The Arts in New York City
Though I don’t outright dislike classical music, I’ve never been particularly fond of it either. And while I hate to admit it, I did find the Tokyo String Quartet to be rather unexciting, and left my house with low expectations. However, I found my expectations defied and enjoyed a fantastic evening.
Walking into Carnegie Hall I prepared myself for the lengthy walk to my seat, and I was reminded immediately of Don Giovanni. Going up the steps I saw what appeared to be an attractive woman ahead of me, and gentleman that I am, thought of giving her the pleasure of my acquaintance. But, as she rounded a corner I caught a glimpse of her face, and decided against it. “Love may be blind,” I thought as I disappointedly continued the arduous climb, “but unfortunately, I am not.” Finally reaching the top of the steps, I was reminded again of Don Giovanni, and laughed as I thought about how the eponymous character probably would have hit that anyway.
The orchestra was magnificent and I enjoyed it far more than I did the string quartet. There may have been something intrinsic to the pieces themselves that made them seem better to me, but I think part of the reason for my preference was that the number of instruments involved in the orchestra made everything sound grander. My favorite part was what I believe were the French horns. Although I tried to take in as much of the performance in at once – the sounds of individual instruments and of combinations, the movements of the musicians and the conductor – I couldn’t help but pay more attention to the horns. I tried to anticipate when they would play, and was oddly fascinated with whatever it was that their musicians were doing as they occasionally turned and shook their instruments. The only negative comments that I can make are about the seating arrangements, and what I think was one foul note played at the end of the performance. Still, I was thoroughly satisfied coming out of Carnegie Hall.
However, the evening was not yet over. I’ve been to restaurants that use attractive service to entice customers, and I’ve been generally unimpressed, so my expectations were low when some friends and I went to the nearby Hooters after the show. However, I was pleasantly surprised by my experience. The fries were unexpectedly good, and the wings were delicious, even though the last of mine was actually a fried pickle that got mixed in with the order. Our waitress overheard me recount the story of the woman on the steps from earlier in the evening and told me that I was full of myself. To which I responded, “I suppose I am full of myself, and hey, if you play your cards right, maybe you could be full of me, too.” She slapped me. Hard. But not being one to hold a grudge, I still left my phone number on the check before leaving.
Even before writing this response I noticed the parallels between the orchestra and Hooters. My shattered expectations, my encounters with women, the last sour note and the pickle. Uncanny, yes, but it does seem that, indeed, Hooters is the Beethoven of restaurants. I’ve since changed my ringtone to the Fifth Symphony in remembrance of this night, and cannot help but be overwhelmed with nostalgia every time it is the waitress that calls me.
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Dearest David,
I too found myself initially distracted by the females at Carnegie Hall. After arriving in the mountain summit that was our section, and adjusting my breathing to the air pressure difference, I looked over to my left and noticed some gorgeous young ladies who had come to enjoy a night of music and excitement. However, what they didn’t anticipate was a night of a dashing prince who would sweep them off of their feet. I looked their way, they looked my way, and we all knew that there was a spark. They could hardly contain themselves in their seats, but I don’t blame them. I mean, it’s me.
The performance itself was impressive. It was like a four-course meal in a fancy restaurant with french waiters, whereas the Tokyo String Quartet was dogfood that had been tossed onto a sidewalk and then stepped on. The flutes were stunning, the oboes excellent, and I loved the horn section, which was the largest portion of the orchestra. The orchestra was less wind-y and fairly horn-y, with french horns and trumpets blaring throughout the magnificient pieces.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the performance and agree with your positive assessment of it. In addition, your visit to Hooters has sparked an interest in me going on day. I’ve heard that the wings and thighs were simply scrumptious.
Due to some of the other musical performances we were at this year, I set the bar pretty low for the evening at Carnegie Hall. But I was pleasantly surprised. I found that the symphonies that we heard were quite enjoyable. I really enjoyed Beethoven’s Fifth. I also now understand why there were defibrillators where we were sitting. Anyone with a heart condition would have had a massive coronary and definitely would have needed them. The stairs were like magic, because they were never ending. Just as soon as you thought you were at the top, another flight popped up. As usual, we had some of the worst seats in the house, but I didn’t mind this time for one particular reason. There were some fantastically attractive females up in that section, as opposed to the saggy old bags that we ran into at the other performances. I met this one babe, Desirèe, but that was at Hooters after the performance. Desirèe, it’s like desire with a yay at the end. The performance was okay, but the real highlight of that evening was the Hooters experience. When one tells a waitress, “I suppose I am full of myself, and hey, if you play your cards right, maybe you could be full of me, too,” one should expect to be slapped. But I suppose the satisfaction one may get from making that comment nullifies the pain from the slap. Much like the horn section of the orchestra at Carnegie Hall, I was fairly horny at Hooters. I wanted to tell the waitress that she could play my trombone if she wanted, but she probably would have said no, so I didn’t. They’re best when wet, tasty, and hot – I mean the wings, of course! Long story short, screw Disneyworld – Hooters is the happiest place on Earth! Hoot-Hoot!
Hello all,
After all the different musical and other artistic performances that we have gone to, my bar was also not the highest. The Tokyo String Quartet was four men playing their instruments with expertise but thats all. You could only listen with rapt attention for so long. However at the Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique, I was watching until the very end, and when the last note was played I was left wanting more. It was interesting seeing so many people playing instruments but having only one sound come out. I was taken away by the skill of the violinists. It strikes me as a stark contrast from the way I used to think of the violin. The violin was to me like a calculator, used with skill only by nerds. However I was wrong and now I wish I played the violin my whole life.
It seems that while I heard all the music, I missed out on the best part of the night. Hooters does sound like the happiest place on earth after hearing all the accounts. Hurrah!
I remember this night very well. I felt exactly the same as I was on my way to the performance. I thought to myself how this was probably going to be another waste of a night, especially since I had my chemistry test the next morning. It turned out this was my favorite event of all of them. The place wasn’t sold out so we had a lot of space to stretch out and relax while listening to the music. I actually really enjoyed 2 out of the 3 musical pieces.
I remember when you were talking about the girl at the theatre when we went to Hooters afterwards. I love how they told us to go take a seat anywhere we wanted, and then when we chose a table, they told us the section was closed. It didn’t help that we arrived post-happy hour, so the waitresses were not not as pretty as expected. Then, we ordered and it took like 30 minutes to get our food. At least we got free drinks!