Lincoln in Jacksonville: Day 1

I'm in Jacksonville this week for my first visit to one of my major institutional client's Jacksonville campus (Hints: Health care, shares a name with a condiment, frequently referenced in close proximity to a certain clinic in Cleveland). I spent most of today getting here, but after checking into my hotel spent a little bit of time driving around. As my first time in Northern Florida (e.g. not Orlando) I have the "new city" excitement, but I'm afraid this trip won't leave much room for leisure.

Good news: I have now touched the Atlantic Ocean. For some reason, growing up near the Pacific Ocean, I had always wondered if there was any difference. Granted, wearing freshly-shined dress shoes to the event probably was not the best idea and the little voice in the back of my mind was screaming "See, Lincoln, this is why you can't let yourself buy nice things." as a wave swept over my left foot.

Geeky news: I have now driven on both ends of Interstate 10--where it meets Pacific Coast Highway in Santa Monica, California and now where it meets I-95 in Jacksonville, Florida. Considering that I had no actual reason to be on I-10 in Jacksonville, I think this proves that I most certainly have a bit of my grandfather's personality. At one point, well before I had my driver's license, I had a US map on my bedroom wall and had dreamed about driving I-10 from end to end. 15 years later and having driven from Cali to Cleveland in 3 days, I don't think I'd want to do the I-10 trip...perhaps if I ever retire...but I'm glad I've seen the other end.

Wow, Customer Service: I stopped by a supermarket...some place named "Publix"...to get some stuff for the hotel room refrigerator. The lady behind the checkout was not only about my age and cute (yes, I'm a guy. I can be superficial at times) but efficient, happy, and chatty... I think she may be the happiest/most pleasant supermarket employee I've ever encountered. Almost makes me want to do all of my grocery shopping there, and based on how frequently I grocery shop, it probably wouldn't be that much of an inconvenience. If the stores near me had staff that made shopping so enjoyable, I might feel guilty about using self checkout...or I might go shopping more often. [I think airport TSA agents derive more enjoyment from their job than Cleveland grocery workers]

What, Customer Service: On the tails of the Publix experience, I made my way to Whataburger for dinner -- it's been 5 years since I was near one of these, and I was in the mood for something fast without being 'usual'. The oddest greeting I've ever gotten at a fast food joint: "Hi, How are you doing tonight? [pause] Are you from Human Resources?" Uh....

I have a brewing rant about the rolling ergonomic nightmare of a tin can the so-called "car" Hertz rented me is, but for now, let's just say the Toyota Yaris is not designed for anyone over 5' tall. My leg barely fits under the steering wheel. (Plus side: It has awesome acceleration.)

Jacksonville is reminding me a lot of my Southern California home, yet I'm already missing my Cleveland home.

Lincoln

Blossom: The Greatest Generation: Music from the 1940s

Key: The Star Spangled Banner (arr. Toscanini)
Grofe: Mardi Gras from The Mississippi Suite
Ellington: Sophisticated Lady (arr. Gould)
Gershwin: Ambulatory Suite (arr. Riddle)
Goldsmith: The Generals March
Rodgers and Hammerstein: Symphonic Portrat: South Pacific
Sousa: Royal Welsh Fusiliers
Whear: Stars in the Field of Blue [World Premiere]
Williams: Hymn to the Fallen from Saving Private Ryan
Gershwin: Strike up the Band*
Porter: It's De Lovely*
Gershwin: Embraceable You*
Gershwin: 'S Wonderful*
Unknown: I'll be Seeing You
Loras John Schissel, conductor; *-with Helen Welch, vocalist.

I had oscillated about attending a concert at Blossom this weekend; I certainly knew an entire program of brass (Saturday) would be stretching my patience and I had feared that this program would be Big Band heavy... along the way I realized that two of my favorite composers, Aaron Copland and Leonard Bernstein were firmly rooted around that decade. In any event, I found my way to Blossom for tonight's concert, the last "regular" offering this season (where has the summer gone?) with only Joffrey left before the Orchestra returns to more convenient Severance Hall.

