So. The annual Goffstown Area High School jazz concert was last night in the good old auditorium. As I knew both my friends Sara and Hux were going to be involved, I found my way over there (after a long day of substituting...) to watch those crazy kids perform. It was the final concert of the year and the most relaxed, as everyone (including the performers) were allowed to chillax a little as far as outfits go. Yeah. They were definitely dressed in a Hawaiian theme. It was more than hilarious to see my old choir teacher with a lei and a flowery button down shirt.
Outfits aside, the relaxed atmosphere seemed to bring the best out of everyone-- people did rather well on their solos and I was literally floored by some of the performances. I'm proud to say that Hux was involved in two of these performances himself. I NEVER KNEW THAT HE COULD PLAY ALTO SAX SOOOO WELL! My goodness. He performed "Misty" by Erroll Garner and Johnny Burke, along with the help of an outstanding alto singer Kristen Whitney, another acquaintance I know through drama and chorus. (Let me insert here that I MISS drama and chorus and if I could just have time again, I would totally be involved at GMC. I just have too many jobs, classes, and clubs to go to to be able to balance it all sanely. But do I MISS it. Hence the vicarious living by watching my friends perform. What ever will I do next year when they've all graduated??)
But wow. When he said he picked up the sax, he meant it. Yikes. There was so much heart and soul put into the song, I seriously didn't know what to do with myself when it ended. Everyone around me, naturally, was clapping and/or asking people who the two performers were. I was just in awe.
"Eleanor Rugby" was also played by a group of strings, which was certainly a different angle for the song, but definitely a good idea. Not so ironically, I sang this song as a chorus piece four years ago.
Now mind you, when I first arrived at the concert, I wasn't in a good mood, even with the free ice cream sundae I merrily ingested. The following song, however, is what made my night, and made this event truly worth blogging about.
Picture this. There's a group of... say... fifteen or so chorus guys standing in front of an audience in flowery shirts with leis. Now, I don't know if you've ever met a guy in chorus, but, most of them... let's just say are a bit on the nerdy/geeky side. Now, I know you might think I'm stereotyping, but I know most of said fifteen guys and I'M NOT. So take my word for it. A group of really geeky (but really nice) guys in flowery shirts with leis and they sing the following song:
Jessie is a friend, yeah, I know he's been a good friend of mine
But lately something's changed that ain't hard to define
Jessie's got himself a girl and I want to make her mine
And she's watching him with those eyes
And she's lovin' him with that body, I just know it
Yeah 'n' he's holding her in his arms late, late at night
You know, I wish that I had Jessie's girl
I wish that I had Jessie's girl
Where can I find a woman like that
I play along with the charade, there doesn't seem to be a reason to change
You know, I feel so dirty when they start talking cute
I wanna tell her that I love her, but the point is rather moot
'Cos she's watching him with those eyes
And she's lovin' him with that body, I just know it
And he's holding her in his arms late, late at night
Like Jessie's girl, I wish that I had Jessie's girl
Where can I find a woman
Where can I find a woman like that
And I'm lookin' in the mirror all the time, wondering what she don't see in me
I've been funny, I've been cool with the lines
Ain't that the way love supposed to be
Tell me, where can I find a woman like that
You know, I wish that I had Jessie's girl, I wish that I had Jessie's girl
I want Jessie's girl, where can I find a woman like that, like
Jessie's girl, I wish that I had Jessie's girl, I want, I want Jessie's girl.
Yeah. They sang "Jessie's Girl" by Rick Springfield. To top it off, they even began the piece with a girl walking by and attracting one of the guys off stage, to which the guys began singing the piece and acting it out. I could not stop laughing. It was so ridiculous.
Oh. And Hux sang part of the solo in that song, too. Sara was also amazing in all of her choral goodness in songs such as "I Have Dreamed" and "Call Me."
Love them both. I wonder if they'll be as nostalgic as I in a couple years when they get back from college. Speaking of which, they both graduate next Monday. Oooh. Scary.
So, I'll update as soon as something else interesting happens. Until then, here's a little wisdom from Shantideva, an 8th century Indian Buddhist scholar: "First of all I should strive to contemplate the equality of myself and others. I should cherish all beings as I do myself, as we all are equal in wanting pleasure, not wanting pain..." Can you tell I've begun reading my assignments for Tibet? Yeah. It's been fun.