For those who missed it — or those who want to see it again — the production of Josh Wagner’s play, “Ringing Out,” at the Crystal Theatre has been extended through Thursday night, Jan. 26. Performances begin nightly at 7:30 p.m.
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Perhaps not surprisingly, a handful of local saxophonists responded negatively to the column – one in private email; two in a joint letter to the editor of the Missoulian. As is customary for matters covered in the paper, I’ll let that back-and-forth stand on its own, with one minor clarification: I’m right and they’re wrong. Kidding! But I do think the conversation reflects two broader points that are near and dear to my heart. And if you’ll hear me out, I promise a fun little treat at the end! [Read More...] Advertisement We received a doozy of a “press release” today that I thought I would share, unedited, in its entirety (after all, according to the release, failing to do so would mean I’m perpetrating evil!). Maybe I was right about saxophones all along….
It is not uncommon for people to feel ready to be rid of holiday-themed music and entertainment by the time Santa flies through town. But as December morphed into January of this new year, Rebecca Schaffer found herself still preparing for the premiere of a new play in which Christmas figures prominently. Before you chalk up the upcoming opening of “Ringing Out” as just a late arrival to the holiday party, however, know this: This feast of the senses won’t taste anything like the traditional turkey. “Christmas is an important part of the play; but at the same time, I don’t think it’s really about Christmas,” said Schaffer, who directs the upcoming production of local playwright Josh Wagner’s script, at the Crystal Theatre. “Christmas is kind of a catalyst that serves as an instigator of what happens. But ‘A Christmas Carol’ this is not.” If anything, “Ringing Out” will more likely appeal more to fans of post-apocalyptic speculative fiction. [Read More...] Every true music-lover has an indefensible pet-peeve, and this is probably my biggest one: There isn’t a song in the world so beautiful that it can’t be ruined by a little saxophone. Oh, I’ve heard the squawk-back: The sax is the most expressive of the woodwind instruments, the closest mechanical approximation of the singing voice, yada yada. I suppose I could name a couple of sax-soaked tunes that don’t annoy the crap out of me (Coleman Hawkins’ “April in Paris” springs to mind). But I can name ten times as many songs that might have been bearable if the reedman had only called in sick. (I’m apparently not the only one who feels this way.) It is for that reason that I find a certain double-negative allure to Rob Verdi’s upcoming concert at the Ronan Performing Arts Center, next Thursday, Jan. 18. Titled “Saxophobia,” the concert figures either to be my worst nightmare or best proof of bias. [Read More...] I know that accidents sometimes happen, but really. If you’re gonna spend the exorbitant money necessary to get into a concert by the New York Philharmonic, at least turn off your cellphone. Or, at least, turn it off after the first ring. Otherwise, this might happen. Anyone who knows the music of Mahler knows that there could hardly be a worse time for this to happen. If you don’t know what I mean, here’s a taste. I received a rather baffling press release recently, about a show coming up next week at the Badlander. Witness the one-sentence pitch:
Okay, forget that band names are singular rather than plural, thus demanding is rather than are. And let’s try not to get caught up in whether that list includes two professions or three (is “stop severe bleeding” a job?). Here is the thing that really gets me: Is this band so musically uninteresting that their main appeal is the stuff they do when they’re not on stage? Hardly, it turns out. [Read More...]
For tonight’s concert, Davis will be in attendance with two such raptors, a great horned owl and a pygmy owl named Gillian and Dot Com, respectively. It should be, ahem, a hoot! Every classical music concertgoer learns that there are things one simply does not do during a performance. Among the no-no’s that will typically get you tsk-tsked: laughing at the visiting soloist while he is playing, standing and cheering between movements of a longer work, and clapping while the orchestra is still playing. All of these things happened in the auditorium of the University Theatre on Sunday during a performance by the Missoula Symphony Orchestra. And all of them merely amplified the raucously joyous sense of occasion in the hall. It was a concert so stuffed with highlights, humor, brash power and ravishing beauty that the packed house of listeners found it necessary to create its own opportunities – before, during and after the music – to show its enthusiasm. [Read More...] |
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