At first arriving at our seats, I began to have reservations of how much I would enjoy the performance. It was my first time at that venue and the bleacher-style seating was of uncomfortable hardwood and very cramped. When people tapped their feet or moved to the music while sitting, the benches would shake you. I have to say that I am no fan of crowds and even less when they are condensed into close quarters. In my mind, things were not shaping up well and I feared an unpleasant evening of physical discomfort, loud music that was practically irrecognizable from its original form and people everywhere too close for my liking. But as it turned out, it was a very pleasant experience after all. And the music made all the difference. Once they began to play, their unmistakable sound made me forget the little annoyances around me.
Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of them playing last night, since I didn't bring my camera. I don't think it would have mattered had I had it though. We were sufficiently up in the grandstand so as not to have been able to get a good shot anyway.
What I can tell you was it was a great show. I am not a big fan of live performances. I have seen so very few because often times the artists will change the versions of the songs while playing live (that is why i always prefer the studio version of recordings over the live recordings). Sometimes the changes are only slight, but sometimes the songs are bearly recognizable as compared to their original studio versions. Well, last night, it practically could have been the album versions for the songs they played. There was very little variation in the songs. For me, that made it so much more enjoyable.
This was the first time I had ever heard Jason Scheff sing the songs that Peter Cetera used to do the vocals for. His style is quite close; and obviously he was quite a find for Chicago back in 1985 after Cetera left. He does best when he hits the stronger notes, but with the weaker ones his voice breaks a bit too easily. And he tends to hold certain notes too long. Otherwise, his performance was excellent. And of course Robert Lamm was his fine self as usual. Not to mention all the other members of the band.
In addition to sitting up in the grandstand I had a tall woman sitting in front of me so my view was limited. But, since the band didn't deviate their songs much, I had only to sit and listen, much of the time with my eyes closed, and enjoy. When I did have my eyes open and I wasn't trying to look around the head of the woman in front of me, my eyes rested on a couple in the orchestra seating below, sitting off a bit from the rest of those seated in that section. They caught my eye because they were older and I imagined they had been together a long time. They sat the whole time with his arm around her and her head often resting on his shoulder. Now and then you could see them talking to one another. And at one point he turned and gently kissed the side of her face. (I'm weird. I like to observe people and how they interact.) Chicago is definitely the band to enjoy with an intimate loved one. Their singular style and mostly romantic arrangements lend themselves well to a romantic evening, in my opinion. And so it seemed for that couple last evening.
.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
3 for lunch
My friend Kathy and I meant our friend and long-time co-worker Diana Wardell (former Cogan) for lunch at the Butcher Block one day.
Not one of the pictures turned out good for all of us. So in all fairness I'll put all 3 up, so that we can each be seen with our best pose of the day. :)
I think this one is the better one of Kathy
And this one the better one of Diana
And this one the better of me
Not one of the pictures turned out good for all of us. So in all fairness I'll put all 3 up, so that we can each be seen with our best pose of the day. :)
I think this one is the better one of Kathy
And this one the better one of Diana
And this one the better of me
Friday, August 21, 2009
A day at the Shelburne Museum 8/19/09 (in progress)
The first building you go into is a large silo with a temporary display of vintage motorcycles. I don't know what, if any, connection it may have to the museum itself. But motorcycles might have been an interest of the founders of the museum or something. I have a bad habit of not reading the plaques that go along with the displays. Consequently, I sometimes don't know how the subject matter of some of my photos fits into the rest of the displays there. I guess I don't read them all because it would take much more time to go through the displays. But you sure miss a lot by doing that.
Me and the chillin :)
Aunt Karen and the chillin...tried to get the pretty background in.
The next display on circus memorabilia was in a horseshoe-shaped barn. I think it was Barnum and Bailey stuff. But, again, I didn't read the displays much. On the inside, along what would be the outer curve of the horseshoe was one very long display of circus miniatures handcarved by one person. Along what would be the inner curve of the horseshoe was full-sized carousel horses and other carousel animals as well as other means of conveyance used in the circus procession. I loved the minitures.
The founder of the museum and his wife used to go on big game hunting expeditions (mostly in the Canadian Rockies) with friends of theirs. These are some of their prized kills. I'm not big on taxidermed critters but standing near these things really gives you quite an impression of their sizes.
