Sold Out...Missing Elizabeth Schwartz and Yale Strom in San Diego

Have I mentioned recently that I'm an idiot? Last week I noted on Facebook that I'm going San Diego and the wonderful vocalist Elizabeth Schwartz pops up and says hey come see us perform. But I'm an idiot. And I'm there on business. And I'm only there a day and a half. And I'm flying in late. So I don't reserve a ticket and then I change my mind, because, after all, this is Elizabeth Schwartz, and Yale Strom's playing too, and some great flamenco musicians. So I drive like crazy, and finally find parking, and stand there outside the SDSU music hall, looking at a line 100 people long (actually 290) and THE SHOW IS SOLD OUT.

AARRGGGH!

sigh. Did I say I was an idiot?

Right. So the only thing to do to console myself was come back to my hotel and watch Elizabeth Schwartz and Yale Strom videos on YouTube and be thoroughly disgusted with myself.

Here's clip of Elizabeth and Yale playing a few years ago.


In addition to a number of concert clips, I found a whole series of videos from the Radu Gabrea documentary "Rumenye Rumenye". I don't have a clear sense of what the documentary was about, other than it seemed like Elizabeth and Yale on a road trip through Romania meeting people and making music. Here's clip 1 of 10...



Oh..and while I was on Yale's website, I ordered two of his books "A Wandering Feast: A Journey Through the Jewish Culture of Eastern Europe" and "The Book of Klezmer: The History, The Music, The Folklore - from the 14th Century to the 21st." I'm a sucker for klezmer books and was re-reading "Seth Rogovoy's The Essential Klezmer" on the way here. In addition to loving klezmer and wanting to learn more about it, I'm fascinated by what does and does not get lumped under the term klezmer and how the story of Jewish music in American becomes equated with klezmer in may places. I've got a longer essay brewing and will try to get to it soon.