Concert surprise!

Hurray for random discoveries! Today promised to be a pretty ho-hum saturday. I didn't particularly mind as the weeks have been so busy lately, but the same ol' same ol' gets, well, old after a while. I've taken to escaping to starbucks on the weekends. I feel rather guilty about this. I've never been a huge fan of starbucks, patronizing them whlie in Thailand seems wrong on so many levels and it's ridiculously expensive. But perhaps because of this combination it's the one coffee shop I have found here that isn't tiny and crammed with people. so I can go there to quietly read or study Thai. The best part is they have great balcony seating, which means I can look out over Tha Phae gate and watch everyone's comings and goings. I'm such a creeper.

And so I made my way there today and caught up on making some flashcards for all the new vocabulary I hadn't reviewed. I definitely spend enough time there to make it worth the expense (their coffee costs more than I pay for most meals), but I was finally forced to leave when the sun went down and bugs started swarming around the lights. Mai chop (I don't like). I didn't really feel like heading back to the dorm so I decided to wander for a bit. There are lots of great little shops in this area. It's pretty backpackery and establishments catering to farang are everywhere, including bookshops. I was feeling a little homesick and so I decided to poke my head in one of these, thinking of all the times I've visited Auntie's bookstore with friends. There are lots of used bookstores in Chiang Mai, but the "Lost Bookshop" really took my fancy. There was a wonderfully bookish old fellow sitting at the cash register and a very friendly cat lounging on one of the shelves. The proprietor even turned on some music for me (and started singing along!) when he saw me browsing the shelves. I thought about purchasing a Brian Jacques novel, but couldn't find the specific one I wanted. I was about to leave when a flyer caught my eye. "Chiang Mai Music Festival," it said. Classical music by Haydn, Beethoven and Brahms. February 18 and 19. Why, the 19th was today! I checked the start time. 7:30. It was about five minutes to seven. I couldn't remember the last time I'd actually attended a live performance of classical music. The location was on the opposite side of the old city, but the city isn't that big. I decided to book it (ha!).

I made it to the right spot but didn't see any indications of a concert. Frustrated, I began to circle the block and finally found an entrance to a parking lot. There was a table set up next to a lot of the same flyers. I ran up and asked if there was a concert and how much it cost. It was free! I could not believe my luck. I slipped into the back row at 7:25, extremely pleased with myself.

I would have been happy if the performance had been mediocre, or even downright awful. My expectations were not high. But the musicianship was fantastic! These were legit professionals who teach at big-name universities and have gone on international tours. It was so, so, so great! You don't get that many opportunities to hear good chamber music in spokane, so it's an area of classical music I'm largely ignorant of. It was really wonderful to hear such a great trio (piano, cello and violin) and I had a great view of the keyboard besides. I soaked in every minute of it. I think it's probably been close to two years since I've been able to attend a live concert like that. And I think this may be an ongoing thing, so I'm definitely going to keep my ears open regarding future performances.

I walked away from the concert with the biggest smile on my face. It had been a rough week and I had needed something to lift my spirits. And then, as I turned the corner, I stumbled across another concert of a different sort. Guess what they were playing. "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You." I swear that song is following me. I cannot escape.