Judi, Judy, Judys

The end of April brought different kinds of "blasts from my past". One was a surprise birthday party for my little sister Judi (its always disconcerting when one's baby sister hits milestone birthdays because you know what that means about your own age!). My brother-in-law did a great job organizing it and keeping it a surprise and it was fun seeing family, meeting Judi's friends and also seeing a friend from our childhood neighborhood whom we had played with since kindergarten.

The only complication was that the surprise party was in Cary, IL outside of Chicago and I had a concert ticket for a show in Des Moines the next day. So I couldn't extend my visit and had a longer-than-usual day of driving on Sunday. But everything went smoothly, I didn't hit major roadwork and my books on tape kept me entertained.

The second "blast from the past" this weekend involved another Judy! I was seeing one of my folk favorites Judy Collins perform at Hoyt Sherman Place in Des Moines. I had positively worn out my Judy Collins LPs growing up and even sang some of her songs in my brief time performing in the fad "Hootenannies" back in high school! : ) Hoyt Sherman Place is a lovely old (1927) auditorium seating 1400. It was added on to the mansion of Civil War Major and later Equitable Insurance tycoon by the Des Moines Women's Club that had taken over his homestead after his death in 1907. It is a very attractive and intimate venue and I had a nice seat upfront but off to the side. I had listened to some Judy Collins CDs on my ride and was looking forward to hearing some of my old favorites at the show.

I enjoyed the show and did hear a couple of my old favorites, but not nearly as many as I had hoped for. Judy's current tour is promoting her most recent book of memoirs, so during a good portion of the show she regaled us with stories of her encounters with various famous musicians from the sixties and seventies. Interesting stories but they did not warm my heart or create that nostalgia that hearing more songs might have. Judy still has her bell-clear voice and thrilled her Des Moines audience when she sang.
Listen to her singing Jacques Brel's "Sons of"
and  Stephen Sondheim's Send in the Clowns.
We also sang to her, in return. One on-the-ball fan realized it was the week of her birthday and got the whole crowd singing happy birthday to Judy, to her delight. So I celebrated two "Judy" birthdays this April weekend!

Two Blasts From the Past

I love the music from the sixties! All those tunes that I listened to constantly on my local Chicago station WLS, even sneaking my little transistor radio and earphones into my bed when my mom wasn't looking. This spring I got to re-visit many of those tunes when my campus performing arts center included not one, but two great sixties reviews in their season's offerings. About three weeks ago "The Midtown Men" performed. These are the stars from the original Broadway case of Jersey Boys - now on tour singing some of the Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons songs from that play as well as many other pop hits from that era. I sang along with almost every lyric and had a great time. 

Then this weekend the Beatles review group called Twist and Shout came to campus, performing (with the appropriate British accents and Beatles haircuts) selections from almost all of the Beatles albums, with some fun video footage of the early 'British invasion". Again it was a show that you couldn't help but sing along with - one which sparked many fond memories of my Beatles fan days. I wonder what ever happened to my Beatles scrapbook and my ticket stub from seeing them in Chicago back in 7th grade? I wonder if today's young people will have the same fondness for the music of their tweens? Or will today's diverse, rapid overload of music via a multitude of media channels mean that nothing will really stand out for them fifty years from now?

Two Blasts From the Past

I love the music from the sixties! All those tunes that I listened to constantly on my local Chicago station,

Ingrid Michaelson in Madison

Months ago I had planned a roadtrip with my youngest daughter to see one of her favorite performers Ingrid Michaelson. I also enjoy Ingrid's songs and often include them in my before-class music. Ingrid was playing small venues after a bit of a hiatus from touring and her fans were snapping up tickets fast. The nearest venue (Twin Cities) was already sold out when I received the email announcing the tour, so I quickly purchased 2 tickets for the next closest: Madision, WI.  Annie and I marked our calendars for the April date and I reserved us a hotel within walking distance.

Well I know only too well how hectic things get towards the end of the school year, so wasn't entirely surprised when Annie told me she was a bit overwhelmed with all she had to do and didn't feel like she could take the time to go to Madison : (  . My hotel was non-refundable, though, so I asked hubby if he felt like a roadtrip to Madison and happily he said yes, as long as I didn't make him go to the concert (typical!). But I was pleased to have company for the trip.

It was a lovely weekend for a drive east to Madison and the Wisconsin portion of the drive was quite scenic (sorry Iowa). We stopped in Dubuque and had a great lunch at Crust, then continued on to Madison. To my surprise, my hotel turned out to be right on the downtown square and our room had a great view of the domed capitol and its lovely surrounding tulip beds in full bloom. We wandered around the square and then stopped for a drink before my show, watching the growing line of fans at the concert hall across the street waiting for the doors to open. I had a general admission seat in the balcony and, despite the line, scored a seat in the first row in the small ornate theatre.

An interesting group called Pearl and the Beard opened the show. They were unique, talented, funny and entertaining but otherwise hard to characterize. Here are a few of their songs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z76jlXjRndY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y79N-UhF8o8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LlbuXpITGg

I enjoyed Ingrid's set but was not as familiar with her new album as I would have liked to be. Also, as is the case with most performers, she didn't include some of my favorites ( and even chatted a bit about how playing the 'old favorites' becomes a bit of a burden to the artists excited by their new material).
Take Me the Way I Am
Soldier
Ghost
Blood Brothers
The Chain
You and I
Ingrid Joking About the Power of an Upbeat Melody

Jim found us a cute and very yuppy breakfast spot just off the capitol square. We lucked out and just barely beat the crowd - by the time we finished eating there was a line outside on the sidewalk.

Jim was waiting out front when I exited the Overture Center and we had a late supper at a fast-food Greek spot down the block: gyros, Greek salad and baklava - yum! So my roadtrip was fun even if I did miss out on some mother-daughter bonding.