Skip to main content

It's Fine By Me

Interlochen is a performance venue for all kinds of artists.  Kresge Auditorium is the main theatre, outdoor and covered and seating 5,000 people.  Each summer, Interlochen hosts a summer series of artists who perform in Kresge.  We've never been ones to buy tickets.  Until this year.

Two performances caught my eye immediately:  Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers, and Gavin DeGraw with Andy Grammer.  I got online and bought the tickets.


Steve Martin's show was sold out within two days.  I was glad to get the three tickets that I did, but you better believe we weren't sitting next to each other.  Steve Martin began playing the banjo when he was 17, and he is now considered one of the best banjo players in the US, winning a grammy for a CD released in 2010.  Who knew???  The Steep Canyon Rangers are his "back-up" band, although they are a performing group in their own right, only joining with Steve Martin on occasion.  The evening was filled with bluegrass music, banjo playing, singing (including a hilarious song about atheists and their lack of music) and comedy.  We were there almost two hours, but I could have listened another four.  I loved it, and if I ever have a chance to hear the group again, I'll be there.

Then, last night, the entire family headed to hear Andy Grammer and Gavin DeGraw.  We know their songs from the radio, and we were excited to hear them live.  Wow.  What a great performance.  Andy Grammer actually spent a lot of time in the audience, including running through our aisle and high-fiving Markie-Boy!  It's amazing to see these artists (Steve Martin among them) who are multi-dimensional.  Andy was also a great dancer AND a kind person.  He came out after the performance to take pictures with anyone and everyone, and talk to everybody who stayed around.

Here's the video for his latest song, "Fine By Me":  Fine By Me

After the show.  Andy Grammer posted this on his website!!


Gavin did a great job too.  It was obvious that most of the audience was there for him, and yet he remained humble and friendly.  He also met the audience members afterwards although he had to remain on stage so that he wouldn't get swarmed by teenage girls.  John actually went up to him and told him how much we liked him which earned a quick conversation with the star along with a fist bump and finally a hand shake.  Too, John got a t-shirt signed by Gavin...for me.

For buying tickets for the first time in four years here, and for attending two performances in back-to-back nights, it was a great experience.  Let's do it again!

Comments

  1. How fun and I had no idea Steve Martin could play the banjo! I love reading all about your time at Interlochen.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Like Dominos....

It all began with glare.  Simple, obnoxious, I-can't-stand-it-anymore glare. Our 60" rear projection TV in the family room was basically unviewable except after 10 o'clock at night.  The glare from the windows was making it impossible to see anything during my 10 minute lunch break each day, and something had to change. Too, the TV didn't fit in the entertainment center from Germany.  John, wanting bigger and better, hadn't considered that the space is only 40" wide.  For the past five years, I have been nagged by 6" of overhang on both sides of the TV stand. I went to Lowe's to price blinds.  $1,043 for five blinds, and that was at 20% off. I figured a new TV would be cheaper than that.  I was right, even with the state-of-the-art receiver and new HDMI cables that sly salesman told us we needed to have. But where to put the old TV?  It just needed a quiet, dark place to retire. Glo's bedroom.  Her TV was a relic from the paleoneoneand...

The Quest for Birkenstocks

One of the main reasons I go to Germany every couple of years is to restock my supply of Birkenstocks.  I started buying them when I lived there, and I basically can't live without them now.  It just about kills me when a pair runs its course and needs to be thrown away.  I think in my lifetime, I've thrown away only three pairs.  One that never was quite right (the straps were plastic and would cut into my skin after a long day), one pair that I wore gardening one too many times (the brown dirt stains wouldn't come out of the white leather), and the pair that I was wearing when I broke my ankle (they were an unfortunate casualty of broken ankle PTSD because those purple and blue paisleys go down as one of my favorite pairs of all time).  I only threw out the garden ones a couple of days before I left for Germany, because I knew I would be getting a new pair. The only store where I have ever bought my Birkenstocks is Hoffmann's in Speicher.  (Well okay, t...

Thinking Beyond Ourselves

In our church, most adults hold a “calling”.  What this really means is they have a job, or a specific way to serve within the local congregation.  We believe that this calling is inspired from God—it’s a specific way that he wants us to serve, so that we can either learn and grow ourselves, or so that we can help someone else. I have had more callings in the church than I can count, and with few exceptions, I have loved every one of them.  I have come to love people (adults, teens and kids) who I might never have met.  I have learned much--from how to organize a Christmas music program, to how to make a Sunday School lesson meaningful to apathetic teenagers.  I have served as president of the children’s organization, and I have been the leader of 30 young, single adults. With every calling comes a lot of work.  Of course, the amount of work one puts into a calling is up to an individual.  I choose to put everything into a calling.  I give up ho...