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Learn To Work The Saxophone

Hey Soul Mates,
the last few evening were chock full o' culture. Last night, a bunch of us went to see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Pretty good. I still like the third movie best. The length of this novel seems to have made it very challenging for the director to tell the story properly in 2:34. But, it was entertaining. I'm only 2/3 of the way through the book. But that has been my MO with the Potter series. Read the first two "acts" prior to seeing the movie, so I know what the heck is going on. Then I read the end after watching the film. It's been a decent way to do it. I'd really rather not know how any movie is going to end when I see it, no matter how engrossing the book is. And Potter 4 is a quick, fun read at 700+ pages.

Thursday night, Bryan and I were busy trying to gain more friends on MySpace. We were doing pretty well, then we hit a ceiling to the amount of activity we could accomplish there. Kind of frustrating. But we did add 100 new friends in a 36 hour period. I want to welcome any of you who are checking out my blog for the first time, as a result. Feel free to leave comments on the blog or on MySpace. I enjoy the feedback. Sometimes I forget that anyone is even reading what I write. Ha Ha. Then someone will e-mail me or mention something at a show that I've written about. I appreciate your attentiveness.

Wednesday night, we went to the Walt Disney Concert Hall for the Django Reinhardt Festival. The festival was less about Django than the style of music he played. Dorado Schmitt and his quintet played a lot of original material, but it was still enjoyable. The venue is breathtaking. It's basically theatre in the round. And the interior is like being in the belly of a wooden whale. Our seats were in a balcony that ran along the side of the stage. Fortunately, this being a small combo, they played to all sides. There was even a section of couch/bench seats behind the orchestra area. Very unique.

For me, the highlight of the evening was the presence and performance of guest saxophonist
Tom Scott. Tom is the genius behind the sax solos and horn arrangements on Steely Dan's Aja. Deacon Blues? That's Tom. The opening riff of Peg? Tom. To see him play in person was a treat. He certainly brought a burst of energy and comic relief with him. Helped that he was on his home turf. Four of the quintet were European and had little to relate to the audience between songs. Mr. Scott has also played with Wings (Listen To What The Man Said), Rod Stewart (Da Ya Think I'm Sexy) and Blondie (Rapture); he's just an inspiring player who's played some ferociously memorable solos. On Wednesday, he played some really hot alto.

All right, this is post number 199. Gotta have something good for the next one, huh? Well, I'm off to the dentist. Hope no more teeth fall out of my head. Then, it's a Saturday, it's a Saturday. What to do?!

Love, Power, Peace

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