Carolina in my Mind

I couldn't resist the urge to name this one after the famous James Taylor song. I love his songs. Go ahead, make fun of me!

I'm writing from Milwaukee, and since the last time I blogged, we've played in Detroit and North Carolina. I was thinking that maybe Detroit would surprise me the way Cleveland did, but...wow. It's sad to see a city like that. Much of it looked abandoned and worn down, and it just didn't have the people-walking-around factor that a great city should. It was an experience of contrasts. We stayed in the MGM Grand, which is a very nice hotel, but very artificially so, with a casino on the first floor. Everything around the hotel looks pretty run down, but there were certainly a lot of people in the casino! In fact, in the casino and at the concert are where I saw the most people at any point while I was in Detroit.

The concert hall, which is where the DSO plays, was really beautiful. The house was packed and the audience was very enthusiastic. The reception afterward was special because of the people's gratitude. They were really grateful for our music and our presence there, and they said that our concert had been their best seller of the year. Even though this was obviously a formal concert, there was a really beautiful feeling of service afterward, which I wasn't expecting.

Next stop was Chapel Hill, NC. What a difference! Chapel Hill is a happening little college town with a LOT of school pride and a relaxed Southern feel (at least from my perspective of having spent virtually zero time in the south). Also a LOT of humidity... The food there was great - I had fried chicken the first night, eggs, bacon and grits for breakfast the next day, and catering before the show was some surprisingly good (surprising to me, at least) Indian food. The energy at the show was great, and I was happy that my family came out to see that one, on my parents' 30th wedding anniversary! Happy anniversary! (I know they'll be reading this...). Though I wasn't unhappy with my playing, I didn't feel it was my strongest playing of the tour, but on the whole the ensemble played very well that night.

At the donor reception afterward, Yo-Yo was asked to speak. He began by telling everyone that he was there with the catering, and proceeded to tell us about the great food that he had prepared earlier that day just for us! But joking aside, he went on to say some very nice things about the concert series and the venue, and I could tell that the chancellor and the people who had presented the show were touched by his words. I feel like I can learn a lot from the way he speaks - he is able to give ample compliments without it feeling overly emotional or contrived, weave humor into the things he says, and all with zero planning! It's a great skill to have as a musician, as it is impossible to be successful without understanding the non-musical aspects of this field very well.

Anyway, we're playing at the Pabst Hall in Milwaukee tonight, which I'm certain is named after the Pabst Brewing Company. Good old PBR! Drink of hipsters and old guys. Milwaukee is pretty nice, I walked down to Lake Michigan yesterday and saw much of the downtown. There was live music happening on this river that flows through town, people congregating and walking around, and a nice feeling to the city overall. Great Thai food, too. I miss the hospitality of North Carolina, though. When we arrived at the hotel, we were given a packet which included information about the city, places to eat, the upcoming concerts, and emergency contacts. Someone affiliated with the concert series even gave us their cell phone number in case we needed anything! And then shortly after arriving at my room, I recieved a call from the front desk welcoming me and offering help if I needed anything! That's hospitality!