Had a remarkably dry weekend in the Berkshires, considering we were supposed to be feeling the remnants of Hurrican Ernesto. Yes, it was chilly. Yes, it was overcast. Yes, it was windy. But we never once had to open our umbrellas, so we figured we did pretty well.
Even though the Berkshires are certainly located in the state of Massachusetts, they are a world away from greater Boston. While people in eastern Massachusetts summer at Cape Cod or Maine, western Massachusetts is rife with New Yorkers. And with those New Yorkers comes the dreaded MFY fan. Saw any number of NY hats and shirts and you'll be proud to know I didn't hurt any of them, and none of them harassed me with my own Red Sox cap on. Peace reigned in the valley.
On the other hand, I did hear a LOT of anti-Bush rhetoric. Walking through a number of shops I overheard people complaining about the state of things in the US of A. One memorable conversation had a shop owner saying to a patron: We need a miracle! (Personally I think we'll get it in November, but that's a topic for another post.)
On Saturday, we attended one of Massachusetts' finest arts resources, Tanglewood. This large complex out in the rolling, green Berkshire hills is the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra plays concerts of all sorts throughout the summer, sometimes mixed with the Boston Pops Orchestra and other classical artists. Neither Bob or I are classical music fans, so we reserve our visit for Labor Day Weekend when Tanglewood features the three-day Jazz Festival.
The Saturday afternoon concert featured Marian McPartland, a grande dame of jazz piano, who I believe is in her 80s. She's still a feisty old gal, with plenty of fire and still plays a smooth jazz piano. She was having a live version of her NPR show "Piano Jazz" featuring as her special guest Elvis Costello - one of our favorite artists. For two 45-minute sets the two of them held court, playing lesser known jazz standards. At the end, Elvis's wife, Diana Krall (who at 41 is very pregnant), joined in and sang two songs with Marion. Biggest cheer of the day? When the sun poked through the clouds for about 30 seconds during intermission.
After a quick burger and pasta break between concerts, we returned to Tanglewood for the evening event, with a distinctive New Orleans flavor. First up? Wynton Marsalis's 5-piece band. They were a cool bunch, playing about an hour's worth of great traditional jazz. Loved seeing them, but the second half of the show was really why we paid the money for the seats we had. It featured Dr. John, Irma Thomas, John Pizzarelli, and many others.
Just as these great artists were really starting to cook, we noticed a very peculiar thing...people were leaving. It is an "outdoor" venue...a pie shaped "shed" with the stage at the pointed end and open air on most of the rest of the structure. But after each song, people were getting up to leave...more and more at each break. It was the oddest thing. And I have to say that the applause was quite tepid - not anything like I expected. We went to the concert looking forward to a solid and heartwarming New England welcome to some of the displaced artists of New Orleans.
We couldn't figure it out...was it because the typical BSO attendee is a rich, older white person? Was it because of what is sometimes known as the New England "cold" personality? I don't think so. I thinnk we had a bunch of people who attend these concerts religously regardless of who is on the bill. And clearly, people didn't understand Dr. John or have an appreciation of who Irma Thomas is and her place in the New Orleans jazz and blues constellation. We were embarassed for these people and certainly hoped the New Orleans contingent didn't hold it against us. I suspect neither the BSO or the artists will want to bring them together at Tanglewood again. However, WE will look forward to catching these artists at another less-upscale locale.
Here's my candid shot of Dr. John and Irma leaving the stage. They look reasonably happy, so I guess all's well that ends well.
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