Rhi and Benner at the symphony

Rhi and I love music of all sorts. But one area where we--I particularly--feel like our expertise and experience is lacking is symphonic music. I have been wanting to expand my love and appreciation for it recently, so what a great blessing that one of my bosses just out of the blue offered us a pair of tickets to go see the LA Philharmonic at Walt Disney Concert Hall.





The building itself is wonderful, designed by Frank Gehry. Even the escalators up from the parking garage are gorgeous.





Then we got inside the concert hall. We were there to see "Adés Conducts Adés," which means Thomas Adés was conducting some music he wrote. This was the view from our seats:




(We run out of pictures at this point because an usher came up and said we weren't allowed to take pictures. Woops!)

I don't think either of us had ever seen a concert from this POV before, and it was an amazing experience. It was so much fun to hear the sounds and pick out which musician was making them, particularly when--during one piece--there was a lone mandolin player hidden in a sea of violinists. Adés' music is also very percussion heavy and really utilized just about every percussive instrument available. So it was fun to watch the ten percussionists running around the back row, dodging one another, clanging cymbals and bells and tympani.

The music itself was interesting, in a very good way. It was evocative and seemed like it was very much trying to rattle people. Very modern, save for the last piece which was written by an Italian composer in the late-1800's whose name escapes me. It was a wonderful night for us to get away from the couch, and we very much appreciate my boss' generosity.

BLOTWMWWAFP™ No. 3: Old Stuff

Remember when I started doing something called Benner's List of Things We'll Miss While We're Away From Philadelphia™? Yeah I didn't remember either, which is why I stopped after two entries. However, my Philadelphia nostalgia has recently been rekindled and I am back with a new entry about old stuff.

When we first moved to Los Angeles, it was almost alarming to see how new it all is. Everything from apartment buildings to office buildings to houses have the shininess of something that was built in the past decade or two. Everything is so new, in fact, that the definition of "old" is seriously compromised.

Like when we took our first look at the apartment building we now call home. The landlord showed us our modern unit, complete with central air and heating and a fairly new kitchen, and he said, "It's a pretty old building, built in 1973."

"Huh," we said, thinking about what we called home in Philly: an old inn with a rich legacy that was converted into apartments. There were no modern amenities, no central air or heat, just classic architecture, a storied history involving the underground railroad and blankets to keep us warm at night. "Our last apartment building was built in 1797. But 1973 is pretty old, too."

It is my theory that newness isn't really so much a matter of historical context out here in LA, as it is a state of mind. Compare Philadelphia City Hall (completed 1901) to Los Angeles City Hall (completed 1928) for instance. There's only a difference of 27 years, but look at the difference of style:

Los Angeles City Hall, very modern looking

Philadelphia City Hall, looking like it was built in 1200 AD

People out here just like their stuff new. And even though our tastes trend towards modern architecture, I think it's fair to say that we miss the inherent history in our surroundings. Back in Philly, just having a pint in a bar meant that you were probably in a building that was at least 100 years old and played some part in Philadelphia's history. If you're in a bar in LA, chances are it was torn down and rebuilt sometime in the past five or ten years.

But I guess that's just part of the collective LA brain: if it's not new, it's not great. Which is nice at times, since things are cleaner and more cutting edge. There's a lot more interesting and risky architecture, and more of an emphasis on artistry than you'll find back east.

But sometimes you kind of just want to go somewhere that was designed and built by people who lived long ago and be a part of that history. And Philadelphia, we miss you for that.

BLOTWMWWAFP™ so far:
1. Phillies Games
2. Action News Theme Song
3. Old Stuff