The concert generally held my interest and was rich in texture, ranging from quiet and soulful to patriotic to festive. Helen Welch, vocalist for the block of songs under the heading Selections from the Great American Soundbook, and indicated with an asterisk above has an amazingly beautiful voice, yet every one of the songs in that block left me completely unmoved; at one point I found myself contemplating trying to use my TiVo remote's 30-second skip button to move things along.

The remainder of the concert was more my speed, I particularly liked the festive Mardi Gras from Groffe's The Mississippi Suite and Goldsmith's powerful The General's March. Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Lady was a little too sentimental and a bit depressing, but was interesting nonetheless, perhaps in part because when you say Duke Ellington, I think jazz...and when you say jazz I don't think of a string orchestra which is what Sophisticated Lady offered.

The Symphonic Portrait from South Pacific really served to remind me how much the music from that show is a part of American pop culture. While I don't think anyone took Mr. Schissel up on his offer to sing along, I found myself mentally filling in many of the blanks ("Some enchanted evening, uh, _______"; "I'm going to wash that ___ right out of my ____"), and it's a shame that there wasn't some kind of cross promotion with PlayhouseSquare's upcoming presentation of the Lincoln Center production of South Pacific, as this concert helped to eek up my interest in seeing a musical that isn't what I would consider my typical type of show.

Likewise, the tail end of the concert offered Symphonic Scenario from Victory at Sea which was as varied in texture as the remainder of the program. It generally held my interest and those parts that I didn't care for--of which there were few--moved swiftly enough to keep my involved. Particularly ear-catching was a solo violin later in the work.

Finally, the world premiere Stars in a Field of Blue by retired Navy member and CWRU alum Paul Whear was quite interesting to hear, and perhaps tied with The Generals' March as my favorite from the evening.

Lincoln

Playhouse Square: Take a Hike Walking Tours

Once again I find myself in a suburb of Pittsburgh. Once again I took a parting taste of Cleveland culture before heading East.

In this case, a friend* and I met up with 30 or 40 other people in the lobby of Playhouse Square's State Theatre for "Take a Hike Cleveland"'s walking tour of the theatre district. I wasn't sure what to expect, but as both of us are outsiders (non-natives) I was sure that there would be some interest tidbits along the way.

And there were. Early in the tour there was some information that wasn't new to me (namely that Jaques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris played the State Theatre lobby for 2 years, and the mural "Spirit of Cinema: America" appearing on the cover of Life Magazine and being credited as one of the catalysts for Playhouse Square's revival) but was new to my friend. As the tour progressed, though, a wealth of details were revealed.

Among memorable highlights--of which there are too many to completely list here: The planters along Euclid Avenue are designed to look like a bouquet offering the flowers within to passersby; the abstract figures adorning the RTA Healthline station are intended to be evocative the silhouette of a chorus line [I had always guessed palm trees and could never figure out the placement], that there are two theatres that didn't survive into the modern Playhouse Square era, and, of course, details on the glorious revitalization of neighborhood buildings and their historic tenants.

Also intriguing were the two character actors who made appearances: Alan Freed explaining his role in coining the term Rock and Roll at WJW radio--well known--as well as the background of the record store owner sponsoring his show to play rock to stimulate sales to a new demographic--something that I did not know. Even more fascinating, the appearance of the Hanna Theater's** long-time general manager "Mr. First Night": I for one was utterly blown away by the history--and history of American Theater embodied by that oft-overlooked venue on East 14th street. (Did you know that Rogers and Hammerstein had an affinity for Cleveland, with the original national tour of South Pacific, among others, opening in the Hanna? Or that for decades performers signed the back side of the Hanna's main curtain, now in the care of Cleveland Public Library's Special Collections? This spiel alone was would be worth the tour: I have to stop myself here, that could be an entire post of its own)

In the end the tour, covering roughly from East 9th to East 18th along Euclid, Prospect, and Huron was about 2 hours -- longer than I had expected, but it still left me wanting more. In addition to the history, it was a great opportunity to see the beautiful buildings at a slower pace and with greater perspective than driving down Euclid.

Other tours are offered of other Cleveland neighborhoods and I may be doing the Gateway District tour in early September. The last opportunity for the Playhouse Square/Theatre District tour is next Tuesday at 6pm meeting in the State Theatre lobby... and bring comfortable shoes.

