loyal and faithful readers to decided, because ...

I only report - you decide.

Go Gators!!

Billi Pod

“Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.”