mushinnoshin

Friday night was a real treat, as the phenomenal percussionist Evelyn Glennie performed a concerto for percussion and strings with the Nashville Symphony. It was an interesting piece, working in three movements — wood, metal, and skin, each focused around instruments of the named varieties. What I didn’t realize until a friend mentioned it during intermission — Dame Glennie, who, by the way, is almost completely deaf, was the same amazing talent that had blown me away some time back at the Belcourt in the performance documentary Touch the Sound. HIGHLY recommended for all my musically oriented compadres.

That this fantastic performance was followed by a rendition of the 10th symphony by my man Shostakovich was a most tasty icing.

Saturday afternoon I made my first visit to the Yazoo Brewery Taproom to refill a couple of growlers I’d gotten as a Christmas present from Kate & Karsten. Refilled one with my standby Dos Peros, and the other with a Rye Porter that I’m sipping as we speak. Good Stuff. I’ve gotta say though, I did the math, and it seems a bit “off” to me — $8 for a half gallon (64 ounce) refill, when I can get a six-pack (72 ounces) at Kroger for $7.50? You might think we’d get a deal since you’re not giving us any new glass and we’re not paying retail markup… well, it’s allright, I suppose the trade off is that you can’t get the porter at Kroger. Or the snooty satisfaction of buying your beer direct from the microbrewer.

I followed that up with The Diving Bell and the Butterfly at the Belcourt — a beautiful and thought provoking film about a paraplegic locked inside himself, unable to communicate with the outside world (except by the extraordinary efforts of those committed to helping him). Of course it touched me, and made me think, how awesome would be a story about someone who had the same problem metaphorically, about someone whose inability to commune with the rest of humanity was purely psychological.

Oh, right.

Which reminds me, I discovered after watching Mona Lisa Smile that Plath’s masterpiece will soon itself become a movie. I’m not entirely sure how I feel about that, but I do have an open mind enough to look forward to it.