It was well worth the time, and being free you can't find fault with the cost.

Lincoln
*- Don't get all excited, this is the same "Just Friends" friend mentioned in earlier posts. The finder's fee is still out there.
**- Incidentally, I realized that I seem to have fallen off of Great Lates Theater Festival's maling list: I don't think I've seen a season schedule in close to 2 years now.

A year of Lincoln In Cleveland

Today marks the end of the first year--and the beginning of the second--of Lincoln In Cleveland as a blog.

When I first started the blog, I summarized my etre as "Guy. Single. 25. Loves Art. Enjoys Travel. Works in Technology" and I declared no topic in particular.

The age has changed (now 26--wouldn't it be strange if, over the course of a year, my age had not increased?); I'm still single (I'm thinking I'm cursed--though I have dated more in the past few months than the remainder of my life combined), and I still love art, enjoy travel, and work in technology.

For the first few months of blogging I told no one about LincolnInCleveland. I labored under the impression that no one was reading; that impression was proven wrong when I found myself quoted. I still don't actively publicise the blog, although I did eventually feel that it was only proper to tell my parents. Since early November, I've seen visitors from 49 countries on 6 contents, including 47 US states plus Washington DC. [For those curious, the laggards are South Dakota, Alabama, and Delaware].

The question has been asked, "Why would you write if you weren't expecting anyone to read?"

As may be evident from the posts, I enjoy Cleveland's vibrant arts -- and performing arts scene; it is a key reason why I'm proud to call myself a Clevelander. I've discovered that I get so much more out of a performance or piece of art when I can discuss or even debate it with someone, ask questions, compare reactions. Without that benefit (See "Still single," above) the process of blogging allows me to make notes on my reactions, in essence talking to myself--and I have had my fair share of post-performance debates with myself.

For those who are reading, regularly or irregularly, you have my thanks. If I don't know who you are, feel free to introduce yourself either in a comment or email me at l /at/ lincolnincleveland /dot/ com. In keeping with the desire to grow from discussion, if you've attended the same events and have a different take, by all means feel free to leave a comment.

Blogging has certainly exposed me to the wonderful arts community in a way that I couldn't have expected. I've met some great people, made new friends, and had the opportunity to participate in unique experiences.

I've seen--and shared, I hope--great theatre (Cleveland Play House's Bill W. & Dr. Bob) great music (of course innumerable Cleveland Orchestra concerts, Diana Cohen's Second Master of Music Recital at the Cleveland Institute of Music) unique events (among them Cleveland Museum of Art's Summer Solstice--where my teammate and I won the photo scavenger hunt).

Of course, you not everything appeals to everyone--I've suffered through some amazingly bad theatre as well (In Cleveland, Chicago ranks as the worst thing I've seen on stage; in New York, Fela! the musical was amazingly awful*)--and it feels better to vent.

So thanks for reading; if you know of anything I'm missing out on... feel free to drop me a line. And here's to the next year!

Oh, and PS: The "Finder's Fee" is still on the table: Point me in the direction of someone female, independent, mature (as well as sane), and into arts and culture and if we clear 2 dates... well, I don't know what, but I'd be appreciative.

Lincoln

*- Combined with a gross misrepresentation about the location of the seat I was sold, it's also the only purchase of any kind where I have disputed the charge with my credit card issuer. I won the dispute. Considering that that's $80 out of nearly $5,000 of performing arts purchases in the past year, I think that's saying something.

Blossom: Disney in Concert: Magical Music from the Movies

Disney Classics Overture (arr. Healey)
Menken & Ashman: Suite from Disney's The Little Mermaid (arr. Menken, Merkin, Pasatieri, Rickets)
Menkan & Schwartz: Colors of the Wind from Disney's Pocohontas (arr. Troob)
Menken & Ashman: Suite from Disney's Beauty and the Beast (arr. Troob & Heijden)
Sherman & Sherman: I Wan'na Be Like You from Disney's The Jungle Book (arr. Heijden)
Sherman & Sherman: Medley from Disney's Mary Poppins (arr. Healey & Whitcomb)
Menken: Suite from Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame (arr. Starobin)
Menken, Ashman & Rice: Suite from Disney's Aladdin (arr. Troob & Healey)
Badelt: Suite from Pirates of the Caribbean (arr. Rickets)
Zimmer, Rice & John: Suite from Disney's The Lion King (arr. Kelley & Rickets)
with one encore (It's A Small World, composer unannounced)
Richard Kaufman, conductor; Sherilyn Draper, stage director and writer; Candice Nicole, Whitney Kaufman, Aaron Phillips, Andrew Johnson, vocalists.

