I'm an artist, wife and mother of two boys. I started my illustration business, The Occasional Palette over 23 years ago, when my oldest son was an infant. Once my children were in school, I began painting decorative, faux finishes and murals through my second business, Casart, now over 19 years old. Now, my third business, Casart coverings is a springboard from my second. Click on the link on the sidebar to see innovative, custom, designer, removable and reusable wallcovering.
Even after 40 years, Earth Wind & Fire is everlasting!
We saw their concert last week in DC with Nile Rodgers of Chic, who’s also been performing and producing just as long if not more! He was recently inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Earth Wind & Fire are already members.
Both bands and performers sounded just as great as they originally did.
Even with Maurice White passing away, Philip Bailey, one of the early original performers (along with Verdine White / bass & Ralph Johnson / percussion & vocals ….) can still hit those high notes!
Original performers: Verdine White, Philip Bailey, Ralph Johnson
B. David Whitworth, who rocks the Jamaican/ punk hairstyle and has been with the group since 1996, can still do a high kick with enough energy of a 20 year old! Keeping it in the family, Philip Bailey, Jr., the son, has been with the band since 2008.
Enjoy some video highlights from the concert.
Click the links above each highlights movie images below to go to the video resource clips.
Philip Bailey plays the kimbala, which looks like a fun instrument to play, similar to a mini music box or xylophone in this next video.
Here’s the Daft Punk video that Nile Rodgers mentions. He wrote, produced and performed this after he was diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer, which he’s outlasted.
Although we were some of the younger set in the audience, it was fun to dance along with everyone else. The crowd reacted as if in spiritual sync to the musical vibe and I felt like I got a good workout.
My only regret is that they did not play Sun Goddess, Although it’s probably not their top 10, it’s my favorite song of theirs. I love the jazzy, rhythm and blues + funk they possess, and those horns…
In a crazy political time, it’s refreshing to see some progress of anything positive getting done by the political higher ups – whether or not if they have political appointments. In this case, it was making strides in Tallinn.
I thought it timely to read that 2nd Lady Karen Pense is traveling throughout Eastern Europe and Tallinn, where I just was, to learn about and bring attention to art therapy.
Art Therapy is a relatively new field in this area of the world and they are starting to see the benefits for participants as well as those involved as therapists.
There was no way for me to notice this at the time in Tallinn, although I was told that Estonia is known for its high-tech innovation. It’s where Skype was created.
What I noticed was a town with medieval roots, as seen in the bucolic cobblestone streets of its Old Town at the top of the hill.
Old Town of Tallinn
Medieval Fortress
Tallinn Church
One of the steepest streets
Tallinn Market
Dragon downspouts
However, down below in the main part of the business district and on the outskirts of town, there was a time warp with areas stuck in post Soviet style mixed with modern architecture.
Mix of old and new parts of town
The Soviet Flashback was the most interesting tour we took. It was given by an innovative entrepreneur who had the last remaining Soviet bus. This is where our tour started with the guys pushing it to get it started and then vodka shots. His performance, while dressed in a Soviet guard uniform, was a parody of what life was like under Soviet regime controlling Estonia. It was not a happy time and it’s still raw for people here to remember that many family members and friends were sent to prison for simply flying an Estonian flag.
Soviet Bus
Soviet Flashback tour guide
Our guide in front of the last remaining Soviet monument
Tallinn Prison
Unwelcoming concrete barriers exit along the shoreline. These are coincidentally pictured in front of the Walt Disney Cruise ship. Graffiti from earlier days and the revolution decorate some outskirt streets. Our guide was one of the revolutionaries who stood up to the Russians in a peaceful demonstration that called attention to their plight and eventually ended Russia’s control.
Concrete barriers welcome the Walt Disney cruise ship
Graffiti in Tallinn
The Freedom Cross was a striking picture as we turned the corner going out of town and back to our ship. Tallinn is a place I’d like to return.
After just getting back from a recent trip to 3 different regions including 9 countries and 12 cities, it was more than a coincidence that three different links were in my alerts pertaining to countries I had visited. They are all worth noting below.
Evidently the Finns have taken their Finnish passport to a whole new level. It’s easy to overlook but their passport has an interactive design included on each page as a flipbook.
Unfortunately, I didn’t see any reindeer while in Finland except at the outdoor market in Helsinki where reindeer is lunch meat.
Although these murals below are not in Tallinn, they are interactive murals in Estonia by artist, Edward Von Lõngus. Estonia is well known for it’s high tech ability, as Skype was started here. So, it stands to reason that murals can now be made interactive with an app.
Finally, until I can get back in the swing of blog posting, this mural campaign in Berlin for Mercedes Benz is particularly intriguing. I like their sentiment about disconnecting and spending more time with family.
There were many murals we noticed but this photographic one in Berlin stood out. It depicts an East Berlin soldier escaping as he lays down barbed wire for the boundary of the Berlin Wall. The iron rods are representative of where the Berlin Was once stood.
The sculptural culinary tools of Sweet Gum can bring a whole other sensory experience to the enjoyment of preparing and eating food, especially if you appreciate the workmanship and beauty of the tool you are using.
