Hollywood Bowl

[wrr777 0]

I've been trying for the last few weeks to get some decent seats for the Saturday performance at the Hollywood Bowl. This is the first year I don't already have my tickets! I usually get them when they first go on sale. But I've talked with TicketMaster & they say to continue to try back as the concert approaches. I'm getting rather anxious, though, because I keep checking and the seats keep getting further and further back. Does anyone know if they will start to open up blocks of tickets towards the front or at least the middle any time before Saturday's performance? Or am I going to be stuck with sitting in Section W? Thanks for your help!

[Muad'Dib 1,867]

I don't know if this will help, but there's a contest at FSM for tickets. Here's the link:

http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.cfm?threadID=71428&forumID=1&archive=0

[wrr777 0]

I don't know if this will help, but there's a contest at FSM for tickets. Here's the link:

http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.cfm?threadID=71428&forumID=1&archive=0

Thanks. I will try there. Still have fingers crossed that better seats become available. I'm not waiting this long ever again. Lol.

[KingPin 228]

I'm at the Gershwin Across America concert tonight and the program book contains all performances for this week. According to the program, the concert set will be:

Whiting/arr. Williams - Hooray for Hollywood

Waxman - Sunset Boulevard

North - Two Pieces from Spartacus (Forest Meeting and Love Theme; March)

Herrmann - Psycho medley

Herrmann - North By Northwest Prelude

Williams - Theme from Sabrina (Bing Wang, violin)

Bock/arr. Williams - Fiddler on the Roof (Bing Wang, violin)

INTERMISSION

second half is all Williams:

Theme from Jaws

Barrel Chase Sequence from Jaws

The Adventures of Mutt from KOTCS

Irina's Theme from KOTCS (Dan Higgins, alto saxophone)

Raiders March

Luke and Leia from ROTJ

Forest Battle from ROTJ

Throne Room and Finale from Star Wars

[TownerFan 5,210]

Great program

[Muad'Dib 1,867]

Great programe! Will this one be broadcasted live too?

[indy4 155]

I wish I had access to a video camera so I could record the (most likely) expanded Irina's Theme! Can anybody else do this?

[Jeff 10]

Interesting selections. Mutt's and Irina's themes are kind of obscure. I'm really excited for North by Northwest and Sabrina before intermission, as well as all the IJ and Star Wars music in the second half. This should be an amazing concert!

[Morn 8]

Incredible programme. I'm so envious!

[Datameister 2,282]

The Irina's Theme arrangement is pretty sweet...it's got some saxophone solo/cadenza-like passages in there, and it omits the brutish theme for Irina's right-hand man. Heard it at the rehearsal this morning. (Could swear I saw Neil, too...) I hope all those who get to go to the concert itself enjoy!

[Trumpeteer 302]

I'm driving from Phoenix to LA tomorrow morning for the concert! I can't wait!

[Muad'Dib 1,867]

Look what John Debney wrote on his Facebook page...

John Williams was superb last night. Orchestra was flawless. Backstage was the highlight. Thanks John for your kind words. What a gentleman

[Incanus 5,816]

Great programme.

The Irina's Theme arrangement is pretty sweet...it's got some saxophone solo/cadenza-like passages in there, and it omits the brutish theme for Irina's right-hand man. Heard it at the rehearsal this morning. (Could swear I saw Neil, too...) I hope all those who get to go to the concert itself enjoy!

The concert version of the Irina's theme was originally performed to a video montage of Hollywood's great film villainesses (at Film Night at Tanglewood 2008) so I think Williams just expanded the already noirish theme accordingly. It is a ravishingly gorgeous piece (I do have a soft spot for film noir music) and I wish he would record it for an album. And same goes for the concert arrangement of Marion's theme.

[tjguitar 0]

He ended up doing 1941 instead of Adventures of Mutt for whatever reason.

[Datameister 2,282]

That's okay, that march is a better piece, anyway. It was really fun to hear them play all the way through it at the rehearsal, though the performance was a little less energetic than what I'm used to on the Spielberg/Williams Collaboration CD. They also had me scared with ROTJ's "The Forest Battle", for which they took a rather lethargic tempo during the full run-through, but then they revisited a few passages at a tempo closer to what I'm used to.

[tjguitar 0]

I wanted to hear Adventures of Mutt live, but 1941 isn't bad.

Encores were Yoda's Theme, Imperial March and Superman.

[Datameister 2,282]

Very respectable choices.

[Hlao-roo 389]

Very respectable choices.

Has Williams ever picked anything disrespectable for his encores?

[Datameister 2,282]

Doubt it. I think some eyebrows would be raised if he went for a masterpiece like "Training Montage" or "Lapti Nek", though.

[Hlao-roo 389]

Doubt it. I think some eyebrows would be raised if he went for a masterpiece like "Training Montage" or "Lapti Nek", though.

Would be less surprising than "Han Solo and the Princess" surfacing as an encore.

[Taikomochi 1,249]

Lapti Nek is amazing. I don't know what's wrong with you.

