The Concert I Heard 2016

***** = Transcendent.
****   = Really good. 
***     = Worth  it, but not one penny more. 
**       = A waste of time, but one or two good moments. 
*         = Not good.  Possibly damaged my brain. 
 -0       = Ug fa meh loo poo pa.



1. Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra with Shara Worden, February 19, 2016.  *****

Actually the program schedule is wrong--Shara did one other song, Franz Schubert's "Der Leiermann."  All four songs were amazing.  I sat there with tears running down my face for the whole twenty-four minutes.  It was also very nice to have Jacqueline there with me.  She loves Shara, too, and she was really happy to be there with me.  

2.  Kentucky Opera, Showboat, February 21, 2016. ****  But "Old Man River" hit *****, for sure.  

Both Jacqueline and Joe were with me for this one.  There were some things that were a little hard to take . . . the racist historical context, mostly . . . but all of the singers did at least a good job, and the guy who played Joe (Derrick Parker) was absolutely fantastic.  This is the first year in a long time that I've been to all of the Kentucky Opera performances for a season, and the first time that Joe came with Jacqueline and I in forever.  He also said that he wants to see all three of the operas in next year's season, so I'm looking forward to that.   

3.  David Ramirez at Zanzabar, March 15, 2016.  **** Quite a show here.  I even forgot what a fuckin' toilet Zanzabar was for most of the time.

Is there another venue where you have to play with Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Junior at Stage Right?  Sheesh.  And the musicians have about two square feet to move around in.  But it didn't seem to adversely affect David.  

I was expecting an acoustic show, as most of the DR music I have (and I have it all) leans that way, but most of the show was most definitely not acoustic.  And the band was happening.  Several onstage orgies resulting in multiple orgasms.  And no lack of energy despite the very small crowd.  (I counted twenty people on the floor, and there were maybe another two dozen at tables and at the bar, so no more than 50 people for sure.)  Towards the end of the last song David said farewell and left the stage with the rest of the band still playing, and I thought, "Wow, he really needs a cigarette!"  Then I saw that he was going around and shaking hands with every audience member who was standing on the floor.  Pretty coo.  Then back on stage for the grand finale.  Fun show.  The sound was a little off . . . just a bit blurry when the volume got high, which obscured the lyrics.  And that's definitely not okay with these songs.  And one of my favorite Ramirez songs, "The Bad Days," was re-arranged for the full band in a way that made it slightly less excellent for me.  But all in all, a well spent fifteen bucks, for sure. Too bad Jacqueline couldn't come with me.  She's a good concert buddy.

4.  David Wax Museum at Zanzabar, May 4, 2016.  ****  Well, I clearly meant to get back to this one and didn't.  It's over a month later now, though, so . . . whu happen?

5.  The Phantom of the Opera at Kentucky Center for the Arts, June 11, 2016.  The third time I've seen the show.  (The first time was a gift from my mom, the second and third times were for Jacqueline.)  This was by far the weakest.  Instead of an orchestra, there were three keyboardists in the pit.  And they upped the tempo so much that even though I was glad to be out of there early, I wasn't happy about it.  Sheesh.

6. Madame Butterfly at The Brown Theatre, September 25, 2016. **** with a bit of *****. With Jacqueline, Joe, and Pat, all of whom liked it very much. After they played the first few notes of Madame Butterfly's big aria, Jacqueline leaned into me and said, "This is my favorite song." Wow.


7. The Abduction from the Seraglio at The Brown Theatre, November 6, 2016.****  With Jacqueline and Joe, both of whom seemed to be captivated with the show. This opera was quite funny (the spoken parts were in English, making it easier to feel the ha ha). I was also surprised that despite the fact that I didn't recognize the title, there were several songs which were familiar. That's how cool Mozart is.

8. Brown-Forman Nutcracker at the Kentucky Center for the Arts, December 10, 2016. With Jacqueline, of course. This was our 7th show--2009, 2011, 2012, 2013.2014, 2015, and 2016.  That means I've spent .02% of the last seven years of my life watching The Nutcracker. Just sayin', sir.