The day began with me writing a blog post, much like I’m
doing now. I rarely have the need or the ability to write two posts in one day,
but I think today has the right to be explained right now.
My Mother and I have had plans for a while now to see Rajaton
perform with the Minnesota Orchestra. The name Rajaton- pronounced RAH-ya-ton,
meaning “boundless” in Finnish- perfectly describes the a cappella group’s eclectic
style. I directly plagiarized that. I had none of those thoughts as I was
listening to their music. More on that later.
I had made reservations at Hell’s Kitchen in Minneapolis for
brunch which turned out to be a good idea because the waiting list was an hour
and a half long. They also had live music which, in my ears, was very good for
bluegrass. The food was a solid 8. The only things that knocked it down were
that it came out too quickly, and it was not up to temp. As a starter, I
ordered a cup of the Mahnomen Porridge. Native-harvested, hand-parched wild
rice, heavy cream, roasted hazelnuts, blueberries, cranberries, and pure maple
syrup. Fuck me. One of the best, if not unlikely, combinations I’ve ever eaten.
Strangely, it came out two minutes after our food, which we had ordered five
minutes after I put my order in for the cup. Whatever. I ordered the crab cake Benedict which, as I said, came out too quickly to be fresh, but the flavors
were there, as well as the desired textures of a properly cooked crab cake. Good
food and music, I will go back.
We walked through a Target store monstrosity where we looked
at things that we did not need, and moseyed on toward Orchestra Hall. We
arrived about an hour ahead of schedule so we sat around and people watched for
a while, a favorite amusement of mine. The lights flickered, and it was time to
take our seats.
I helped the fine people of Target create words with the random assortment of light-up letters they left me. I am so creative!
Very blue, as I stated above.
Smaller, and much bluer than I expected, Orchestra Hall
appeared to be filled to capacity in anticipation of hearing one of the best
albums of all time, Sargent Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The orchestra was
tuned, the lights were lowered, and the important people came in, so we
clapped. The “conductor” was an Asian woman. Not a very stereotypical Asian
though, as she spoke perfect English and quite oddly, wove around only one
chopstick which appeared to intimidate the band. Every time she waved it in
their direction, their gasps could be heard through their instruments. I don’t
know how it all works, but it was kind of neat.
Now, imagine if you will, six Andy Bernard’s. No, five of
those and a David Brent, from the British version of the Office. That’s what
Rajaton was. Now, imagine if you will, being trapped in an elevator for two
hours with these guys where they turn the world’s greatest music into swing
jazz, all lead by a well-bred Asian wielding a chopstick. That’s what I
endured. Don’t worry, I’m okay.
I cannot say it was all bad. Their a cappella version of
Eleanor Rigby was comparable in its own way to the Beatles. They are famous for
a reason, and they do have great voices, they just weren’t John and Paul. The
orchestra behind them was great, but again, they only followed the true music
of the Beatles a few times.
The second set, after the intermission, was made up of
several of the greatest hits. If there’s one thing I dislike about cover bands,
or bands, it’s their greatest hits. I would love to have heard A Northern Song,
Something, or just the orchestra play Flying. Songs that changed my mind about
music when I was very young, and lead me to much greater music than Dr. Dre and
Eazy-E, although they still have a place in my heart.
Overall, the day was a great one. We had been looking forward
to this for a while. The original idea, of course, was squashed by my agents
when they put me on restriction for a month the day before we were to celebrate
my mom’s birthday by going to see a different show. It’s all behind me now, and
I look forward to trying many new things that these cities have to offer.
This is the first chance I've had in six months to dress up and go out. I'm looking forward to finding somebody to do things like this with more often (no offense, Mom.)