[indy4 155]

Here's my review of the concert (on Saturday):

The first half contained some really great music. Really excellent performance of some classic tunes from the Golden Age of Hollywood. There were a lot that I had never heard, so I'll probably be seeking some of them in the near future. Psycho was great fun, although this was one instance where I felt a fuller sound from the orchestra could have done good. North by Northwest was fantastic (the visuals homaged a variety of Hitchock films, not just NBNW), despite some awkward rewrites for the concert version. The only Williams piece was Sabrina, and it is worth mentioning that not only did a violin solo instead of a piano, but there were some other differences that would make it worthy of a recording, IMO. On "Spartacus," it seemed like Williams was desperately trying to get the timpanist to stop his roll transitioning between the love theme and the march. I could have not seen it correctly, but I thought in the screens Williams was shaking his head and mouthing "no no no!" Not being familiar with the music, I couldn't tell if there was a mistake or not. It certainly sounded great!

The second half was really enjoyable also. I must say that throughout the entire concert the orchestra was fantastic - probably the best they've ever sounded in the 4 years I've attended concerts. The French Horns in particular were great - they were full, they were in perfect unison (sometimes I couldn't tell if something was a horn solo or soli), and they really knew when to shine and when to be the background. The first piece was "Theme from Jaws" followed by "Barrel Chase." My only disapointment was that "Barrel Chase" contained some very loud SFX - to be honest if it wasn't for the atmosphere and knowledge of my situation, I could've just been watching the film (with respect to how the SFX covered a lot of the music). I would've much preferred no SFX (or, to satisfy the audience, have SFX cut out after Brody delivers his famous "we're gonna need a bigger boat"). This was the piece I looked forward to almost more than any other, and while it was still an exhilerating experience to hear it live, it could've been more effective. Next came, much to my surprise, 1941. I had heard Williams rehearsing this on Friday, so I assume it was going to be an encore. But instead, it was added last minute onto the program (it wasn't even in the programs being distributed). I agree with Data that it could've been a bit more expressive, but it was still a really good performance. Next came "Irina's Theme," not only the expanded version, but with a really nice sax solo written in, performed by Dan Higgins. Great stuff, I would love a recording of this. Then there was "Raiders March." I must admit, it has been a while since I've sat down and listened to this one straight through, and it was exhilerating. The visuals were a great tribute to the old fashion action of the Indy films. Then came "Luke and Leia," which, like "North by Northwest," sufferred some very strange and disruptive changes. The flute soli in the beginning was shortened, to exclude about 70% of it, as was the wonderful string soli heard later in the piece. The soloist was good (I was worried since he muffed a note during the rehearsal), although I think he may have messed up later on a long note. "The Forest Battle" was great! The tempo was much faster than the one at the rehearsal, and the performance was stunning, again, especially for the horns. The trombones could have been much louder I thought (throughout the entire concert). As a trombone player I felt particularly put off by their timid approach to places where they have the melody. And of course I don't think I could do any better, as I'm sure it takes talent beyond belief to be in such an orchestra, but it's easy to be a critic when you're not doing anything. Then was "Throne Room," the from the RotS End Credits. This was another fan favorite, the lightsaber crowd really enjoyed this one. Encores were "Yoda's Theme," "Imperial March," and "March from Superman." Overall it was a great way to end the concert. I thought the crowd was a bit more timid than previous years - I recall Williams getting a standing ovation between every encore, whereas this year only a few people stood. But overall it was a fantastic time, and I'm really glad I was able to make it again this year. Bravo!

[Koray Savas 2,254]

Now that my bro lives out in LA, I may go visit him at a time that happens to coincide with this concert next year.

[Jeff 10]

I was also at the concert on Saturday night and it was amazing. I had never seen John in the flesh and seeing him conduct live was exhilarating. Who knows how many more years it will be possible to do so - I'm glad I got the chance.

I'm surprised indy4 didn't mention the Entr'acte from Fiddler on the Roof. The solo violinist was spectacular. She took the Sabrina/Audrey Hepburn tribute to the next level, and the Fiddler cadenzas brought quite a reaction from the crowd.

The highlight of the night for me was Raiders' March. The clips from the film were brilliantly selected and edited, IMO. The whole experience with the film, the music, the orchestra on stage, and John himself with the baton was perfect - the nostalgia was tangible. I had goosebumps by the end.

Overall, it was a great show. I'm so glad I made the trip!

[indy4 155]

Ah, I forgot to mention that one - but it was definitely fantastic. Excellent playing by Bing Wang.

[Trumpeteer 302]

Now that work has slowed down, I now have time to give my quick thoughts on the concert.

I disagree that Saturday's audience was tepid. Lots of rowdy cheering, though mostly from the cheap seats.

I agree that the sound effects on "Barrel Chase" were too loud. I could barely hear the cellos at times, and some of the best parts of the cue were muffled out. I barely watched the screens, since I know the scene very well, and it was great to see all the different parts of the orchestra doing their thing. What was really odd was hearing this cue in the car on the drive from Phoenix. My iPod was on shuffle, and once I heard it, I had to play it twice, so maybe I had the original version in my head too much. The orchestra stuck pretty close to it.

I wanted some Harry Potter music, but I suppose we'll get that next year. Or maybe he won't play it because he knows when he talks about it, people (like me) might boo him for not working on the last installment.

Once again, I waited after the concert for an autograph. There was another guy standing at the artists' entrance, and after about an hour, one of the security guards told us that John Williams never leaves through the artists' entrance. I was thinking about stalking through the parking garage on the lower level, but I decided against it. I didn't care about not getting the autograph. I just want to shake the man's hand.

Can't wait until next year! Maybe we'll get a preview of "War Horse" or "Tintin."