I recently discovered Sweet Gum, handmade, sculptural spoons and culinary tools for your kitchen by Joseph Huebscher, a talented woodworker in Tennessee. His artistic pieces marry form and function beautifully.
Photos via Sweet Gum
Sweet Gum has been featured in Food & Wine, Harvest & Honey, Spoonful among others. Here’s a wonderful Vimeo video, explaining his creative process, emphasizing how the different grains of the wood become the unique artistic marker of each piece.
Be sure to review Joseph’s Instagram for more inspirational spoons and handcrafted culinary tools by Sweet Gum.
Sweet Gum brings back memories of stepping on those spikey balls that covered my yard while growing up in New Orleans. I cursed them then but I appreciate what can be done with them now through science and woodworking. Who knew it had medicinal properties and it contributes to Tamiflu along with the star anise?! “The only edible part of the tree is the dried sap which makes a fragrant, bitter chewing gum. Despite its name the gum is not sweet,” as explained on Eat the Weeds. But, its wood can be used too.
Sweet Gum balls via Eat the Weeds
Here’s another interesting video about unusual culinary tools. Although this apple peeler is purely practical in nature and lacks the stylistic refinement of the previous pieces, it can make the endeavor of peeling an apple truly magical and very “appealing” indeed.
This is a short post and the only one, as it turns out, for the month of June, as I’ll pick up with more cultural and culinary delights when I come back online in July.
We attended the Thievery Corporation Concert at the Kennedy Center last week. It was a one night show and I was glad to get affordable tickets with great seats in the front orchestra!
We attended the first performance. It was the first time Thievery Corporation had played at the Kennedy Center. Their normal venues might be less-upscale concert halls. This performance was a collaborative effort with Mason Bates, the Kennedy Center’s Composer-in-Residence. It was part of the KC Jukebox, which is a studio-lab that experiments with blending acoustic sounds. This was the first time to my knowledge that Thievery Corporation had the accompaniment of a full symphonic orchestra. The conductor was Teddy Abrams, Director of the Louisville, KY Orchestra.
Before entering the concert hall, we enjoyed a glass of wine with nuts on the Concourse overlooking the Potomac River. The weather was gorgeous, sunny, 70’s and breezy. You almost didn’t want to go inside. I wish I had taken a picture but it wouldn’t capture it entirely. Here’s the Center Hall instead.
Upon entering the concert hall there was heavy bass, electronic music by 2 DJ’s out of Chicago, Striz and Justin Reed. The music was in keeping with Thievery Corporation’s style of mixed funk, hip-hop, ambient, soul, techno, lounge with an international-cultural-bent. After Mason Bates’ composition, The Rise of Exotic Computing, (with some Radiohead-phonic inspiration) was played by the NSO Orchestra along with a more classical Astor Piazzola (finale from Sinforietta), then the showstopper started.
I’ve been listening to Eric Hilton and Rob Garza of Thievery Corporation with their own genre of lounge-style-music for 20+ years but had never heard them live. I still enjoy their Jet Society CD they produced and the actual 18th Street Lounge DC venue, where I remember some of the best dancing to African-beat rythyms. Their music adapts and it never gets old. In fact, there were fans of all ages including those in my age group, who had even brought their teenage children for the next generation to discover Thievery. The symphonic arrangements only added to the full experience. They played a few of their classics like: Richest Man in Babylon, Sweet Tides, Lebanese Blonde (below – I love the sitar and trumpet mix with sultry singing) and others from their newest album, The Temple of I & I, which is heavily based on Jamaican beats.
This video gives real insight into their creative process while recording in KEXP studio in November 2016.
Here’s a great review of the performance we enjoyed from DC Metro Theater Arts, describing the perfect combination between club and concert hall. Everyone was dancing in their seat with lots of head-bobbing.
Here’s a composite of some video clips and photos I took of the performance.
There were so many good songs to share; however, you’ll see more professional versions in these below that present the songs in their best light. Both are sung by LouLou, who sings many of their songs and in other languages. Interestingly, the second video I recognize is filmed at the National Gallery of Art’s concourse. Cool!
You can view some behind the scenes photos from the concert on their Facebook Page.
This audience photo by Rob Myers shows the view from the stage. This could have been after the second performance because I don’t recognize those who would be on the right side near us but I think I see myself, which is weird, and I remember them taking the picture.
Afterwards, we ate at the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Restaurant, which was pretty good and then walked around the entire center on the rooftop terrace. It was such a lovely night that we’re considering becoming Kennedy Center members.
Catch Thievery Corporation at one of these upcoming tour dates. They’ll steal you away from the present surreal-real world, at least for a little while, with their music.
In the meantime, you can go to the 18th Street Lounge, where Thievery Corporation got their start, and is the namesake to their affiliate ESL record label. You can also enjoy some of the many restaurants around town owned by Eric and his brother, Ian Hilton. The Brighton is the latest, coming to the exciting Wharf Development this fall, along with other venues. But for now, The new Pod Hotel will host their Crimson Diner and View (opening in June & July) — another place to enjoy a good drink and dinner! Looks like a great view of the city too on the rooftop!
