Anyway, I once again had the pleasure last weekend of traveling through America's heartland, all the way down to Iowa City, and then skittering eastward to beautiful Champaign, Illinois. "Beautiful" may be a rare term when describing Champaign, but beauty, after all, is in the eye of the beholder. Given that, I may not be the beholder. However, that doesn't eliminate the fact that good friends live there, and in particular, a good friend giving a masters trombone recital. Plus, the promise of free bagels and coffee. Never, ever, give up free bagels and coffee.
The dulcet, velvety tone of the trombone is a topic long familiar with regular readers, so I'll spare you the sermon. We all know it's the cello of the brass family anyway. Given that, it is always quite the experience to witness someone you know do something extremely well, and it is particularly special when a very important friend is the someone you know. That, of course, was the focus of the weekend, and it did not disappoint. Champaign is quite a skip away from Minnesota (did I mention 9 hours?), but this was a trip far worthwhile.
The recital was given in an absolutely stunning old recital hall on the University of Illinois - the kind of place that makes one think, "this is where Music is played." The music itself was jolting in its excellence - I had heard said friend play before, but I don't think I quite grasped the depth of the mastery he had achieved on the trombone. It was fantastic from a programmatic standpoint, from a technical standpoint, and most importantly, from a musical standpoint. Absolutely superlative - I found myself transfixed during the final piece, mesmerized by a combination of pride, happiness, and sheer entertainment. After all, in the end, what is music if it doesn't engage the listener? Probably a string concert (ba dum ching).
Look at that tie bar! I bet some fancy-schmancy Twin Cities pseudo-sartorialist gave the Master the idea to wear that! Definitely completes the ensemble.
Anyways, in all seriousness, for whatever it's worth, and for whatever capacity I have, I was very proud, and I can only hope I can do some pithy legal activity with the same level of skill.
Far from being an excuse to listen to trombone music, the trip was a long-overdue reason to escape the noise and bustle of the Twin Cities for a weekend, and see old and important friends. I needed to forget about arbitration for a while, to not have Redfern/Hunter in my backseat. I just needed to get away, and if I wasn't going to Fort Myers to see my Twins play, this was the next best thing. All things considered, and all pride swallowed, maybe it was even the best thing. I think the Twins understand - they know as well as anyone that loyalty is the most important thing.
I'm sure I'm leaving tales and conversations out, but that's what happens when it's 11:30 at night and you're falling asleep. In a nutshell, I learned where not to eat in Iowa City, why a glam/emo-bass/drum rock duo is possibly the worst idea ever, and why functional humans don't make a habit out of eating an entire bag of Haribo gummy bears in 10 minutes. I learned that people are good at the trombone, but even if you aren't quite so good, you can still enjoy playing it as best you can. I learned to never underestimate the entertainment value of a giant squid knitted out of old sweaters. And of course, sometimes (oftentimes?) the best vacation is just to see good friends, even given approximately $100k in diesel gasoline expences.
Although gratis fajitas and tiny Coronas do help...
Free food, free music, free couch, free drinks.... sounds like all you had to do was burn sequestered CO2. Not a shabby weekend!
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