What a place to see one of my all time favorite contemporary music groups. Eighth Blackbird played the National Gallery 2.16.20, and the show was free. As always, the group featured brand new music from living composers, including: Nina Shekhar, Fjóla Evans, Andy Akiho, Holly Harrison, David Lang, Viet Cuong, Jonathan Bailey Holland, and Julius Eastman. This show included some ringers in for violin, flute, and clarinet.
Lisa Kaplan, fearless leader and director of eighth blackbird
My favorite set was the second, and my favorite piece was Viet Cuoug’s Electric Aroma (2017),
The most precious thing in the museum was Cora, of course.
Cora does contemporary
The setting (no pictures or recording during the show)
After the concert, there were a few minutes for art.
Then it was out and on the metro for cocktails and dinner at Baba.
For the penultimate Proton Tuesday, we celebrated at the Columbia Room (which is turning 10 not too long from now). Craft cocktails are curative. There was also Manifesto before zapping.
Hirshhorn
The best museum hot chocolate evah
Manifesto
Entranced and entrancing
ZAP
Corduroy (on a whim)
The Columbia Room
Happy Birthday Columbia Room
Course one from the days of yore
Yay!
Popcorn with truffle
Chartreuse (green and definitely good for you)
scallop
The fog
You have no idea how good this duck BBQ is. OMG.
Happy Birthday!
Proton Tuesday Alive
Other Proton Tuesdays included: the Portrait Museum and Fiola Mare as well as the Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy, car buying, and Jojo Rabbit. Love you Spool.
There were three of them. The setting was intimate at Club Cafe. Negronis were available. Seating was not.
Ye olde van carpool crew
Krisin opened up with an interesting guitar song that involved intentionally bending chords on an acoustic. After that song, all bets were off WRT tuning. Who needs tuning for an intimate acoustic set? EVERYONE. EVERYONE MUST TUNE.
(please tune)
Grant-lee joined in and tuning became mandatory. This also allowed for some breathing. Grant-lee is charismatic and fun to watch but about as deep as a puddle.
Duo to go
Picture picture for Em
John Doe was fantastic. Thank the stars for a poet singer like him.
John Doe
Hells yes on a great Pittsburgh Sunday night. So good to see Alisa and Greg!!
A trip to Falling Water has been on my wish list for years. Though I knew a fair amount about Frank Lloyd Wright and the house itself from studying architecture, I was not prepared for the power of the building itself. Just incredible. The way nature integrates with the structure filling all of your senses is stunning.
This visit was life affirming in all the ways. Part of a perfect day.
Four years is the blink of an eye for this Shinto Shrine in Kyoto since it has been here for over 1300 years. A previous visit was pre-Fall in 2015. This visit happened at the height of Fall in Japan.
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