Phoenix Symphony

Last night was an amazing surprise! Around 6pm my 15 year old neighbor, Savannah, came over and invited me to go to the Phoenix Symphony with her family. They are season ticket holders and her dad was unable to go. I was so excited to go. I loved going to the symphony when I was 18 and in Cotillion. I also thought of Grant and how much he loved music and how he would really want to go. But he wasn't back from fishing at this point and they were leaving at 7pm.

So I got to go. Symphony Hall is a beautiful building. Most everyone is dressed up. There are no little kids anywhere to be seen. Here is a picture of the hall before the concert started.

I also tried to get a picture of my neighbor, Julie, and her two mature kids, Savannah and Dakota. (Dakota is a year older than Grant and the two of them get a long pretty well.) However, our picture is very blurry.

The concert that evening was conducted by Lawrence Golan and they performed Symphony Pops No. 2. The songs included Rock Around the Clock, Back to the Fifties, Music from Guys and Dolls and music from the movie Grease. They symphony is incredible. I sat there and thought about how much Grant would love to be hearing these talented musicians. I am going to have to get him to a concert soon.

After intermission, the Phoenix Symphony was joined by the band Sha Na Na. This group was so fun to watch. They were in the original Woodstock Festival lineup, starred in Grease (sang and wrote almost all of the music), and hosted the Sha Na Na television series for four years in the 70's, which I was too young to know about. All of their music was 50's style music that they performed. Some of the songs were At the Hop, Blue Moon, The Peppermint Twist, The Twist, The Stroll, Hand Jive, Teenager in Love, Love Potion No. 9, Sandy, Shake, Rattle and Roll and Goodnight Sweetheart. It was fun to see the mostly senior citizen crowd sing along to some of the songs. At one point in the concert they had everyone get up and do the Hokey Pokey. I have no idea how long its been since I've done that. Maybe we should do that at Thanksgiving to teach all the little kids that song so it doesn't miss a generation.

The first guy in the picture above, on the left, wore that same shirt last night in the concert. It is pink with purple stripes. He was very funny on stage. The third guy from the left is the amazing writer and pianist of the group. His outfit was pink with piano keys on it. It is the same outfit that you see in the picture above. He also has a silver star on his butt. Kind of strange. The 5th guy from the left wears a red rayon slacks and top. I'm sure that must be what he is wearing in this picture. This guy sings all of the very deep bass notes. He also has more energy than everyone else in the group. He is an amazing performer.

Needless to say, it was a fun night. I am so lucky my neighbors thought of me for their extra ticket!