A fitting end for this concert -- and this week in general -- was the encore presentation of It's A Small World. Earlier this week I found that a musician friend of mine has played in a concert with a relative's neighbor in a relatively far off land. In tonight's concert, not only was my violin teacher playing in the orchestra, but Candice Nicole, one of the vocalists was a friend and classmate in high school. Having grown up in Southern California, after all, I don't run into classmates on a regular basis.*

While the Cleveland Orchestra is touring Europe, tonight's concert was in the capable hands of the Blossom Festival Orchestra. The weather, however, wasn't as welcoming with varying degrees of rain up until some point during the middle of the first half of the program; nonetheless, I was surprised by how full the parking lots--and even the lawn--were. A notable attendee was Mrs. "Mr. Rogers" [as in the Neighborhood], a box in front of and to the left of my seat, she had apparently driven in from Pittsburgh to attend this evening's concert.

I had not originally intended to attend this concert, and I quite enjoyed it in all of the important respects. Of course, Disney's movie music is as iconic as the films that they come from. One need only loook around to discover that each selection evoked or provoked different reactions from each audience member: Younger audience members may have perked up to Pocohontas, while the older audience members had a clear affection for Mary Poppins.

During the first few numbers I got the sense that perhaps the vocalists were reaching a bit further than they needed to, but that overly-sharp edge quickly dulled to a nicely burnished sound that persisted through the evening.

While I enjoyed all of the selections to some extent or the other, both the opening overture and the Lion King suite stirred the greatest personal emotion.

While I hate to note, spotlight operators (and/or whomever was calling spot cues) put on a distractingly poor performance, with spots randomly lighting up blank walls, being late to pick up or drop off a performer, and jolting adjustments just as joltingly shifted my brain from 'simply enjoy the music' and to 'what the heck was that?'

Lincoln
*- The timing of these coincidences further amuses me as this is the weekend of the 1 year anniversary of Lincoln in Cleveland (the actual blogday is Monday)

Cleveland Play House: Happy Hour (August 16th)

For those not 'in the know', the Cleveland Play House has been hosting Happy Hours around Cleveland for a little while now. It seems, however, my schedule has conspired against me -- and I've made excuses for not attending one as yet. Not to mention several of the venues have struck me as West Side and as an Eastsider, the West Side scares me.

People outside Cleveland may not recognize the significance, particularly given the relatively small and subtle geographic distance, but to a Clevelander -- even a Clevelander who has only lived in this* beautiful city for five years -- the difference is vast (New Yorkers who detest, even fear, venturing to a distant borough may recognize the feeling); it's not unlike crossing a state line, perhaps even a national border.

This border, however, is unclear: I personally lump anything West of Ontario St. as West Side, with the occasional 'Near West Side'** and 'Far West Side'*** when needed -- however, I have debated the subject with friends who argue that Tremont is "downtown" and not "West Side". I disagree, and I digress.

Anyway, last night was the Play House's first Happy Hour of the 10-11 season and I resolved to stop making excuses; though the Tremont/West Side location had me a little concerned, the only "must do" on my schedule for Monday was driving to Pittsburgh at some point before midnight. It was a great event and I encourage anyone who may be interested to stop by for the next one - 10/4 at Uptowne Grill (I think I actually know where this one is... it's East Side, and walking distanceish**** from my house!)

Obviously, having to drive to Pittsburgh limited my alcohol intake to about 3/4 of a drink upon arrival followed by two non-alcoholic beverages over the course of the next two hours. The lack of alcohol didn't diminish the enjoyment: There was a quick verbal blurb from artistic director Michael Bloom on the upcoming season -- perhaps the only time I've ever thought an Artistic Director didn't speak long enough -- but there was ample conversation among the artistically inclined.

