It's Official!

On August 13, 2011 I get to spend the evening with this guy.

Try not to be jealous.

Random Thoughts...

I've got some random things floating around in my brain this morning so I decided to just let them out. :)

1) I went to a high school choir concert last night and I just so happened to sit right in front of a couple who brought along their six year old child. This child obviously didn't care much for choral music and it was clear that he was completely bored out of his mind. Every 5 minutes, without fail, I would hear something like this: "Is it over yet?" or "Is this the last song?" or "Can we go now?" in his whiney little voice. And then in response I would hear the mother say, "No. Please be quiet. Just a few more songs." I couldn't help but chuckle. This kid did not want to be there and the poor mother was trying her hardest to keep him reigned in. Is this sometimes how we are in life? Do we act like this whiney little kid who doesn't want to sit still, focus on the task at hand, or appreciate the many things life has to offer? Does Heavenly Father have to constantly remind us to be quiet, be patient, and pay attention? I don't know why but for some reason, that's exactly what this moment made me think of. Random.

2) I mentioned in a post three or four times ago how grateful I am for those not of the LDS faith who are willing to stand up for us. This has been on my mind a lot lately. A few years ago when Mitt Romney was running for President, I began reading a blog entitled "Evangelicals for Mitt". Every so often they would post something about Mormons (obviously this came up because they were supporting Mitt who is a Mormon) and I would always be very impressed with their kindness towards the LDS Church even though they obviously disagreed with it's theology. This was always impressive to me. At the time, one of the authors wrote a post that I really liked and just yesterday I happened upon this post again. It may be a few years old now, but in light of recent events, I still think it is very applicable. So if any of you would like to read it now, click here.

Plain White T's

My roommate has a great job and every once in awhile, I get to enjoy the perks of her job with her. This past Friday, the CEO paid to fly a band in for a private concert for all their employees. The band? The Plain White T's.

The crowd was fairly small (around 500) so we were able to stand pretty close to the stage most of the night. They sang the familiar songs and they also sang a few songs from their new album that hasn't been released yet. So basically, we were there for a couple of world premiere performances. It was awesome! Did I mention it was loud? By the time the concert was over my ears were ringing so bad that I actually wondered if I would get my full hearing back. We were yelling "WHAT?!?" to each other the entire way home. It was quite hilarious.

Here we are just a few rows back from the stage:


What a fun, fun night!

I'm Perplexed...

• I'm perplexed by the massive amount of equipment that is being brought into the University Stadium to set up for the U2 concert. The concert is two weeks away and they are already setting up for it? But not only that, they have approximately 15 semi trucks, 5 flatbed trucks, 5 or more forklifts, 3 other trucks (the type that has the lift a person can stand in), a ginormous tent and several building type trailers. They have practically taken over the entire parking lot. I'm perplexed by this situation because when I looked at the U2 tour dates online, they perform every 2-3 days. If it takes two weeks to set up for one concert then exactly how many of these sets do they have? They obviously have to be setting up for more than one concert at a time. And how much is all of this costing? It's no wonder they charge $200/ticket.
  
  
• I'm perplexed by people who go to a choir concert and bring their dinner with them in giant styrofoam containers and somehow expect the people sitting around them to not be annoyed by the smell of it for the next 1 1/2 hours. Is it not possible for people to eat before entering the auditorium? This isn't a sporting event/movie theatre people! I don't care if it was only a high school choir performance, what happened to concert ettiquette? The choir teacher (my sister) already had to remind the audience that cat-calling isn't appropriate for concert performances and should be saved for sporting events. Perhaps next time dinner entrees should also be included in that reminder.
  
  
• I'm perplexed by California. Where do they get off thinking they can control this country? They wanted to boycott Utah over prop 8 (even though Californians passed the bill, not Utahns) and now they want to boycott Arizona over their new immigration bill? Seriously? Don't individual states still have rights? Why does California even get a say in this? I say they better start being a little nicer to their neighboring states - especially those that supply them with water and electricity. Otherwise, someone just might flip the switch on them and it will be Goodnight, California!

An American Songbook Concert...

I had the privilege of going to my sister's concert last Friday night. Most of you probably already know that she is in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They had a concert at the LDS Conference Center on Friday and Saturday evenings. I went Friday with my mom, brother and sister-in-law. Honestly, there really are no words to describe that concert. The choir's performance was spectacular. Their performance of Come, Come Ye Saints was so powerful and stirring that it brought me to tears.

There were also two guest performers as well; Denyce Graves and Brian Stokes Mitchell. Though Denyce Graves is a great singer, I completely fell in love with Brian Stokes Mitchell's voice. His music really touched my soul. I was unable to find a version of my favorite song he sang, but here is a version of him singing The Impossible Dream which he also sang at the concert. It is not really a video, just the song. The performance was so phenomenal that the crowd literally jumped to their feet!*



This concert was so good, in fact, that I went again on Saturday night! I really wish I could describe it for you, but any words I choose would be so inadequate. It was probably the most amazing concert I have ever been to. And it was a great honor to be in the presence of President Thomas S. Monson at both performances as well.

