"The Taste Makers"

Last night I attend a Zocolo event at the Grand Central Market in downtown L.A.  David Sax, author of "The Taste Makers,"  spoke about the changing food fads.

He talked about samples of food fads like the cupcake parlors, kale, and the marketing of bacon.  He said that they are putting bacon in everything including a bacon coffin, and a bacon flavored lubrication.  He said the chefs that make it are the ones who create original innovative ideas and then go to the internet to market them.

One example of a successful chef with his food fusion of Mexican and Korean, is Roy Choi.  Roy came up with the idea of buying a food truck and making Kogi barbecued pork tacos.  He tied into Twitter to announce his locations and thousands came to his Kogi trucks.  Food trucks are now the rage all over the world...started by Roy Choi's creation and success.  He now operates 4 trucks and three restaurants.  His recent cookbook and life story is a New York Times best seller.  This has incentivizes creativity and innovation in food and moves culture ahead, he said.

David Sax at Zocolo

"Sugarman" at Cal. State L.A. on Saturday

Last Saturday night we went to the Luckman Auditorium at Cal. State L.A. to see Rodriguez in concert.  We had all seen the 2013 Academy Award winning documentary film, "Looking for Sugarman" and enjoyed the music on our C.D.  It was fun seeing him in person.  The soon to be 72 year-old performer was briefly popular in the 1970's and then disappeared.  Meanwhile, he was still a star in South Africa...as famous as Elvis, they say.  He was "found" a few years ago and the documentary of his discovery and reemergence to the stage with a hero's welcome in South Africa.

Rodriguez was led on to the stage by assistants as he seems to be nearly blind.  He was accompanied by a lead guitar, bass guitar and drums.  He played the amplified acoustical guitar and sang.  He was. proceeded to the stage by one of his daughters who sang two songs, and an opening act.

Cosi fan tutte at the L.A. Phil ThursdayLo

The Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra under the direction of Gustavo Dudamel presented their third Mozart Opera at the Disney Hall last night.  All three of these operas were written by Mozart in partnership with Lorenzo da Ponte who wrote the words.  The opera presented 2 years ago was "Don Giovanni."  The second was "The Marriage of Figaro."  Currently the orchestra is presenting "Cosi fan tutte" which roughly means 'All women behave that way.'  The story is about two friends, Ferrando and Guglielmo, in love with sisters but are challenged by Don Alfonso to test their ladies' love by pretending to go away with the navy and instead dress up as Turks and attempt to woo the sisters. This turns into a bet with the maid, Despina, helping Don Alfonso by encouraging the sisters to have fun.  Well, the sisters do kind of fall for the two Turks, ending up with the one they to whom they are not engaged.  The ending is kind of happy with the original couples back together but not too happy about what had happen over this long one day in their lives.

The orchestra was great and the singing wonderful.  The set, designed by Zaha Hadid, architect was very interesting, kind of a white skate board park.  The costumes by Hussein Chalayan were also interesting.  In the first scene they look like they were wearing summer wear from J. Crew.  The last act, the wedding has all four, yes the men too, wearing dresses.

Here are some pictures from the performance:

Gustavo directing the smaller orchestra at the front left side of the stage.

Left is Roxana Constantinescu, (Dorabella), the Romanian mezzo-soprano.  To the right is Miah Perrson, (Fiordiligi) the second sister who is a renowned Swedish soprano.  Behind are lyric tenor Alek Shrader (Fernando) and Philippe Sly (Guglielmo) the French-Canadian bass-baritone all in their summer pastels.  

The dreamy sisters thinking about having fun with the strangers in town.

The guys in the "Turks" outfits with the girls preparing to marry the "strangers."

Here are the dismayed couples getting married to their original partners in their wedding dresses.

This is the maid, Despina, played by soprano Rosemary Joshua and the scheming Don Alfonso, Rod Gilfrey, bass.  They are celebrating the success of their plot. 

This photo shows a bit of the orchestra and the interesting set taken during a rehearsal.

