Thursday, December 31, 2009

Christmas Cheer & Looking to the New Year

Though I somewhat bemoaned the disappearance of holidays, and Christmas specifically, in my last blog entry, I definitely had quite a bit of Christmas cheer this December (even if it wasn't on Christmas day).

So here's a post to capture all that happened this December, including a bit of Christmas cheer.

During the first break (the first week of December), I achieved a goal I set for myself: to run a half-marathon!


I ran it in 2:03:54, and am definitely pleased with my performance, especially considering it was my first time ever having run that far!

Then we went on tour for five days to play Christmas shows in Maryland and Georgia. A pretty uneventful five days, but touring nonetheless.

And then came the most wonderful vacation: 4 days in New York City! I flew up to the city, which I've only been to once previously, to spend some time hanging out with some old friends and seeing all sorts of incredible performances. Here's my trip in some pictures and captions.

With Phil, one of my two roommates from the Killington Music Festival in 2007, with whom I stayed while in NYC.

At Cirque du Soleil's "Wintuk" at Madison Square Garden. Alicia Enstrom, a former violinist in Barrage, is the violinist for this show--and the only musician who makes an appearance onstage!

The view into the audience from Alicia's "pit" box (the pit orchestra is located above the audience on both sides of the theatre).

With Alicia in her make-up during intermission!

With Alicia, Hidayat, and Annette at a coffee shop somewhere in Manhattan.

The Metropolitan Opera in Lincoln Center.

With my friend Matt after seeing "Hansel & Gretl" at the Met.

With Travers, my friend and roommate from two scholarship programs I attended in high school. I hadn't seen Travers in nearly 6 years!

The Christmas tree (from Arizona!) at Rockefeller Center!

For my final day there, the third roommate from Killington, Ryan, came down from Connecticut for a complete roommate reunion! It was by sheer luck that the three of us were grouped together at Killington for 6 weeks because we all just happened to be 20 at the time. They were basically the most wonderful random roommates anyone could ask for, so this roommate reunion had been in discussion for quite some time.

After stopping by Rockefeller Center, the three of us went to Serendipity III to have their world-famous "frozen hot chocolate."

Ryan is, as you can tell, quite excited by his drink.

Phil was the only one to successfully finish the entire drink.

I got about 3/4 of the way through and immediately went into a food coma. Defeat.

All in all, it was an incredibly amazing December, marked by lots of fun and time with friends and family.

-----

We just finished a week of shows at the Lyric Theatre in Stuart, FL, run by John Loesser, son of Frank Loesser, the famous Broadway composer, director, and playwright (perhaps most famously, "Guys and Dolls"). It's been wonderful being down here in Stuart again--the crew, the intimate facility, and the audiences have all been absolutely fantastic.

Tomorrow, January 1st, 2010, we'll be kicking off the new decade by flying to Amsterdam for a month-long tour in the Netherlands and Belgium. I can't wait!

Have a safe and happy New Year's!

...and this concludes my final post...for the decade.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

A Very Curry Christmas

Yesterday's holiday provides a fantastic opportunity to mention another weird phenomenon of life on the road--missing holidays. I've now "missed" two Thanksgivings, 4ths of July, and you can pretty much add this year's Christmas to the list as well.

Early yesterday (Christmas) morning, we all flew to Florida, and arrived in Stuart, where we'll be playing Christmas shows for the last few days of this year/decade. It was surprisingly hectic at the airport, and relatively hitch-free because weather in Arizona and Florida is so mild.

Upon arriving, Jason, Kristina and I drove to Stuart and celebrated what is generally referred to as a "Jewish Christmas": dinner at an Asian restaurant (because they're always open) and a movie.

To make the meal more festive, I ordered a Christmas-colored dish: Red Curry (which has green bell peppers).
Nothing says "Christmas" like solving puzzles and mysteries...thanks, Sherlock!

All in all, it wasn't nearly as odd missing Christmas as I thought it would be... Granted, I did get Christmas Eve with my family, and we just bumped our normal activities up a day (so our Eve was the 23rd), but it's definitely pretty lame not being home. Oh well.

Fortunately, I took a vacation in NYC from Dec. 13th-16th (about which I'll post in the next few days), and it definitely helped to fill my quota of Christmas cheer!

Off to the Lyric Theatre for today's first show back on the road. Happy holidays to you and yours, and have a wonderful last few days of this decade!

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Montreal: The very definition of "je ne sais quoi."

Right now I'm at Terminal 84 in the Montreal Airport, waiting for my flight back home to depart in a little under 2 hours. I just ate a $15 "grilled chicken" sandwich at some restaurant in the terminal. I write that in quotes because what I experienced between the rather nice French bread was certainly nothing I'd ever proudly call "grilled chicken," had I been the cook...unless the metric for "grilled chicken" is tough and rubbery...

So I went to Second Cup (Canada's version of Starbucks/Seattle's Best) and ordered a latte. Hopefully this will help to hold me over till my layover in Chicago, where I'll get a real sandwich from Potbelly's. [Sign That You Spend Too Much Time in Airports #37: When you know at which restaurants you'll eat in different airports.]

