The Live Music Files: Mixfest and Idina Menzel

Since my second most-read blog post* is on a concert I attended a while back, I figured it was worth writing up the two shows I saw during the month of September. Yes, two! I'm amazed myself.

Fifteen years after attending my first Mixfest, I was back for more. Mixfest is a free concert given by a local radio station, and the first time I went was while a sophomore in college, the Sunday date in 1997. Here's Carol and me from that night - yes, I had bangs before bangs were cool. I think we were waiting for the Barenaked Ladies to take the stage when this was taken.

It was a bit different to be there again, this time as a parent. Max was annoying for about 80% of the time we were there. The band Train was the headlining attraction, and Max loves the song "Hey Soul Sister." When they finally played it, the reaction on Max's face was priceless. Hannah loved being a part of the huge crowd, even as it began to rain harder during the finale. You can see Pat Monahan from Train on the TV screen above (and the clouds rolling in at the start of the show).

This past weekend, Marc and I went to see Idina Menzel in concert. I didn't have the opportunity to see her in her starring roles in "RENT" or "Wicked," so I wasn't about to let this time pass me by.

The concert was phenomenal. I expected the songs from her shows and the anecdotes she sprinkled throughout the two hour concert, but I didn't expect her to be so personable and as open as she was. She talked about how hard it is to be a working mom, which you all know is one of my favorite topics. She reminded the crowd multiple times that she's Jewish, including singing a bit of "Ma Nishtana" when asking why tonight was different when she wasn't being pushed off stage at the 90-minute mark. She sang "At the Ballet" from "A Chorus Line" as a tribute to Marvin Hamlisch, and one of my all-time favorite songs, Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes." With that one, she quickly transitioned from another song, and with the first word, just simply "love," I gasped, knowing what was to come. She sang "For Good" a Capella, which was lovely to hear in the giant Wang Theatre, and invited audience members to duet with her on "Take Me or Leave Me." It was such a great show, and reminded me once again that I need to see more live music. I hope I get another opportunity to do so soon!

*You may be wondering what my most-read blog post is after that link above. It's this one.