Old Time Rock and Roll

Tonight I needed some "Emily Time", so after work, I went down to the new ice cream shop in town to get some delectable tasties, sit at the park, and think. As I was doing so, I noticed that across the street people were gathering, and remembered that once a week during the summer there were concerts at the gazebo in the park. Luckily, I had a lawnchair in my car (a recent Target clearance purchase!), so I got it, got some dinner (yes, I had dessert before dinner), and went over to the other side of the park to listen.

I found out that it was the Lawrence City Band that played there every week. And boy, they were good. I was expecting something reminiscent of the River City Boy's band at the end of "The Music Man", and was pleasantly surprised to find completely the opposite. In fact, I would even go so far as to say that when I closed my eyes, it sounded like there was a recording playing. I don't know if it was the way the sound bounced around the gazebo, but it was wonderful and better than any band I've heard for a long time (including the Wartburg Concert Bands...sorry guys.) And it's not like they were playing simple songs...I was listening to the individual instrument lines and the stuff was challenging. It was just great.

And did I mention that the evening was perfect? 80ish degrees, no humidity, sunset, park. heaven.

If I had remembered that this is a college town with a great music program and that many of the professors probably play in the band during the summer, I wouldn't have been as surprised with what I heard. But when you study for the bar for ump-teen hours a day, logic tends to go out the window.