one of my favorite things to do is peruse the local venue calendars, pick a totally random act, and go check out a show. sometimes it's a hit, sometimes it's a miss, but this week i felt like i won the lottery when i decided to get a ticket to see cellist ben sollee at u st music hall. since the cello is one of my favorite instruments, and since he was playing u st music hall (this is not the type of venue to book a classical cello act), i figured i was in for something that would definitely make me glad i left the house on a rainy wednesday night.
aside from the fantastic show he put on, the guy rode over 300 miles on his bike to get to dc from new york. like a bike that you pedal. with your feet. in between songs he talked about the reason why he had chosen to get to so many of his shows this way, and he surprisingly said it had nothing to do with being "green" or sustainability. he actually said he did it as a way to make himself slow down and (literally) enjoy the ride he was on. in a world where artists do a show in LA one day and new york the next, it was pretty interesting to hear that kind of perspective (because certainly, you are booking fewer shows when it takes you three days to get there). also, the things this guy can do with a cello left me at a loss for words - he played a totally solo set (except for one song where he brought up a girl who somehow could imitate the sound of a trumpet which sounds bizarre but was the damn coolest thing i've seen in a long time), and since i'm the mayor of munchkinland and can't ever see over the people in front of me, there were times where i could have sworn there were 2 or 3 other instruments up there with him. so not only does mr. sollee have a new fan, but this new fan has a new appreciation for the range of sound the cello can produce.
so. check him out. thank me later. and my fingers are crossed that my next random musical encounter is just as sweet.
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