New Orleans! Jan. 4-5, 2013

2013 is off to a fabulous start!  Hope you all can say the same.

Every year we're booked in new cities across North America in addition to familiar favourites, and our first top this year was New Orleans with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, to do the music of Queen (which also includes a local choir joining us for the second set, this time students from the LSU Music Program).

I was thrilled to hear we were booked for two performances; when we're in town for just one show there often isn't a chance to see much of our host city—we fly in the night before, rehearse and perform the day of, and fly back the day after—but with two shows we usually have some time for sightseeing on the second day.

Naturally we had to get acquainted with Bourbon Street, where this intriguing sight greeted us on our way back to the hotel after Friday's rehearsal:

Katalin is trying not to giggle, so as not to
hurt the hand grenade's feelings ... wait a minute ...

I did not know that!

Frankly, I was having some trouble with the idea of a friendly hand grenade until we got a bit further down the street, when all became clear:

Friday night after our show at the Mahalia Jackson Theater we took a cab to Frenchmen St. and heard amazing bands in every club we strolled into; what an incredible scene!  Our last stop found us grooving to New Orleans brass funk band "Diablo's Horns", featuring a sousaphone bass player and glorious horn arrangements; it turns out that night was their first live gig and a CD release party—check them out, the CD's fab!

New Orleans, of course, has a mind-boggling array of things to do & see ... but I was told that I had to taste at least 3 things: a beignet, a hurricane, and a poboy (which I got from the legendary Mother's, a few blocks from our hotel near the French Quarter).  Done, done, done, and YUM.

Think I'll start making my to-do list for next time now.

xoL

p.s.  There was one little mishap ... a fire at the hotel on Saturday evening just before we headed over to the theatre, and due to smoke damage (no one was hurt, thank goodness) everyone was moved to a new hotel after we returned.  It would have normally been just another reason to stay awake and enjoy the sights and sounds ... except for that pesky 6:30am lobby call.  ;-)

El Dorado, here we come ... now where was that fabulous fudge again?

As the symphony season starts we're looking forward to returning to some of the places we've been before, like El Dorado AR on Sept. 8 (we'll be doing the music of Queen this time).

As always, we love to try local food while we're visiting — but we don't have a lot of spare time this trip, so would love a breakfast recommendation for Saturday morning if you have one!  We'll also be hungry after the show Saturday night, so an evening eatery recommendation would also be much appreciated. :-)

Last time I was in El Dorado I got some amazing fudge and gourmet popcorn to take home, but I didn't write the name of the shop down so can't remember what it was called ... might be La Bella Gourmet Gifts and Deli (?) which is on the way to the venue from our hotel.

Wherever it was, I definitely want to drop in there again!

See you soon,
Lis

 

February in Anchorage (from Stephanie)

Smack-dab in the middle of summer, it's hard to believe we'll have to bundle up for the cold weather again ... looking forward to another trip to Anchorage in October 2012 for the ABBA show with the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra!

Here are Andrea Koziol, Stephanie Martin and Dale Anne Brendon from when we were there to do the music of Queen this past February.

Keeping the Drapes Closed With Colin Mochrie!

You never know who you’ll run into on the way to or from a Jeans ’n Classics gig, and what pearls of travel wisdom they might have for you ...

For instance, in March on the way to perform the music of U2 with the Green Bay Symphony Orchestra, we ran into Canadian comedy icon Colin Mochrie, award-winning actor and world-renowned master of improv.  And in June we were on our way back from a Queen show with the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra, and Colin was on the same flight back to Toronto.

(If you'd like to see all the shows we have to choose from, have a look here.)

Rique sings the theme song for “She’s the Mayor” — just one of the many shows in Mr. Mochrie's impressive career — and she said hi to Colin, who then chatted with us while putting some finishing touches on a new project on his laptop.  (Perhaps it was this: http://www.colinmochrie.com/classics.html)

He shared a great travel tip, too.  Getting enough rest on the road is a challenge, especially if you have to perform at night plus rehearse during the day, not to mention travel schedules; even if you have time for a nap it can be hard to drift off (or stay asleep) if the sun’s shining.  You can close the drapes in a hotel room, but if they don't close all the way a pesky, persistent sliver of light can stand defiantly between you and some much-needed shut-eye.

Colin's solution?  Use the pant hangers in the closet to clip the drapes closed.

Perfect.  Simple, effective, and takes up zero space in the carry-on.  Thanks, Colin!

Cheers,
Lis

Who Needs Pyro?!

On Saturday, July 6, 2012 we performed the music of Kiss and Queen at the Brott Festival in Hamilton, Ontario. 

For many years now I have been hanging onto a giant pair of platform boots… utterly perfect for the occasional Kiss concert! Naturally I packed the behemoths for this latest extravaganza. The only trouble is, they ain't dainty. If you're bringin' the Kiss boots, everything else you need to bring had better be dollsized, or inflatable, or expandable by water, 'cause once those puppies are packed, not much else is getting in that suitcase. 

Upon arrival for the Hamilton show, I noticed that there was a crack in the sole of the right giant, across the bottom. In a search for any kind of strong glue, during soundcheck I casually mentioned my cracked sole (soul?) to a nice man on the tech crew at the theatre (whom, to my mind, closely resembled David Bowie as Andy Warhol in the movie "Basquiat"), and lo and behold, the nice man included shoe glue in his trip on a run to the gaff tape store, or some such… and he glued my sole back together for me to find after dinner break. Fabulous!! Like magic. Rock 'n roll. Jeans 'n Classics.

Confident in my Kiss-Boot-Ness, I prepared for showtime.

Here was my Confident Kiss-Boot Look:

(And here is Katalin Kiss * and myself, right before the show):

[* no relation to the band Kiss, apart from rocking just as hard if not harder]

And then the fun began.

My concern before the show was all about the right foot, the one with the glue. How wrong was I. Imagine my surprise when bits of rubble began to erupt from Mr. Left Boot. My Right-boot worries were not ill-founded, though. Not to be outdone, the Right guy began belching six inch pieces of wasted rubber and plastic particles. 

Talk about a wardrobe malfunction... my man-made wonders were giving way in an increasingly spectacular public display of spent glory. By the time we got to Detroit Rock City, their days were truly numbered. I stood teetering on an ever-changing precarious core of What Left Remaining. My dear friend Katalin and I were dodging bits from the blast, as the boots continued to detonate. Thank goodness for the large monitor speakers at our feet. If not for them, the audience would have had no shielding from the Exploding Boots. 

And let's face it, it was not entirely inappropriate given the theme of the night! Who needs Pyro, when you've got the Exploding Boots?!

I staggered off for intermission. The stage needed to be swept between sets. The string section was forced to gingerly step between the bits of wreckage to leave the stage.

I was very grateful indeed to step into my new spike heel blank ankle booties for the Queen set.

RIP, Kiss boots. You Gave Rock & Roll To Me. You don't owe me a thing. It's been fun.

(Photos courtesy of Jeff Christmas.)

xo KR

PS: For the true story of how I met Gene Simmons, click here:

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