On Stage at the Weill Hall

I waited to post today's blip because we had tickets to go to the Green Music Center at Sonoma State University to hear the Chinese Pianist, Lang Lang. Kelly had been given the tickets at the last minute and asked us to join them.

I knew that this was the grand opening weekend for the brand new center including the concert hall so I asked Maureen what she thought the dress was. She thought pretty casual, so we worked in the garden all day, threw on some clean clothes and sensible shoes and drove over there. As we walked toward the beautiful building with a curving roof and a back wall which opened to people seated on the lawn, we began to suspect that we were were a bit underdressed. I at least managed a dress and ,lacking any other kind of jacket, a shawl. OilMan had on his dirty garden boots (the only shoes he had up here) , a fairly clean shirt with a collar and a grubby pair of khaki pants.

When we saw the red carpet and the women in gowns, we knew we were in trouble. When were ushered through the wings to seats on the stage, directly behind the grand piano and the pianist, and the cameras directed at the pianist, there was nothing for it but to march in with our heads up and hope nobody looked at our feet. (who WAS this guy who gave Kelly the tickets?) When I glanced from Kelly's sneakers to the dog hair on OilMan's pants, it was all I could do to keep from bursting out laughing. We were sitting ON THE STAGE, under the stage lights, closer to Lang Lang than the governor, Jerry Brown , or Nancy Pelosi, the former Speaker of the House. In the only clothes we had that were barely a cut above jeans and t-shirts.

Our discomfort melted away as we gazed out over the beautiful hall right outside to a full moon, and listened to this charming, dramatic, and talented pianist. Maureen took my picture on stage after the performance right next to the piano. Thank goodness for shawls! We walked back to the car to the strains of the pipes playing in the courtyard, and watched fireworks from the car as we waited to leave the parking lot. A truly magical once in a lifetime experience.