Billy Joel at the Hollywood Bowl

Last night Colleen, Ginny, Lars and I had great fun with 18,000 others at the Billy Joel concert at the Hollywood Bowl.  At age 65, "The Entertainer" is still going strong and performed many of our favorites.  His band and backup singers were amazing with guitar riffs, saxophone interludes and great brass and percussion.  He is the master of the piano...playing fast and furious up and down the keyboard.  He even threw in a Beatles song and Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" in the middle of his famous songs.

The fans sang along to the top of our lungs, especially on "New York State of Mind" and "Piano Man." For a moment we were a close community all singing together.

The joy of music that defines the life of our generation is fantastic.  It was wonderful celebrating the music with the next generations who were also singing along.  It truly was an Ode to Joyfulness.

Mike Kelley's Kaleidoscope of Madness at MOCA

I visited the Geffen Contemporary Museum of the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art with my friend Teri yesterday.  We viewed the extensive collection of over 250 of his art works that include drawings, sculpture, performance, music, video, photography and painting.  As the program states he explored themes of American class relations, sexuality, repressed memory,  and systems of religion.

Kelley was born in suburban Detroit, Michigan in 1954 and lived and worked in Los Angeles from the mid-1070's until his death at the age of fifty-seven in 2012.  Here is a little bit of what we saw:

This exhibit quotes philosophers about life.  At the end of the hall is a drawing by a man on death row waiting to be executed.

"More Love Hours Than Can Every Be Repaid"

"Black Out," 1999-2001.  This is a large sculpture of the astronaut John Glenn for the 200th anniversary of his hometown, Detroit.  The surface is encrusted with pieces of broken ceramics, glass and other debris dredged from the Detroit River.

"Memory Ware" 2003, with everyday objects including shells, beads, buttons, pins, jewelry and other keepsakes.  

"In Memory of Camelot," 2000

"Seven Star Cavern," 1999

Kelley created this sign familiar outside of many towns across the country showing the clubs active in the community.  The name of this town is Tross City with the first letters covered.  Kelley had said it is an imaginary city that sounds like the work "atrocity."  Some of the club names are interesting such as The Anti-Christ Fan Club and Ding Dong School.

Jessye Norman at Aloud on Thursday

Last Thursday night I attended an Aloud program at the L.A. central library where Jessye Norman, the opera singer, was interviewed by Deborah Borda, President and CEO of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Miss Norman was born in 1945 in the Jim Crowe South and as an African American, she grew up with the challenges of racism.  With the support of her strong family she pursued music at Howard University and the University of Michigan.  She has sung all over the world in concerts to honor the Dalai Lama, the bicentennial of the French republic and in opera houses everywhere.

When asked the difference between Spirituals and Gospels she explained that Spirituals were written during slavery and helped the African Americans through extremely difficult times.  Gospel songs are modern.

Maurice Hines "Tappin' Thru Life" on Tuesday

On Tuesday night I made my first visit to the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills to see Maurice Hines, his Diva Jazz Orchestra, and three great tap dancers.  Maurice and his younger brother Gregory became famous first tap dancing with their father and later as a duo 37 times on Johnny Carson tonight show before it left New York.  They performed with Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Junior and other jazz greats in Harlem, Las Vegas and around the country.

The 9 piece all woman orchestra was on a several levels platform on the stage and Maurice sang and danced (a little...he is 71) while he told his and his brother's life story.  The highlight was appearance of John and Leo Manzari who are young brothers in their 20's dancing much like the Hines brothers use to dance.  Then 9 year old Luke Spring sprung on the stage and danced up a storm.

Ceiling of the original post office now lobby

The 1930's Lobby.  The plaque on the far wall recognized the dedication by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933.

"Exaltation," 2013 by Emmanuel Fillion, France (b.1966) in the Sculpture Garden

The venue took the existing 1930's post office with all it's B.H. grandeur with a small auditorium and then behind is a modern building with the new theater along side a sculpture garden.  It is called The Wallis for the lady who gave the most money.

Maurice Hines and his Diva Orchestra

The Wallis from the Theater Side