MTO @ Drom 7/31/08

Boy did I miss them! I used to see them at least every couple of months. This is another always great show. I had my usual dancing spot at Drom and had a great time.

I hadn't seen Doug Weiselman is so long! He is awesome. I've been into clarinets lately and it was so nice to see him.

Right before his arrangement of Darling Niki, Steven almost always tells us how many strings are on the stage. The other night we had 14 wonderful ones: Charlie Burnham on violin, Ben Allison on bass, and Matt Munisteri on guitar.

Erik Lawrence was blown away amazing. I loved him on baritone sax. Steven kept informing us that Erik just got back from Tanzania. If he was jet lagged, I certainly couldn't tell. He also just got a new soprano, and there was one number with him and Weiselman really doing it up. There was a moment with the baritone that was more like a religious experience for me.

I can't remember the trombone's name, but he was awesome. He was the only one I'm not familiar with.

Ben Perowsky! He had me most of the night.

I almost forgot to mention Peter Apfelbaum. I think that's it, but I could be forgetting someone.

The set went for 2 hours. That was so cool. They need to play around here more often. Steven seemed to like Drom, so hopefully they'll do more there.

There is one downside that the acoustics are so good. There were these 2 girls that came to join their friends just as the music was starting. It was a table of 6 or 7 and the 3 girls talked pretty loudly and basically ignored the music. The other people they were with were really into the music and people would at times try to get them to quiet down. The entire rest of the place was completely into the music. The 2 girls finally left after an hour and some of us were visibly very happy. Then their friend who stayed with the others became a listener and was quiet and paying attention.

This is why I often don't bring people to music. They have to be really into it and kind of know what they are getting into. It's easier at jazz clubs because it's obvious there's no talking there. But, other places, you have to be careful who you bring if you are serious about the show as they could really mess it up. Another reason is I can get sucked into conversing even though I'm violently opposed to it. It's hard not to talk to this fun person when you get sucked into conversation. I understand how it happens.