(For Raymond) Edmonton, November 21, 2009
Boxed in by too much thinking, I escaped into performance art this weekend. Took my 8-year old boy to see Brian Webb dance on Friday night. Not exactly a normal father and son outing, but he had fun and I'm pretty sure he'll be the only kid in his class who has seen a modern dance performance. Webb is still brilliant by the way. I hope I can move half as well as him when I'm 58!
Yesterday was more conventional: Celtic-themed symphonic music with the ESO. Safe for the whole family. Lovely show. Irish dancers that levitated six inches above the scuffed hardwood, music that started in one mind flew through time, danced through the hearts and fingers of dozens of musicians, and then drifted through me like incense -- filling all those dark corners in my mind with beautiful grace. Best of all was when the piper strode out onto the stage and let 'er rip. I love bagpipe music. It's the martial arts of music. It makes me want to march.
This Sunday morning the walls are a little further away and I can sense the blue sky over my shoulder.
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7 comments:
Awesome. Sounds like you were able to escape with your family... from many things. Beautiful!
Bagpipes do it for me too (not the marching, but certainly the stirring of the blood). Mind you, with ancestry like mine, it'd be surprising if they didn't have that effect ;^)
Bagpipes are great, but in the hands of an amateur can sound and look remarkably like someone strangling an octopus
Your comment about dancing reminded me of Chandler Bing's fear of Michael Flatley - his legs move independently from the rest of his body
bagpipes... I think you're the first person i've heard of who enjoys them (except for pete up there!) I can't say the bagpipes thrill me too much, however, the uileen pipes are mindblowing. They seem to magically manifest the whole Celtic land and weather and form it into pure spirit for the soul.
The shows sound amazing, I wished we lived nearer to a theatre.
I was at that Celtic concert. So you were the one marching up and down the aisles...
I love the bagpipes too but I also love bagpipe jokes, like this one:
Why do bagpipers march around?
Because it's harder to hit a moving target.
Chris: it was a nice reprieve
Pete: I wouldn't believe you if you said you didn't like pipes.
DFTP: I remember that episode.
Watercat: I'm sure I've heard the Uileen pipes, but never in person. They are a gentler pipe, are they not?
Thomas: Yep, that was me. Har har.
they are a tad gentler, I think they have a much softer, subtle, tone. Maybe warmer but definately spine tingling!
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