Wednesday, April 30, 2008

In which I go to a concert

My good friend, Melissa, performed last night in a concert held at Orche Court, a mansion down in Newport, and it was amazing. Not only did she perform in it but she was a solo in the Concertino for Clarinet, E flat Major, Op 26. It was truly breathtaking. Too bad we were all sitting stage right and had the bass players standing in front of us the whole time so we could only see their backs during the performance.

It was definitely a different listening experience sitting that close to the basses. It completely changed the overall sound of the concert with the parts that should have been more subdued, exchanged for the parts that should have been louder and more prominent.

There were a number of instances that we could definitely hear a few mistakes but nothing that ruined the concert. A small boy, probably no more than 10 years old, was playing a violoncello, a smaller version of the cello, whose instrument became a little out of tune by the end of the concert but just the fact that he was holding his own amongst adult musicians says a lot.

But the star of the show, sorry Melissa, was an 11 year-old solo violinist playing the Concerto for Violin #4, D Major, K 218 who was spectacular. It was really something to witness so small a person produce something that strong that could elicit such powerful emotions. I think I saw her parents in the audience video recording it and I couldn't help but wonder just how proud they must feel every time they hear her play.

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

GTA4 - I want it and should get it



It being Tuesday the 29th of April, everyone who is anyone is at home right now either playing Grand Theft Auto IV or are sleeping because they picked up their copy last night at midnight when it went on sale and they just got to bed a couple of hours ago. I am not one of these people because obviously I must not be anyone if the above statement holds any sway.

I am one of those people who thought the PS3 was way to expensive for a console and believed that the XBox 360 was just not for me - XBox 360 being mainly for frat guys or very underage boys who do nothing but scream obscenities into their microphones while they pwn in Halo 3, but really that's just my own stereotype and doesn't accurately reflect the 360's player base (but then again it just might).

I asked for and received the Wii (because my mom loves me so) because I was looking at all the new games coming out for the "next" generation consoles and was really bored with them. Yeah, they have beautiful graphics and all that, but the gameplay was something we have all seen before. Now the Wii, that was something new, something special, and every time I turned around there was another game being released that I really wanted to play. I've had loads of fun playing with my Wii (giggle giggle) and nothing can compare to hearing my wife swear like a sailor at the TV, asking why her cow isn't running faster (thank you very much Wii Play).

But now GTA IV is out and I NEED it. And now that me and the missus have a high definition television, on top of the fact that the HD war is now over with Blue-Ray the obvious victor, it's time to start seriously considering getting the PS3.

I will admit that I am a man-child and want nothing more when I get off work then to rush home and play video games until my thumbs ache (but I guess with the Wii's controller, my thumbs don't ache as much anymore). But I will admit to myself that I probably shouldn't get one. I already have the Nintendo Wii and the Nintendo DS, which I love more than anything (if it only had a smooth, warm hol... no, I'm not going to even go there), as well as my PS2 still plugged into my TV, getting the PS3 seems a bit of an overkill. Oh well, what can you do? You only live once and blowing 400 bucks on a stupid man toy (giggle giggle) isn't that big of a deal, I guess. Screw home renovations. Who needs groceries really when there's plenty of condiments available?