Between the din from the fantastic turnout and the conversation--once I finally had to excuse myself (a full half-hour after the official end of the 2-hour Happy Hour, and about an hour and a half longer than I had planned on "trying it out" for) I found that for the first time I can recall, and certainly the first time in my adult life, my voice was hoarse... considering that I didn't 'know' anyone going into it, I'd call that a success (and a welcoming group).

For the record, I consider myself, living in Cleveland Heights, to live on the "Near East Side" and the office in Mayfield Village to be "Far East Side". When the office was in Chesterland, I wasn't sure what to call it. I'm glad we moved. (Most Westsiders I've met recognize Cleveland Heights as East Side but exhibit geographic confusion when presented with Mayfield Village)

Lincoln
* - Full disclosure: I'm in a Pittsburgh suburb tonight, but I'll be back home tomorrow.
** Anything between Ontario and West 25th or so, still relitively comfortable but a little exotic.
*** Anything further than West 25th, where the locals might as well be speaking a different language.
**** 2.5 milesish... I walk past it on a weekly basis, but other people may not consider that "walking distance"

Blossom: The Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma

Pato: Caronte
Persian Traditional: Ascending Bird (arr. Aghaei & Jacobsen)
Ji: Wine Madness (arr. Tong & Lin)
Golijov: Air to Air
Sollima: The Taranta Project
Das: Shristi
Traditional: Ambush from Ten Sides (arr. Samg & Tong)
Plus two unannounced encores.
Yo-Yo Ma, Artistic Director

I suppose I didn't read the Blossom Festival schedule closely enough, as up until a few days ago I was of the mind that tonight's program was The Silk Road Ensemble with The Cleveland Orchestra (or with the Blossom Festival Orchestra, as the case may be) -- instead of The Silk Road Ensemble standing alone. Nonetheless, with the exception of a distracting audio thing* it was a fascinating evening of music spanning a wide variety of styles, moods, and tempos.

Like today's weather, not only was the program varied, most of the individual components couldn't simply be summarized with a "fast" or "slow", "happy" or "melancholic" label that would apply to the entire piece, though the "folk song" label popped into my mind on more than one occasion. With every piece just about the time my interest would start to wain, the music would take a sudden turn and recapture my full attention.

It's difficult to select a favorite piece from the program, though if pressed it would be either the second encore or Ascending Bird, a traditional Persian song arranged by members of The Silk Road Ensemble, about birds trying to reach the sun. After two failed attempts, the birds reach the sun and in fire the corporal transcends into the spiritual, and in tonight's concert one certainly got that impression from the instrumentation.

Particularly notable were Sandeep Das' Shristi, and Wu Tong's Sheng playing. Shiristi is a piece entirely for percussion including a playful movement of what I can only describe as bodily percussion with one musician hitting himself in different ways to generate recognizable sounds. The Sheng, and instrument I've never seen before, had a beautiful sound when played by Wu Tong. It's described in the program notes as a "Chinese mouth organ," and I'm not really sure of a more succinct way to put it: It looks like a miniature organ, it sounds like an organ--I was in disbelief that those sounds were coming from that instrument, but it's far more portable than a pipe organ.

Throughout the performance a playful rivalry and oneupsmanship could be seen, which only enhanced the entertainment factor of the performance.

I do have to say that I wasn't a fan at all of the sound of the Galician Bagpipes, making Caronte a challenging beginning to the program. Perhaps it is because bagpipes are the one instrument I truly don't care for the sound of, or perhaps it was the sensation I had that the bagpipes obliterated the sound of every other instrument on the stage (see also "distracting audio thing*")

Lincoln
*- Ok, so I'm pretty sure it was the way the sound was mixed or amplified, but it could have been an odd manifestation of venue acoustics, but from my seat, about half way back and a few degrees house right of center, everything sounded as if it was being panned hard right in the mix: I heard nothing or nearly nothing from the center cluster, and my ear kept drawing my eye to the house left wall, where the sound seemed to be coming from, while the instruments producing the sound were all either center or left of where I was.
(Correction: 2010-08-15 - A reader pointed out that I had typoed "Silk" in the title; such is one of the perils of blogging shortly before midnight)