We've been in Ontario and Quebec this past week, and have had an absolutely unbelievable time here. Yesterday--with the exception of the day off in Toronto--was definitely the highlight. We all took the train into Montreal for the afternoon prior to our shows. Jason, Kiana, Tim, Kristina and I went down into "Old Montreal" to check out the sights (it was recommended to us as "the place to see" if you've not been to Montreal before). Our excursion didn't have the greatest beginning, because we really had no idea where to go after getting off the train. But then it ended up being such an unexpectedly fantastic afternoon! We walked past the Notre-Dame Basilica of Montreal, and even stumbled across some copies of famous American sculpture/artwork...

Tim shows us what love looks like.

We eventually ended up on Rue Saint-Paul, the main drag in Old Montreal. Unsure of where to eat lunch, we somehow ended up in what is, apparently, the most happening crepe joint in Old Montreal, as evidenced by the massive line when we left. Having had quite a few crepes in my travels, I think I can safely say that the apple, brie, and Canadian maple syrup crepe I had from Chez Suzette is the best crepe I've ever had.

Rue Saint-Paul

A poor photo attempting to display the view from our corner window table.


In our last few minutes before heading back to the train station, we came upon a hilarious street performer. The funniest part of the whole thing was that though he wasn't incredibly talented with his tricks (he kept on unintentionally dropping things while juggling), his timing and sense of humor were so ridiculously engaging. Usually situational humor is not funny outside of said situation, but I think the follow anecdote might translate easily enough via this blog: At the end of his short little act, when people were going up to him to give him money, he shouted very loudly to passers-by in his Québécois accent, "If you just got here, please notice that people are giving me money!"

A shot of Montreal as we head back to the train station.

After catching the train and driving to the theatre in L'Assomption, we arrived to find an unheard-of scenario: all of our equipment had already been set up by the theatre crew. Normally, we arrive at the venue and then are in charge of setting up our own gear (i.e. drums, guitars/amps, percussion, etc.); this venue, however, did all of it for us.
WHAT?! Having all of our equipment set up meant more free time for us, which, naturally, meant a trip to the neat coffee shop a few doors down.

We played to a sold-out house, filled with rowdy and supportive
Québécois. Not only did they call us back for a second encore (which I've found to be incredibly rare in the theatre world), but I've also never seen an audience enjoy "La Bastringue" more. Usually audiences watch that tune with a blank face; many in this audience, however, clapped and sang along the whole time, because there's not much cooler than hearing a band from an English-speaking province cover a French folk tune. And as if that wasn't enough, never before has an audience cheered so wildly when I've gone down into the splits. Way cool.

It could not have been a more perfect final day to this fall's epic, three-month tour.

Back on the road for our Christmas show in just 10 days!

-----

A quick update on tour stats.

States performed in since July 2008 (35 total): AL, AZ, AR, CA, CT, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, MD, MS, MI, MN, MS, MO, NV, NJ, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, VT, VA, WV, WI, WY

Countries performed in since July 2008: Canada (Alberta, Ontario, & Quebec), Mexico, Costa Rica, Denmark, Holland, Italy, France

Wow.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Rounding the Corner

It's that time of the tour.

In what seems to be a consistent pattern I've noted over the past year-and-a-half, there's always a point just prior to finishing tour when you intensely start to crave home.

And it doesn't matter, interestingly enough, how long the tour is. The tour could be 10 days, 1 month, or 3 months (like this current one).

It's as though your brain chooses to block out the concept of what it is to "miss home," for sake of your own self-preservation. It knows you can't think about home early on in a tour or you'll go crazy. But now, one week away from going home, the end is in sight and my brain has lost its will-power.

There's always some sort of trigger, too. I should have seen this moment coming because this morning provided the perfect setting. I woke up early to go for a run, put my suitcase on the truck, ate breakfast with Hiddy, Annette and Kiana, and then came back to my room where Jason was sleeping. So, naturally, I got out my laptop and signed into facebook.

And that's when it happened. It was as though, for the first time this tour, I was consciously realizing all these things I'm missing at home right now...a close friend's recital the other day, my former violin professor's recital tonight, the smell of my mom's soup and the quickness of my dad's wit. Reading status updates and seeing old pictures can be so destructively nostalgic!

Off to Brampton, Ontario, for tonight's show.

Home in 7 days.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

The National Ballet of Canada: Now I get the "pointe."

We're currently in downtown Toronto for a corporate gig we'll be doing tonight, as well as some choreography rehearsals for our Christmas show with our choreographer Brian Hansen this afternoon.

It's my first time here in Toronto, so I'm not only thrilled to be in the "New York of Canada," but also to be staying in the heart of downtown, just a few minute walk from all the big performing arts centers.

After doing a TV interview with Rogers (a large cable network in Canada) yesterday in the morning, our manager John dropped me off at the hotel. There was another TV interview scheduled for last night, but seeing as some of the other band members were doing that interview, the rest of us had the night off. That being the case, I instantly started planning for my free Friday night in Toronto, looking first at the obvious options: Toronto Symphony, Canadian Opera Company, The National Ballet of Canada, and the Royal Conservatory.

