Ojai Envy

I guess I'm not going to the Ojai Festival. Didn't know until yesterday whether I would or not. The marathon concert for tomorrow sounds magnificent. They'll be playing both Steve Reich's masterpiece Music for 18 Musicians, which I've never heard live, and his new, un-recorded, Pulitzer-prize-winning Double Sextet.

And I'd really, really wanted to see the new piece with Rinde Eckert on Friday. I've had the good fortune to see him perform Slow Fire twice, and he is truly an amazing performer. The set design, wherein he makes the most out of a few simple props, was equally impressive.

But, alas, I couldn't quite make up my mind to drive all the way down there.

Reading all the descriptions and reviews, I'm getting mighty jealous.

I'm even still uncertain whether I'll go to the Cabrillo Festival this year. That is a lot closer, but hotels in Santa Cruz are ridiculously over-priced.

On the other hand, I have made firm plans to go to a few performances of the Santa Fe chamber music festival this summer. The main concert I'll be seeing should be good, but I also decided to go because it corresponds with the big Indian Market ™. I should finally get to meet Sheldon Harvey, who is one of the few artists from whom I've ever bought a painting. He won best-in-show at last year's market in both painting and sculpture categories, so people should be closely watching what he turns up with this year.

I'm using frequent-flier miles, and I was planning to use a gift certificate for the hotel, so it wasn't going to cost much at all. But the hotel has gone out of business, so I had to scramble to find some other place to stay!

I drowned my Ojai-missing greif by cruising YouTube for Rinde Eckert performances. I also stumbled-upon this lovely concert (which is not by R.E., but so what?):