Other poignant moments from the concert include:

1 - The moment President Monson walked into the room and the entire room stood. There was a couple sitting behind me who were visiting from Ohio and had no idea what was going on. But they stood with the rest of us and quietly watched as the prophet of God entered. I have no idea what they were thinking, but I could tell they were touched by the feeling that was there.

2 -To the audience on Friday night, Stokes described his feelings of performing for us (with the choir) as being like "heaven on a stick" and on Saturday night like "singing on a cloud". However he tried to describe it, it was clear to him and everyone else either performing or attending, that this was more than just a concert. This was something special. According to my sister, both he and Denyce Graves were more than touched by their experiences here. Stokes said that in all his travels all over the world he has never received a warmer welcome or more genuine kindness as he did here. And Denyce Graves was crying by the time it was all over.


*President Monson was the very first one on his feet after Saturday nights performance of The Impossible Dream. He nearly bolted from his chair before the last note was even played. And then Brian Stokes Mitchell acknowledged him on stage with a stroke of his hand. Listen to the words of that song while keeping President Monson in your mind. Perhaps you will then begin to understand the feeling I felt when the song ended and President Monson jumped to his feet. It's the closest glimpse I can give you into what it was like.

Pioneer Day Commemoration Concert....

Saturday night I had the pleasure of attending the Pioneer Commemoration Concert at the Conference Center, featuring the Mormon Tabernacle Choir along with the Osmond Family. I have to say that I have never been a big fan of the Osmonds. Not because I don't like them but because they were before my time. My parent's never listened to them nor did anyone else in my family. So I have never been familiar with their music. But I sat next to a lady at the concert who went on and on about how much she loves the Osmonds and how she was so excited to be there to see them perform live. I didn't want to spoil her excitement, but the only way I knew how to comment on that was to say, "That's great! I wish I could say the same. But I'm here because my little sister is in the Tabernacle Choir and it's her first big concert". She did not seem impressed.

But truthfully, that is the reason my parents and I even went to the concert...because it was my sister's first concert with the choir. Otherwise, we would have been just as content to stay home and watch it on TV (if we watched it at all). But I am glad I went and I did have a good time. The Choir did a great job and the Osmonds did a good job as well. I thought they were a very entertaining part of the show.

But if I'm being honest, I will say that I found myself feeling a wee bit disappointed by the fact that it went from a "Pioneer Day Commemoration Concert" to an "Osmond Family Affair". The choir sang about four or five songs dedicated to the Pioneers and then the rest of the show was all about the Osmonds. Instead of the program saying "A Pioneer Day Commemoration Concert with Special Guests: The Osmonds" it should have said "An Osmond Family Concert with Special Guests: The Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square. Because truthfully, that's exactly what it was.

Don't get me wrong...it was entertaining and I'm sure all those who are die-hard Osmond fans loved every minute of it. I just felt bad for my sister and the rest of the choir who were simply there as back-up singers to the Osmond Family. For being a world-renowned choir, it was a little disappointing to see them to simply ooing and ahhing behind the Osmond Family. And to make it worse, the music was so loud that you couldn't even hear the choir ooing and ahhing. Basically it just looked like they were standing there for a good hour of the 1 1/2 hour show. But like I said, I'm sure the die-hard Osmond fans loved it. It was a really fun concert, but perhaps I would have enjoyed it more had I gone to hear the Osmonds instead of the choir.

My dad did not have the same opinion of the concert as I did. In talking to my family last night, my brother asked how the concert was. His comments made me shake my head in disbelief and nearly caused my brother to fall out of his chair laughing. Here are just a few of the things my dad said*:

Brother: How was the concert last night?
Dad: Are you asking me personally or all of us as a group? Because if you are asking me personally, I'd have to say it was the worst thing I've been to in my entire life. I was just telling your mother that I would have rather mowed the lawn and had a root canal than to have had to sit through that.

Dad: The Osmonds simply make up for what they've lost in talent by using a bunch of cheesy pictures and flashing lights.

Dad: They should have advertized it as the Osmond Family Has-Beens 50th Anniversary Concert. That's what it was.

Dad: They just need to retire. They've been around for 50 years. That's long enough.

Me: Dad, the concert wasn't all bad.
Dad: You're right. The choir was excellent.

Dad: The Osmonds got a 10 minute standing ovation. Never in the history of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir has ANY guest performer received a standing ovation like that**.

For those who don't know my dad, he does tend to get a little bit dramatic just to prove a point. We've dealt with this our entire lives and we've learned to just laugh at him rather than try to argue with him. It was quite humorous to sit and listen to him, but it was even more humorous to watch my brother try and hold his composure.

My advice to my brother was that he should watch it for himself and make his own opinion. I offer the same advice to anyone else who reads this blog. Definitely don't take my dad's word for it.

* In my dad's defense, he had just traveled to Idaho and back in a span of 24 hours, sat through a 4 hour triathalon and had to deal with horrible traffic. So he was a little tired and cranky to begin with.

** The Osmonds did get a really long standing ovation (they got 2 ovations, actually) but it was not anywhere near 10 minutes long. And as you can probably suspect, my dad did not stand up either time. Neither did I for that matter. I only gave one standing ovation that night, and it was for the choir after they finished the concert with "Come, Come Ye Saints".