Barbara The Great

Concert goers were shoe-horned into every available patch of grass at Marine Stadium this evening.

My patient husband Bob and stage manager Greg were surrounded by a sea of humanity, all of whom were having a simply wonderful time taking in the Long Beach Municipal Band concert.

We've been blessed all week by the magnificent Barbara Morrison's delicious jazz set.

You could go see her at Vibrato for $$$$ or you could join us FOR FREE in El Dorado Park tomorrow night.

What's it going to be?

The End Is Near

The end is near but, thankfully, not for Patti and Jonathan.

They survived a head on collision with a drunk 20 year old male early Thursday morning as they were driving to LAX.

Fortunately Jonathan's Mercedes protected them from the under age drunk's Lexus SUV.

They escaped with air bag injuries alone.

Jonathan's car gave its life to save theirs.

Marine Stadium looked inviting Thursday afternoon:

The weather was perfect as John typed his heart out:

Greg looks like he was blessing the band as he guest conducted:

The crowd got to whistle the Colonel Bogey march accompanied by the band.

Unfamiliar with Colonel Bogey?

Think Bridge on the River Kwai:

Barbara Morrison was back.

She lit up the crowd with her powerful set of songs.

Friday we were back at El Dorado Park.

John was back at the typewriter:


Greg was back on the podium:

Then the band was off to the annual band party in this lovely setting:

Four more concerts are left in the Municipal Band's 98th season.

Will we see you there?

Chillin' at Los Cerritos

It was a chilly night at Los Cerritos Park last night.

We had another resident lenslinger.

Gosh, we're popular!

John continued his virtuosic work on the typewriter:

Stage manager Greg conducted a Spike Jones medley, including "Cocktails for Two":

Here's the original "Cocktails for Two":

Barbara Morrison was blazing hot:

Hurry on down while you still can.

It's FREE!

Have you priced concert tickets lately? You'll pay $$$$ if you wait to hear any of us perform during the rest of the year.

Tonight, Marine Stadium.

Wacky Week

We started a week of wacky concerts today at Bluff Park.

To enhance that off-center feel, the MTV dating show "Next" was filming at the bottom of the bluff.

Can't say I've ever seen it.

One of the more normal aspects of the concert was John playing the typewriter for, you guessed it, The Typewriter Song.

Another wacky element:

Stage manager Greg is guest conducting this week.

Just think; he gets to set up, conduct, and tear down the concert.

What a privilege!

The marvelous Barbara Morrison, just back from Scotland, returned for the second set.

She is unbelievable.

You're not going to want to miss this week, especially if you've always wanted to have a professional band back you up.

Wet your whistle and come on down.

Tomorrow, Los Cerritos Park.

Real Men Wear Pink Part 2

The men in pink returned for tonight's El Dorado Park concert, having made some manly modifications.

Notice the smokes rolled up in Greg's sleeve.

Justin and Mike preferred the no-sleeve look.

Dad, Mom, Aunt Charlo, Uncle Joe, Dick and Dolores schmooze before the concert:

My brother Ken soon arrived, after a long day at Public Works:

He finally convinced another city employee, Edward, to attend his first Muni Band concert.

Edward is now a complete Muni Band convert.

He can't believe he wasted all those years staying home.

Barbara Morrison was back tonight.

She is a crew favorite:

Here she is, wowing the crowd:

Meanwhile, the men in pink lurk in the background:

Barbara notices their snappy attire:

Shortly after this picture was taken, the crew got in trouble for being too conspicuous during the concert.

That's probably a good reason for the crew to wear black while on the job.

Sound crew Justin found an excellent use for his pink shirt:

During tonight's tear down, he was dispatched to clean one of the cables that had been dragged through dog droppings.

It truly was the only thing available for the job:

Riser crew Justin and Mike have vowed to wear their improved crew wear every night for the next 6 weeks...

...without laundering it.

Tuesday the men in pink travel to Bluff Park.

I'll keep you posted!

Real Men Wear Pink

Thursdays mean the Long Beach Municipal Band can be found at Marine Stadium.

The "Boat People" were back for this evening's concert:

The Boat People weren't the only people being entertained.

What is trumpeter Stan taking a picture of?

It seems there was a perception that our excellent, hard working crew was making remarks about the band shirts and their abundance of pink.

That being the case, they were graciously supplied with new uniforms of their own:

Aren't riser crew Justin and Mike fetching?

Stage manager Greg and sound engineer Bob (my dear husband) don their new duds:

It seemed to improve morale:

Monitor board Dave:

Great look!

Sound crew Justin:

Striking a manly pose helps:

Adam, who dropped by tonight's concert, seems relieved that Friday was his last day on crew:


Men wearing pink need to stick together:

Craig and Justin demonstrate that heavy lifting can be accomplished while wearing pink:

Conductor Larry Curtis with the amazing singer Barbara Morrison:

A good time was had by all:

Oh, and the pink shirts?

They're a little worse for the wear after the grueling tear-down following the concert.

Men that they are, the crew will be at El Dorado Park on Friday wearing their now beyond grimy Man Shirts.

It'll be worth the trip just to see them.