Providence never ceases to bore me. Maybe it's because I spent my senior year of high school not in Barrington, and went to college in Boston that I seriously missed out on the nightlife. Since I've been frequenting Providence more often, I've spent a few nights at The Whiskey Republic, formerly known as the Fish Company. There's a deck outside with a good view of the city and it's right on the water, so I'll definitely be coming back for the summer. We got there before the music (and cover charge) started and found a table in the back where we met up with some friends who were leaving pretty early. Because we're all intelligent and mature adults, I'll leave out the part where we played truth or dare and laughed really hard at our own antics. We met up with some more friends, the DJ started and we danced the night away.
Then I arrived in Boston.
If you're ever in the mood for some jazz, I very highly recommend Wally's Jazz Club. It's located on Mass Ave, pretty close to the orange line stop. It was my first time there, and I suggest getting there early (close to 9), because by 9:30 it was packed. My friend and I squished our way up to the front (luckily we are both small) and we were nice and close to the band. After a few tunes, the people right next to us at the bar left and we got some awesome seats. They have a good selection of beers and mixed drinks, not to expensive, and there was no cover. It goes without saying that the band was incredible, but I'm saying it anyway. A good friend of mine is a jazz sax player and they played a set of all his music, plus a few tunes written by the guitar player and it was mind blowingly awesome.
After a few days of practicing, going to the gym, and a few casual hangs I saw Zero Dark Thirty. I just finished reading No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission that Killed Osama Bin Laden. I understand that both the book and the film are surrounded by controversy, and I'm not here to argue what I think is right and wrong. All I am saying is that both the book and the movie (the movie is not based on the book) were both well done, and that I think it was one of the best movies that I have ever seen, and will see for a while.
A few more words on a few more fun things...Monday night bowling at Kings. Super fun. While waiting for a lane, we played skee ball, where I owned everyone and held the high score...until some dude who we were waiting for came at the end and beat me by 20 points. Kings was having a New Year's Eve promotion, so we got an awesome sparkly hat, and whoever was skee balling/bowling had to wear the hat (obviously). At midnight there was a countdown and we all said "Happy New Year!" Which was really weird and anticlimactic. We clinked glasses and awkwardly wished each other a happy new year, even though it's been 2013 for a week and a half now...but we were still fabulous. In bowling I came in second...to last. I own duckpin bowling, but royally stink at normal real people bowling. The next day my voice was a little hoarse, since we cheered and high-fived everyone no matter what they rolled. Example: "Alright Celine! Woohoo! You got a ball in each gutter!" It was a very supportive crowd.
Last night we celebrated the birth of one of my very good friends who I've known for about 5 years now. I was coming from Harvard where I was subbing with my old youth orchestra, and met up with everyone at Korean Garden in Allston. We had some delicious Korean barbecue fare, and I ate a lot of things that were really good, but pretty much had no idea what I was ingesting most of the time. Then we stopped in at a local liquor store before arriving at our final destination: Jin Karaoke. I couldn't find a website for this place, but it is seriously serious about karaoke. First off, you go with a group of friends and you get your own room, complete with couches, a TV, microphones, and two huge books of Korean/Japanese/American pop songs. Secondly, it's about $40 an hour, and with 5 people, it turned out to be about $7 a person. This was my third time here, and we usually BYOB. We sang the typical Barbie song, some Lonely Island, Nicki Minaj, and Ke$ha...but then we also sang weird things like Eye of the Tiger and Danny Boy. The last song of the night was of course Gangnam Style, with the dance. Of course!
But it's not all fun and games. I should also mention that I've been working really hard in the practice room. On top of re-learning Mahler 1, a wicked hard wind ensemble piece, assorted chamber works, and solo rep for my recital, I'm getting some more excerpts under my belt. And that includes the formidable Daphnis et Chloe excerpt:
It's actually not that bad, but it's on almost every orchestral audition. The audition is in less than a month, but it's totally doable. I've been thinking while writing this post what I should include musically. I was thinking of putting an excerpt for Mahler 1, since we're playing that in orchestra right now. I have so many good memories involving that symphony, mainly because we played it all throughout our China tour. And then I played it again while studying at New England Conservatory. Even though this is my third time playing this symphony, I'll never get tired of it. So many times during our first rehearsal I smiled at all the beautiful parts, fondly remembering our trek through a foreign country, and perhaps some trouble that we got into along the way :)
I think that I'll end with Daphnis though, so you can hear what the above picture actually sounds like. I'll do a big Mahler post later. Have a fantastic weekend everyone.
Here is Seiji Ozawa conducting a gorgeous and thrilling piece of music. Enjoy.
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