Entering the rear of the railcar that was attached to the locomotive in the picture below it. The interior of the car and the train station looked like something out of an episode of The Wild, Wild West.
Approaching the steamboat Ticonderoga, also decorated to the period of its heyday.
Me and the chillin :)
Aunt Karen and the chillin...tried to get the pretty background in.
The next display on circus memorabilia was in a horseshoe-shaped barn. I think it was Barnum and Bailey stuff. But, again, I didn't read the displays much. On the inside, along what would be the outer curve of the horseshoe was one very long display of circus miniatures handcarved by one person. Along what would be the inner curve of the horseshoe was full-sized carousel horses and other carousel animals as well as other means of conveyance used in the circus procession. I loved the minitures.
The founder of the museum and his wife used to go on big game hunting expeditions (mostly in the Canadian Rockies) with friends of theirs. These are some of their prized kills. I'm not big on taxidermed critters but standing near these things really gives you quite an impression of their sizes.
Entering the rear of the railcar that was attached to the locomotive in the picture below it. The interior of the car and the train station looked like something out of an episode of The Wild, Wild West.
Approaching the steamboat Ticonderoga, also decorated to the period of its heyday.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Day Trip to Burlington
Most of those of you who check out my blog regularly have likely seen many of the following scenes.
On the 22nd of July, Alex, Chantelle and I went to Burlington for one of Al's many orthodontist appointments. But as a small surprise, I decided that after the appointment was through I would take them to the Burlington Waterfront. Since I never drove down into the city of Burlington before, I took along my (now beloved) TomTom GPS. That thing works like a charm. In fact, I tossed the idea around of writing to the company. Something along these lines: "Dear Makers of TomTom: My kids and I cannot thank you enough for your wonderful product. Now we can travel together without the "F-bomb" being heard once in our travels. As my kids could testify, navigation by the use of a traditional map in a city (big or small) was once stressful for me, often producing the most God-awful strings of curse words to offend the human ear. (I still think a string of them hangs over the city of Montreal from our trip in 2007.) But with your product, we now have the freedom to travel swearword-free. God bless you TomTom for bringing peaceful travelling to me and my loved ones." But then I thought better of that idea. LOL
Anyway, below are some photos of the day. Nothing exciting for those familiar with the area, but some of the photos turned out quite nicely, nonetheless.
Our first stop was the Echo Lake Aquarium. We had lunch first in their Think! Cafe. Not bad, the kids had nachos and I had a panini with portabello mushrooms...yummy! The aquarium part of the building isn't a very large place, but it is kind of neat. There are assorted creatures there, mostly fish, snakes, turtles, and frogs. Not all of them are indigenous to the lake though. There are starfish, anemones, shark, large and small salt water fish and tropical rainforest frogs. We enjoyed the experience, although it only took us about 2 hours (including the time spent on lunch) to go through it. It is primarly geared toward grade-school aged kids, though, and there are plenty of gadgets and activities for them to put their little hands on. If you have kids that age, I recommend you take them. It will be fun for them.
After the aquarium, the three of us walked up to Church Street to check out the Church Street Marketplace. It was full of activity and street musicians playing Beatles songs. We went to the book store and I bought Reading Lolita in Tehran, which I have started but not finished, though I find very interesting. [It is about a female professor who invites a group of her best female Iranian students to her home to clandestinely study works of Western literature that are prohibited reading there. It is a liberating forum in which the young women reveal their personalities, hearts and minds not only through the discussion of the books read but also in their choice to unveil themselves of the burkahs and headscarves that are required apparel for women in that culture. Their action to unveil and their reading of restricted texts is a symbolical and psychological emergence from repression. Coming from our culture of almost-anything-goes, it makes me appreciate the personal freedom I enjoy daily (without much real thought of it) just to read any book I choose and to express my thoughts and feelings without fear of injust repercussion.]
On the return trip to Plattsburgh, I decided to take the Burlington VT - Port Kent NY ferry back to NY rather than the customary Grand Isle VT - Cumberland Head NY ferry. We had to make it a shorter day of it though, since the Burlington-Port Kent ferry's last departure each day from the King Street dock is 5pm. While waiting in line to buy our ticket for the ferry Alex snapped this photo of a statue of Champy, the Lake Champlain Monster. We were a bit early to board the ferry, so we parked the car and walked to a bar/restaurant right at the dock and I enjoyed a Corona while we waited.
