Vintage Bowl, Vintage Me

The Hollywood Bowl had seen better days.  So have my knees.   Essentially, both have been sliding a slippery slope the best few years.  The Bowl's most recent summers have not been the greatest with regard to program content.  And, of course, with the mediocre entertainment, the thought of dragging my arthritic joints up and down the steep hills and stairs of the venue was less inviting.  I'm in pain for this?

But, naturally, the Bowl is part of my Los Angeles blood.  Just like 100 milligrams of Celebrex every day.  I booked my usual concerts back in April and immediately began the process of mobility training with my terrific personal trainer Christina.  Suddenly, I'm once again Rocky Balboa prepping for Apollo Creed.  Cue the Bill Conti theme.  I can do this.

Again, the program list for Summer 2014 was skeptical and wanting.  I had to pick five concerts for my plan and I was really stuck for the fifth one.  I ultimately selected last Saturday's Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame induction.  I had no clue what to expect.  Neither did my knees.

Boy, were the three of us surprised!  Because, arguably, this might have been the most entertaining night I have spent at the Bowl in years.

More importantly, I also premiered my new method to address the rigors of the Bowl climb.  Leg swings to open up the hips in the parking lot.  I was careful not to kick my friends like a mule.  A rest stop at the midway point.  Coordinated snack purchases to minimize stairway treks.  That all worked too.

It was like I was at the Hollywood Bowl back in the year 2002.  The show was great.  And I survived with a minimum of discomfort.

There's a new regular Bowl orchestra conductor named Thomas Wilkins and he's very engaging.  The first Hall inductee was a musical group named Pink Martini.  Now, I saw them at the Bowl about ten years ago when they were the opening act for Sergio Mendes and Brazil Whatever Year It Is.  Back then, they were fabulous.  When the act was confined to a half-hour.  Several years later, I saw them at Disney Hall when they were the main attraction.  Stretched to two hours, the Latin music wore thin. 

Last Saturday, they played for 35 minutes and it was perfect. 

A bunch of high school kids then took over the orchestra seats for some group called YOLA or Youth of Los Angeles.  These are the Bowl oboe players of the future.  They played a classical piece flawlessly or as best that this non-classical devotee could discern.  Admittedly, they should sound great because they've been practicing the same number since last September.

After intermission, out came the Go Gos.

Yes, those Go Gos.  And they were the original, not some replacement singers they found on a Franklin Avenue street corner.  There the girls were, in all their AARP glory.  Every woman above the age of 50 was standing in the aisles.  Internists all over Beverly Hills were prescribing muscle relaxers by Monday morning.   Hips were fracturing in every section.  Nobody cared.  They brought along the USC Marching Band.  Whoo hoo!

Out comes Carol Burnett to introduce the next inductee and, for the first time all night, I give a standing ovation. 

I mean, it is Carol Burnett, for God's sake.  She brings us Kristin Chenoweth, a dynamite performer who I had seen at the Bowl just last summer.  Kristin is one of those rare entertainers who is a five tool player.  She can do it all.  The Yasiel Puig of Broadway. 

So, in one evening, we have bounced from Latin to classical to 80s hair to Broadway and the results were dynamic.  It was as eclectic as an old episode of the Ed Sullivan Show where you would ping pong from Alan King to Kate Smith to Jim Morrison and the Doors.  Nothing really fit.  But, in reality, everything came together perfectly.

I was smiling throughout.  Totally engaged all over again by the possibilities offered by the best outdoor concert venue in America.

I went down the stairs and the hill afterwards.  My knees were doing fine.  There was a song in my head.  It was the encore number done by Chenoweth, Belinda Carlisle and the Pink Martini girl singer.  "I Got Rhythm,"

I was feeling good being back at the Bowl.  

"Who could ask for anything more?"

Dinner last night:  BBQ chicken tenders and salad.