To thine own self be true

(new acquisition at Symphony under the Sky–ESO @ Winspear print by Toti Lewis, now in family room; attended so many great concerts at Winspear over the years)

Last day, Sunday:
Loved the pipers and “Scotland the Brave’.
Annie Dugan of Firefly Theatre and Circus wowed the crowd with her mind-bending hula hoop maneuvers.
The Metis Child and Family Jiggers are the best native Canadian dance group performers I’ve ever seen with strong lead violin reels by Calvin Vollrath.
Vinok Worlddance did two powerful renderings of Bulgarian and Romanian culture.
The Lightfoot medley was beautifully played.
15-year-old Michael Nunes`Ègyptian Reverie`was simply the best and most integrated composition I`ve ever heard in years of hearing ESO`s young composers`works. Written when he was in grade 10 no less! What a promising future!
The 1812 last night was a wonderfully different take sans real cannons but with equally shocking explosions and fireworks to boot. What a knockout end to one of the best festivals ever!

Changes

Sit by my side, come as close as the air,
Share in a mem’ry of grey,
And wander in my words,
And dream about the pictures that I play of changes.

Green leaves of summer turn red in the fall,
To brown and to yellow they fade;
And then they have to die, trapped within the
Circle time parade of changes.

Scenes of my young years were warm in my mind,
Visions of shadows that shine;
Till one day I returned and they were the
Victims of the vines of changes.

The world’s spinning madly, it drifts in the dark
Swings through a hollow of haze;
A race around the stars, a journey through the
Universe ablaze with changes.

Moments of magic will glow in the night.
All fears of the forest are gone;
But when the morning breaks, they’re swept away by
Golden drops of dawn of changes.

Passions will part to a strange melody
As fires will sometimes burn cold;
Like petals in the wind, we’re puppets to the
Silver strings of souls of changes.

Your tears will be trembling, now we’re somewhere else
One last cup of wine we will pour;
And I’ll kiss you one more time and leave you on the
Rolling river shores of changes.

(from his excellent collected songbook The War Is Over, Barricade Music, 1967)

Phil Ochs–The most overlooked genius of the 1960s folk music era. The top personal consciousness of his time along with Bob Dylan and Paul Simon. I cannot say enough good things about Phil’s lyrics, songs, albums, and politics. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys a good lyric, or who’s interested in honest social protest and witty social satire.

Dissembling.

More common than most might think. Who is honest? Who can you trust? (as Hamlet once pondered)

For more info on dissembling, consult your collected plays of Shakespeare.

“Mindfulness is just egotistical types belatedly flying the very old original flag of personal consciousness that has been widely known for many a year. An ‘impressive’ buzzword for an original, stronger concept.”
–Richard Davies

I don’t normally quote Margaret Atwood of all people, but…

“In the end, we’ll all become stories.”

“Take your place on the Great Mandella/As it moves through your brief moment of time.”

–Peter Yarrow (Peter, Paul and Mary, Album 1700)

12 string riff followed by:

Time, time, time

See what’s become of me

While I looked around for my possibilities

I was so hard to please

(with riff):

But look around

Leaves are brown

And the sky is a hazy shade of winter

Saturday morning

on the boardwalk

by the pool,

two streams

cascading

down to it.

Three big fish

close to the surface

some 30 goldfish

packed below.

They know their place

in the scheme

of things and a

wisdom in avoiding

what might transpire

if someone throws

something in.

The big fish are confident,

entitled and rule easily.

They imagine strategies

and what-ifs

as they wait for me

to do something,

to change the otherwise

placid flow of

many lives here.

You see but do not observe

the Spanish sidewalk

houses close together

a few feet apart

and a tiled floor

this sunny morning

greenery creeping up

the sun-lit walls

and a cage beside one

enjoying the limited view.

A canary bouncing nonstop

between two bars

looking out at

all the other birds

who flit  free

or walk below

doing what they will

occasionally noticing

it.

(signed books by Simon and Garfunkle from my collection)

A memorable program of Simon and Garfunkle with a focus on early Paul Simon songs up to “50 Ways to Leave your Lover”. Jim Witter, himself a successful country performer, played one of his own hits, and featured 2 Everly Brothers’ tunes since they influenced S & G. he even previewed his new show by doing Barry Manilow’s “Mandy”.

Witter’s 4-piece band was tight and the bass player-backup/Garfunkle vocalist wrote the credible arrangements for the orchestra which Bob Bernhardt conducted with his usual humor. Songs included S & G’s hits and classics: “Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme”, “I Am a Rock”, “The Sounds of Silence”,  “Homeward Bound”, “America”, “Bridge over Troubled Water”, “Cecilia”, “Slip Sliding Away”, “A Hazy Shade of Winter”, “The Boxer”, “Mrs. Robinson”, et al done in original keys. The symphony was featured in most of the songs, maybe moreso in “El Condor Pasa”. The encore was the segued “Old Friends/Bookends”.

Overall, a most pleasant evening and maybe the best first night I’ve attended there. The crowd was enlivened by this trip down memory lane. Simon’s catalogue has long been an impressive one and it is interesting to think we were just listening to songs written before 1975. His latest album (which I’ve commented on earlier on July 11) is very strong BTW. The only thing I missed was Garfunkle’s unique pure voice on “Bridge over Troubled Water” and “Emily Wherever I May Find Her”. Undoubtedly, there were, though, excellent facsimiles of all the songs played. Great show.