I think this picture turned out pretty cool. I really like the perspective of the pilings in it.
The back of the Echo Lake Aquarium.
The Burlington Waterfront
Some folks might wonder: Why bother taking pictures of local stuff? Well, I do so for a couple of reasons. One, I have others who read my blog that have never seen the local sights, and, two, I think what is immediately around us often goes unappreciated. So, I am doing my part to appreciate it. Enjoy.
On the 22nd of July, Alex, Chantelle and I went to Burlington for one of Al's many orthodontist appointments. But as a small surprise, I decided that after the appointment was through I would take them to the Burlington Waterfront. Since I never drove down into the city of Burlington before, I took along my (now beloved) TomTom GPS. That thing works like a charm. In fact, I tossed the idea around of writing to the company. Something along these lines: "Dear Makers of TomTom: My kids and I cannot thank you enough for your wonderful product. Now we can travel together without the "F-bomb" being heard once in our travels. As my kids could testify, navigation by the use of a traditional map in a city (big or small) was once stressful for me, often producing the most God-awful strings of curse words to offend the human ear. (I still think a string of them hangs over the city of Montreal from our trip in 2007.) But with your product, we now have the freedom to travel swearword-free. God bless you TomTom for bringing peaceful travelling to me and my loved ones." But then I thought better of that idea. LOL
Anyway, below are some photos of the day. Nothing exciting for those familiar with the area, but some of the photos turned out quite nicely, nonetheless.
Our first stop was the Echo Lake Aquarium. We had lunch first in their Think! Cafe. Not bad, the kids had nachos and I had a panini with portabello mushrooms...yummy! The aquarium part of the building isn't a very large place, but it is kind of neat. There are assorted creatures there, mostly fish, snakes, turtles, and frogs. Not all of them are indigenous to the lake though. There are starfish, anemones, shark, large and small salt water fish and tropical rainforest frogs. We enjoyed the experience, although it only took us about 2 hours (including the time spent on lunch) to go through it. It is primarly geared toward grade-school aged kids, though, and there are plenty of gadgets and activities for them to put their little hands on. If you have kids that age, I recommend you take them. It will be fun for them.
After the aquarium, the three of us walked up to Church Street to check out the Church Street Marketplace. It was full of activity and street musicians playing Beatles songs. We went to the book store and I bought Reading Lolita in Tehran, which I have started but not finished, though I find very interesting. [It is about a female professor who invites a group of her best female Iranian students to her home to clandestinely study works of Western literature that are prohibited reading there. It is a liberating forum in which the young women reveal their personalities, hearts and minds not only through the discussion of the books read but also in their choice to unveil themselves of the burkahs and headscarves that are required apparel for women in that culture. Their action to unveil and their reading of restricted texts is a symbolical and psychological emergence from repression. Coming from our culture of almost-anything-goes, it makes me appreciate the personal freedom I enjoy daily (without much real thought of it) just to read any book I choose and to express my thoughts and feelings without fear of injust repercussion.]
On the return trip to Plattsburgh, I decided to take the Burlington VT - Port Kent NY ferry back to NY rather than the customary Grand Isle VT - Cumberland Head NY ferry. We had to make it a shorter day of it though, since the Burlington-Port Kent ferry's last departure each day from the King Street dock is 5pm. While waiting in line to buy our ticket for the ferry Alex snapped this photo of a statue of Champy, the Lake Champlain Monster. We were a bit early to board the ferry, so we parked the car and walked to a bar/restaurant right at the dock and I enjoyed a Corona while we waited.
I think this picture turned out pretty cool. I really like the perspective of the pilings in it.
The back of the Echo Lake Aquarium.
The Burlington Waterfront
Some folks might wonder: Why bother taking pictures of local stuff? Well, I do so for a couple of reasons. One, I have others who read my blog that have never seen the local sights, and, two, I think what is immediately around us often goes unappreciated. So, I am doing my part to appreciate it. Enjoy.
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