To make a long story short, Kiana and I decided to attend "The Sleeping Beauty," performed by the National Ballet of Canada. Later in the afternoon we called to get tickets:

Taylor: Hi, I was just calling to see if there are any seats left for tonight's production of "Sleeping Beauty."
Operator: I think so, let me check. [Operator disappears and comes back.] Yes, we have a small number of tickets left.
Taylor: Great! Do you have 2 seats together anywhere?
Operator: We only have 2 seats, and they're together. They're box seats.
Taylor: Those are the only seats left? You don't have any others?
Operator: No.
Taylor: Oh...okay...how much are they?
Operator: $XXX.
Taylor (aside to Kiana, with defeatism): The seats are $XXX...do you still want to go?
Silence.
Kiana: Yes. Let's do it.
Taylor (to Operator): We'll take 'em!
Operator: ...really?!
Taylor: Yes.

And thus I secured the seats to my first non-Nutcracker ballet...in a box...at the National Ballet of Canada.

So now arises the next issue: what to wear. In my suitcase, the nicest things I have are jeans and a very casual button-down shirt. And we pretty much figured w
e couldn't wear jeans to box seats at the ballet...

So Kiana and I went to the mall and I bought a whole new outfit (pants, shirt, belt & scarf). Why not, right? As the saying goes, "Go big or go home."

Finding the mall.

Before the ballet.

The Four Seasons Centre.

Kiana emulates the poster.

After buying tickets, this was about the only place we could afford to eat dinner...

Each box had a private coat room with a mirror for primping.
Here, Kiana fixes her hair before we go out to the second intermission to "be seen" by the upper crust of Toronto. Indeed, a small peek into the lives of those wealthy enough to afford box seats on a regular basis.


Second intermission. (There were three acts.)

I'm incredibly pleased to say that the performance was, literally, worth it (and rarely does that expression have more significance than when you spontaneously drop triple-digits on tickets and clothes for one night).


I don't really know how to describe the impact the night had on me. Now that I'm older and more mature, I could truly appreciate the beauty of the performance. It's hard to "get" ballet when you're younger, because so much of it is so slow. I realize now, however, that that is simply a result of ballet exploiting dancers' abilities to control their bodies; it's mind-blowing to think about how in shape they are, and how much work it took to train their bodies to do such crazy things. Watching the lead females hold ridiculous positions for extended periods of time while en pointe and watching the males dance physically exhausting solos is truly incredible. The dancing was breathtaking, and the orchestra was absolutely phenomenal. WOW. I'm still reeling from last night's performance today.

I don't know if I ever thought I would say this, but ballet is so freaking cool.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Hawaii. 'nough said.

Last month we went to one of this tour season's most anticipated destinations: Hawaii.

Arriving at the airport.


Hawaii may have been the "last one picked" when it was finally chosen to be the 50th member of Team USA, but it was by no means a direct result of Hawaii lacking desirable qualities. (Unlike, alternatively, when my being picked last for an athletic squad is a direct result of my lack of skill.) There's probably no way to describe just how beautiful Hawaii is, but I hope the pictures I post can convey some of that beauty.

We were brought to Hawaii for a "corporate," wherein some large corporation hires us to perform for its conventions, meetings, etc. One of the coolest parts of doing the corporate gigs is that the corporation usually puts up our room and board, which then means that we usually get to stay in incredible hotels.

This corporate gig was no exception.

For our three days on Maui, we stayed at the
Grand Wailea, consistently ranked in "Top Hotel" lists for all sorts of categories. Perhaps one of the coolest things about the hotel is that it's nearly entirely open-air, that is, there are very few closed hallways. And because of the tropical weather in Hawaii, that usually means that there's a slight breeze blowing throughout.

Here are some pictures of the hotel:

This fountain is in the center of the lobby.


One of the most memorable experiences of the trip was when a small group of us went scuba diving. Though none of the players in the band hold scuba certificiation, the hotel offered a basic instruction program (30 minutes of lecture, 30 minutes with the equipment in a practice pool) one could take prior to a short dive. So on the afternoon of our day off, Kiana, Jason, Hiddy, Annette and I took advantage of this unique opportunity and explored the area the hotel's beach.

Here are some pictures (and a video...!) taken by Eric McDaniel, one of our scuba instructors:


The funniest part of the trip, by far, was getting to work with comedian Paula Poundstone for the corporate. I was really excited to meet Paula and hear her perform live, especially because she's one of my favorite panelists on "Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me!", an NPR news-based game show I follow on podcast.

You know when you build up your own idea of what someone will be like before you meet them, and then hope that that's what she or he will actually be like? For me, I always hope that said person will be friendly and down-to-earth, especially if it's someone whom I perceive to be famous or well-known in some circle. That being said, not only was Paula Poundstone hysterical, but she could not have been more wonderful behind the scenes. Her children were with her at the event, and because they're string players, she asked if she could bring them into our dressing room to meet us. How awesome is that? So, here we are hanging out with Paula and two of her children in our dressing room:

All things considered, our time in Hawaii was definitely unbelievable
.