Opera in the park > Symphony in the park.
Longer, stronger, and there were food vendors!
Opera in the Park
Art
Sunday Symphony in the Park
Just another Sunday in the park. Made this with Beemo, my new favorite iPhone app.
I packed a massive picnic (made my first crab rolls!) and headed to Dolores for the annual free concert in the park from the SF Symphony. The music was nice, but as I lay there sweating in the unusually hot weather, I realized: I’m just not that into the symphony.
It’s taken me a few years to figure this out. I’ve seen some great shows. Rufus Wainwright, silent films and even Max Raabe & Palaast Orchester. But then none of these are purely music. They are music + a show. I like the idea of the symphony, but I really need something else to focus on. Otherwise I’ll fall asleep. That’s probably why I like opera so much. There’s just so damn much to see. I don’t know why there’s that stereotype/joke of falling asleep at the opera. If you fall asleep at the opera, the opera will punch you in the face to wake you up. It’s intense stuff.
But even though I’m not a fan, I’ve got to give it up for the SF Symphony. They’re trying hard to connect to a younger fan base. Their next two shows this week are “Video Games Live” and music from “The Matrix.” Yep. Exactly what it sounds like. They know the San Francisco audience :).
Ever since I saw a show at the Chicago symphony in 2011, I’ve been getting calls soliciting donations. I got a call a few days ago. This time I happily said “No thank you. I live in San Francisco. Also, I don’t like the symphony.” It was very satisfying.
Goodbye SFMOMA: Closing Countdown Celebration
Last weekend the SF Museum of Modern Art had a multi-day blowout bash to celebrate the closing of its doors. The museum will be getting a massive facelift, but it’ll take 3 years. Admission was free during the celebration weekend, and on the last day the building stayed open all night long for drinking, celebrating, and art. YES. ALL NIGHT LONG.
I dropped by around dusk (knowing full well I was not going to make it to 4am, or any am). I was startled by a car cruising down the sidewalk! Damn ZipCar drivers!
One exhibit that I was very excited about was Christian Marclay’s The Clock, which I’d read about in NYMag ages ago. They were playing it from beginning to end during the last 24 hours before the museum closed. I wanted to see it badly, but not badly enough to wait several hours, or to come back at 4 in the morning. Oh well. It should be on YouTube somewhere, yes? Right? Right? :/
Bands, poets and artists of all types popped up on the rooftop stage to perform in 20 minute intervals.
There were food trucks outside- a must. I ended up getting some noodles from a Thai cart run by Argentinians. Those Argentinians know their pad thai! Who knew?
Here’s the view from the third floor stairwell down to the first floor bar.
For the last year or so my go-to bar drink has been a Moscow Mule. So I was pretty excited when I realized that the signature drink for the event was a “MOMA Mule.” It’s the little things that make me happy.
People hanging out on the rooftop while the band “Tits” plays inside.
According to the SFMOMA website, almost 50,000 people came out last weekend! Crazy. Now the museum’s exhibits are scattered across different partner museums and parks (including Crissy Field). It’s lovely, but I’ll miss being able to pop over on my lunch break whenever I’m feeling frazzled. Memories 🙂
Drink Like Your Favorite Characters
From Pop Chart Lab:
A catalog of 49 drinks culled from great works of film and literature, depicting everything from Philip Marlowe’s Gin Gimlet to Fredo Corleone’s Banana Daiquiri to the simple yet effective Buttermaker Boilermaker.
Finally, an infographic worth framing! Now I can finally make  The Flaming Moe from the Simpsons and the Gibson from North by Northwest. Which drinks are your favorite?
Dreams
