An Evening With Friends

Several months ago I went to my first Indy blogmeet and was welcomed into the group like I was long lost brother.  Tam, Roberta, Brigid and everyone else in the group are as warm and kind in real life as they are in their blogs.

And since that time the ladies have shown me how friendly and caring shooters are in the whole and these fine folks in particular.  And over the course, of my monthly visits to Indy, I was invited to dine and spend time with these nice people.   And as we talked and laughed like we had known each other for years, a germ of an idea came to me.  I wanted to show how much I value and treasure their friendship and repay their kindness by doing something for them that hopefully would be a wonderful and unique experience.  I had a one pointed mentioned that I missed going to the Elgin Symphony, so when Brigid said that she had never been or hadn't been in a very long time, I asked if they would like to go see the Indianapolis Symphony?  Excited with the idea we began to look at dates and performances, and finally settled on going to see Mahler's 1st the last weekend of September.  I was saddened when Roberta and Tam had to beg off, but thrilled that Midwest Chick and Brigid were game.

Suddenly I had a "non-date" with two very lovely ladies to a "grown-up event", so this night was going to be special.

And it was, it started when I was greeted at the door by something low-slung and in black.  Once we got a very-excited-to-see-me Barkley (I was excited to him too!!) back under control, I was knocked out by two knock-outs.  WOW !!!   The ultimate expression of the Little Black Dress and the Red Number that just WOW !!!

And like Prom night, pictures were take and greeting hugs exchanged and mmmmmm vanilla perfume.  Out to open the car doors for the ladies and were off to the Big City.  Give the car to the valet and inside the elegant building which houses the theater and the Symphony.  The on-going highlight of the evening was watching the faces of the people (especially men) seeing someone walking around with not one, but two gorgeous ladies dressed to the nines, one on each arm.  The looks of surprise and envy were just like the Mastercard commercial - Priceless.  The ladies made great sport of it, as I grew concerned that they were going to cause of fellow concertgoers to walk into balusters or the stately columns that dot the lobby as they did double takes and stared.
A pre-concert beverage along with more catching up conversation and it's time to find our seats.  From the ISO's website, there really are no bad seats, but some are better than others, so I wanted seats that would ensure that we be able to really enjoy not only the music but he musicians as well.
The music was phenomenal.  The opening piece, Ades' Violin Concerto was magnificently performed by Lela Josefowicz, it is technically challenging and wild ranging, Ades' piece confuses difficultly with artistry.  Ms Josefowicz breathed love and life into what could have easily become a muddled mess.
During the intermission the two ladies again spent their time touching up their tactical lip-gloss, to the shock and dismay of fellow concert-goers and it seemed that we had pickup a tail of novice nuns (yes, in the habits), also out to enjoy an evening of music, though I never thought that Mahler made the Top 100 in the Catholic Church.
Meanwhile back to to seats for the feature piece.  Mahler's 1st.  While the ISO much acclaimed new Music Director Krzysztof Urbanski was elsewhere this evening,guest conductor Larry Rachleff took over and did a magnificent job of leading the large ensemble (Mahler always liked bigger and more when it came to instruments) in the complex work that can be flat and un--inspired, as is frequently the case in most recordings of the work.  Therefore I was somewhat skeptical as to what kind of performance we could expect.  Needless to say I was greatly surprised and impressed. Mr. Rachleff's light and lively treatment brought out all the complex and intertwined themes that were clear and distinct.  The musicians obviously enjoying the work and that enjoyment growing as the lengthy work progressed.  Leading up to the finally which brought the audience to it's feet for a lengthy ovation.
Having paid our respects to the orchestra, we departed to retrieve the car from the valet.  Upon presenting my stub, the attendant could not find the key and announced that they had probably went to retrieve as they would begin to bring up the vehicles once the performance ended.  After standing by the curb on the Circle and doing the tourist thing (craning our necks upward to to see the Civil War Victory Finger to the South column), I noticed my car park further down round the circle.  Going back inside, I pointed out my car to the attendant who sheepishly admitted that they had not been able to figure out how to remove the key from the ignition of a stick shift Saab, so had parked it, with the key in it, where they could keep an eye on it.  Disdaining a tip, the ladies and I laughed and walked 'round the circle to were I helped them in the car (again, getting stares and double takes from passer-by) and eliciting complimentary comments from the street vendors next to where the car had been left parked.
A quick trip back to Small Town and the Stone Creek Dining Company for an extremely tasty meal of Steak, Shrimp, Scallops, and Chicken, along with all the trimmings.  More conversation and laughs that frequently had me wiping tears from my eyes we were laughing so hard ("and then Sonny the cockateil said....") along with the "church lady" with her teenage daughter sitting in the booth catty-corner who kept shooting me very disproving looks (Two woman !?!?!  and look, they can't even be half his age !!!  Hhhhrrmmppph !!!).

And all too quickly the night was ending.  A return to the current Range, where once again I was met by something low-slung and black (Hi Barkley !!), hugs and a return to my parents home, where I just managed to sneak in before curfew.

I can't thank Midwest Chick and Brigid for a truly wonderful evening of friends, music and food.  I had been so looking forward to it and it was everything I had hoped for and more.  I also would like to thank Mr. B for letting me borrow his Significant Other for the evening, you sir a very fortunate and lucky man.   It was an distinct privilege and true honor to escort both of you ladies last evening.  It's something I'll never forget, Thank you.