Wednesday, July 12, 2006

I Love A Piano

Wednesday's River to River Festival performance at Rockefeller Park was rained out, but not cancelled. Instead of gathering outside for a jazz filled evening, Jared, Christopher and I found ourselves in the Stuyvesant High School auditorium. When I saw that the rain location was Stuyvesant, my interest was peaked because to me, this school is legendary. Mr. O'Rourke, my AP American History teacher in 11th grade spent years teaching at Stuyvesant and couldn't say enough about it when he transferred to Centreville for his first year in Fairfax County. I'll have to admit it was pretty posh. Marble entrance with granite pillars and latin phrases etched in the walls. It didn't really resemble a high school at all.

The auditorium was really nice and a great venue for Tony DeSare. He was incredible. Jared gave a perfect synopsis of the evening: Tony crooned, I swooned. Maude Maggart headlined, but I didn't appreciate her style as much. She's a cabaret singer, so every note is filled with vibrato. Tony's songs could probably be criticized as overly romantic, but I'm sure he could make any girl melt with his mad piano skills, his cool, sensual voice, and lyrics like, "break my heart, I'd still be glad I found you." This was one of those concerts that came as a perfectly impressive surprise. One that changed me, if only slightly.

-Tony Bennett-

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