Marion's Blog

19th Birthday Party for 100.1 The X - Stones for Bones

Reno has a great local FM radio station KTHX branded as 100.1 The X. The X has been in Reno for 19 years. Last night they celebrated their birthday  by having a concert for charity. Stones For Bones featured 19 local bands, one for each year The X has been in business. Each band played a different Rolling Stones song.The concert benefited The Nevada Opera, The Reno Chamber Orchestra, and The Washoe County School District's "Music In Schools" program.

 

It was a great concert. You would think that with 19 bands it would drag but you really have to give credit to the people who organized the show. It moved quickly and was fun! In addition to the bands there were also a couple of Rolling Stones songs performed by people from The Reno Chamber Orchestra and The Nevada Opera. There was even a performance of  You Can't Always Get What You Want by a choir from a local elementary school with the opera singers and the chamber orchestra.  They all seemed to be having a great time and the audience loved it. To hear kids, opera singers, and violins playing The Rollings Stones was funny and great!

Not only was the music great but the whole event was just plain fun. Reno has always had a great music culture. It started back when every casino had an orchestra and it continues today. All 19 bands in this concert were good and some of them were great. It sounded like what was happening back stage was amazing too with the musicians connecting, talking, and generally having a good time. The audience of 500 filled the Nugget show room and we had great time too.

Wow!!

If you want a feel good experience this morning watch this YouTube video. All I can say is wow!

Rachel Z at Yoshi's

Last Monday night Duke and I went to see Department of Good & Evil featuring Rachel Z at Yoshi's. It was the CD release party for their new CD named the same as the group name. What a talented trio. Rachel's piano playing just dazzled me. Maeve Royce  who played the acoustic bass and Bobbie Rae who played the drums were fantastic too.

I wish I was a more educated music listener. One of my favorites of the pieces that they played was an arrangement of Sting’s “King of Pain”. Unfortunately I can't remember the original or if I have ever heard it. I certainly enjoyed the performance Monday night and now I want to listen to the Sting song.

Many of the one night stands that we have been to at Yoshis have been awesome. They are usually not sold out so the feeling is very intimate and I often discover something new to me and very special.  Rachel Z is exactly that.

Yoshi's concerts

In the last couple of weeks we saw two great concerts at Yoshi's. In some ways they were opposites of each other but what they had in common was how much I enjoyed them.

On Tuesday, March 6 we saw Sean Jones. He is 28 and the lead trumpeter with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. I think all of the guys playing with him were younger than him and in fact a couple of them were still in school but wow! what talent. He only played for one night and it wasn't sold out but it was clear that he is on the way up. It was wonderful to hear.

Last Sunday, March 11 we  got to see  Stanley Clark. His Yoshi's bio said:

" Bassist, composer, arranger, producer, bandleader and film score composer, Stanley Clarke is one of the most celebrated bass players in the world. For over thirty years, Clarke has received virtually every honor - including a Grammy, seven Grammy nominations and three Emmy nominations. He was voted Best Bassist by Playboy for 10 consecutive years and is a member of Guitar Player's "Gallery of Greats."

Clark played for 2 shows a night for four nights and all the shows were sold out. I've never seen anyone play like him. Part of the time he played the bass like a guitar. The energy level and the music transported me. He is 55 . It was clear that I was in the presence of greatness.

Yoshi's, What I am Reading, and Charlie Rose - An hour with Michael Crichton

We went to Yoshi's last night to hear Don Byron. He had a sextet and he played the saxophone and the clarinet.  It was a great show. I really enjoyed it. Duke is a volunteer driver for Yoshi's and we get free tickets when he drives musicians to the airport. He Just left to drive Don Byron.

Before we went to the show last night we watched Michael Chrichton on Charlie Rose. It was a very interesting interview - One of the best I have seen. Coincidentally I just picked up Michael Chrichton's book Travels  from the library.

I usually am reading more than one book at a time. Right now I am two thirds of the way through Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris and I have just started Team of Rivals by Doris Hearns Goodwin which I am reading for my non fiction books club. In addition my light reading is Simple Living by Frank Levering and Wanda Urbanska. I've read it before but I like to reread books I have enjoyed.

                 

A wide-ranging hour-long conversation with author Michael Crichton.  His latest book is "Next".