Reno cultcha

I haven't been busy getting anything real done, but I have gotten quite a bit of cultcha this weekend, comparatively.

Thursday night Matt's buddy who thinks he's going to be a promoter now successfully pulled off a show at a tiny venue in a sketchy neighborhood. However, it was this guy:



Who is an amazing gypsy jazz guitarist with an amazing band and despite Matt's buddy's failure to do ANY promotion or even figure out a hotel room for the band, the evening went very well. Matt hired security guys to work the door and ran around being helpful all night, and I just got dressed up and looked pretty and enjoyed the music.

Friday night I finally saw Watchmen, which my justify its own post. In short, it was extremely well done and having read it, I was conveniently able to look away from the nastiest violence. The sex scenes weren't as obnoxious as I was led to expect (ahem, 300, I'm looking at you) and they were able to keep an impressive number of the plots together. That said, the female characters were incredibly poorly acted, especially compared with the great jobs that Jackie Earle Haley and Patrick Wilson did. Also, they could have cut a decent amount of the slow-motion sex and violence and been able to put in a lot more of the regular joe storylines. That was what I felt the major flaw was - the book spends time with a lot of minor characters like the prison psychiatrist and his wife, the people at the newsstand etc. so you really feel the bleakness when (SPOILER!) they're all blown up at the end. When you don't see nay regular New Yorkers, you don't realize the destruction and how it brings together the warring world powers.

Then Saturday I had my camera class on how to get more out of my fancy camera I inherited from my dad. It was great, I can do so much more with it now! I can't wait for things to start looking nicer outside so I can go practice my depth of field on some plants!

And Saturday night we went and saw the Reno Chamber Orchestra. Not normally a group I would be inclined to support (chamber orchestras have no low brass - that means, no trombones, and NO TUBAS! God only knows what they're thinking with that). However, they had a guest soloist named Edgar Meyer, who is one of the greatest living bass players out there today.



They opened with a strings-only Stravinsky piece that really showcased their weaknesses a little too well, but then Edgar Meyer did his solos - a Bottesini double bass concerto and his own double bass concerto. They finished with a respectable Mozart Symphony, the "Prague". This and the Meyer concerto were even better because at least they had some winds for them - it makes a huge difference in a room of screechy strings when you add some woodwinds and trumpets and horns. It adds depth to the sound and when some of the winds are better musicians (I think) than the excessive number of violins it really makes a difference. So the last number was respectable, and the two concertos were spectacular. That man is an absolute genius. And that is the only reason Matt came with me. I like classical music, and I still wouldn't normally go see these guys. However, if I ever have a chance to go see Edgar Meyer again I will be at the head of the line with my checkbook.