Keith Jarrett

Keith Jarrett was incredible.

That’s me, and the piano. I was so excited!
I first fell in love with Keith Jarrett back in 2003. I’d stumbled upon his recording from his 1975 Köln Concert, and I was mesmerized by his phrasing and melodic and harmonic ideas. Something about the way he plays is so honest and genuine. When I saw that he was playing in Chicago, I knew I had to go. I didn’t know that he’s had some health problems, so I’m very thankful for the opportunity to hear him while he can still play. He had to ice his hand during intermission, and he took an unplanned break during the second half to ice, as well. This is my view from the top:

I apologize for the blown-out picture- but I didn’t bring a camera other than my phone. I was carrying a small clutch! 🙂
Keith doesn’t have a reputation for being the most friendly on stage, but he was really conversational during the night. He humored us by taking requests, even playing part of “Moonlight Sonata” and laughing about requests for his “Colon” concert. He ran over to the mic and said, “Did I hear that right? Did I play a colon concert?!” The music was fantastic; we clapped so long that we brought him out for two encore performances.
If I could have told my sweet 17-year-old self that I would one day be in Chicago and make my way to Keith Jarrett’s concert by my independent self, I wouldn’t have believed it.

Do I look musically fulfilled? I felt like I was floating on air after that concert. Downtown Chicago is pretty awesome at night 🙂

Special thanks to Rex for dropping me off and picking me up after the concert. 🙂
As soon as we got back to Maureen’s house, I crashed. I was a tired cookie! I had to wake up early on Thursday to make it to Almond in time to judge the middle school’s district Solo/Ensemble contest. Good morning, sunshine!

I love traveling, but there’s always something special about seeing the “Wisconsin Welcomes You” sign.

I drove up through MKE and then took country roads to Almond.

A far cry from the streets in Chicago, that’s for sure!
When I was about 45 minutes outside of Almond, I started to hear a pretty loud clunking sound coming from my rear driver’s side wheel well. At first, I thought it was the case of wine I bought at Trader Joe’s rattling around in the trunk, but that wasn’t it. I started to get nervous and prayed that I’d make it home. First- a stop to hear the kids play some music.
Amanda and I worked together to do the judging. It was a great time! I love helping and encouraging young students in their musical journey.

On the way home, the clunking got worse and worse. I started wondering if I should be driving highway speeds (as it turns out, the answer was no. I’m pretty lucky!). I made it home and was so happy to see Brian and the pups. I whipped up a quick chicken stir fry with brown rice for dinner, then Brian dropped me off at my TU board meeting on the way to his union meeting. I was mentioning to the board that my car broke, and that I’d need a ride home, when our future president offered to give me a ride. As it turns out, he’s the manager at Auto Select in town, and he offered to take a look at my car. I have the best friends, I swear! 🙂 He diagnosed the problem, and called me this morning with a quote for repairs. When he called, my cold was in full swing, so I sounded more like Heidi-turned-Cookie-Monster. Oh, well. He reassured me that they had green tea at the shop, and wi-fi.
Best. Auto. Shop. Ever.
As it turns out, strut assemblies are important and EXPENSIVE. sigh.
For you car people out there- here’s the damage.

I learned that it’s not supposed to look like that. Well, goodbye, $500.
Despite my cold and the unexpected expense, I’m going to make this Good Friday a good one. 🙂
P.S. happy opening day, Brew Crew!