Night Time Sharpens

So I’ve had about a few weeks off in-between writing and that meant I had some time to go out and play. "Suffer local, enjoy somewhere else” is my motto. First up was a trip to Los Angeles to see the LA Philharmonic. I’ve never actually seen anything at the Walt Disney Concert Hall I realized recently, and made it an immediate must-rectify. So I gathered up some friends who would be free on a Thursday night — aka people without regular jobs — and off we went to see "Beethoven: Piano Concerts 4&5.” I hadn’t realized that you could sit behind the musicians underneath the organ in special orchestra view seats where you face the conductor. That will have to the next thing I try out.

A friend in New York has been hitting up musicals and shows left and right, after never really going to them, and I have been eagerly awaiting his reviews on everything. He goes to them mostly solo and has been absolutely loving it. I told him that he should expand his intake to include some stuff at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. My god sister actually plays harp for the Boston Orchestra and its a damn shame that we’ve never actually seen her play there. Another thing to get to. I mean, no need to watch the Celtics minus Kyrie anymore right? Ha.

This slight resurgence in classical music owes much to a visit to see our friend sing with his new choral group in Torrance. They did Brahms' "A German Requiem, Op. 45" and George and I made a whole half-day of it, which was our big day out in March because well, deadlines and children, respectively. The day afterwards I watched the local Poway Symphony Orchestra with a friend’s family. The PSO played some very recognizable tunes but were decidedly off-key, owing to its very amateur status. (My friend’s wife pointed out later that there were no auditions required to join the Poway Symphony, which means if I pick my flute back up, I got a shot to get in.) All this reinvigorated my interest in symphonies and such so c’mon, let’s go to more!

For those wondering, there’s a specific explainer for the difference between an orchestra, symphony, and philharmonic. The short answer is: just say “orchestra” if there are any instruments involved.

• The Difference Between Chamber, Philharmonic, And Symphony Orchestra
• The Best Seats in the Walt Disney Concert Hall (2009)
• LA Phil: Beethoven: Piano Concertos 4 & 5
• Joanna Medawar Nachef Singers

I also hit up the Broad Museum and the MOCA downtown branch while waiting for the concert. I’d not been to either and realized that I haven’t visited any LA museums in years, probably since somewhat regular visits to the Getty. When I’m anywhere else, one of the first things I do is head for museums. I guess I’ve just been overlooking everything in my semi-backyard. The Broad was actually a bit disappointing, as I hadn’t realized it was just one family’s collection basically. Interesting building but it’s also mostly just a giant storage unit and most of the art inside was quite, well, broad and so-so. The MOCA was very small but slightly better, but I think I need to hit the LACMA next.

My faith in random people karaoke was restored the next night. Usually in LA I go to Max Karaoke in either Santa Monica or Chinatown but they are decidedly low budget and very sparse. The Chinatown location doesn’t even serve alcohol anymore, which was a major limiting factor for some people. So instead my friend audibled to Star Karaoke in K-Town, which was a major boon to the night’s success.

I realized one day that with all the karaoke I do I should really be more organized about it. So I started making a spreadsheet of songs that are good for groups, and the genius idea I had was to add tags. So far it’s just a beginning but I’ll be doing some deep research and evaluating individual tracks across three important factors: tempo, difficulty, feeling. Tags include notes like “banned, cut at chorus, deep cut, duet, enders, need a great voice, etc.” I’m sure I’ll be making a separate post with my findings. I think my destiny is to write a book about Asian karaoke. Well, maybe it’ll just be a pamphlet. Either way, I desperately need to codify all my karaoke rules, tips, and suggestions.

As an unofficial private room karaoke ambassador, my basic rules for karaoke are these:

1. Enter and push all the tables to the edges of the room. Nothing I hate more than a static table in the middle of the room.
2. Any songs with long repeating choruses need to be cut quickly. (Most pop songs basically.) I am very ruthless if the energy drags. Cut, cut, cut!
3. Group karaoke is best thought of as also a dance party. Keep the energy high, or at least make sure the crowd is feeling it. When in doubt, refer to rule number two.

This night restored my faith in strangers as a whole as the disparate group of friends, friends of friends, friends of friends of friends came together for an incredible time. People brought their A-game and were full of excellent surprises. The room at Star was fantastic too, with a long U-shaped booth area for the food, dual screens front and back, and an open area for dancing up front. After a few lackluster group karaoke sessions recently, I had thought that the magic was gone, but now I believe again. I welcome all new friends, but only if you come bearing a microphone.

The last thing we did in LA was to watch Booksmart, which I quite liked but didn’t love since I was no fan of Superbad. Still, it was an enjoyable watch and I love that this was Olivia Wilde's directorial debut. Please watch this movie because it is tanking at the box office and that means America hates books and teens.

Next up: Baby shower in the Bay...