[Birdbrain]

I seem to be getting front row side seats more often, but that's at civic arts centers where the crowd is less avid than at rock concerts, and patrons are more reserved. In the past year, I've sat up close for Tommy Emmanuel and for "The Low Down Dirty Blues," a stage revue of classic blue Blues tunes. That one led me into some uncomfortable audience interactio, when the Big Mama character chose me, sitting alone, as a partner as she got her Mojo working.

Then there was a personal highlight, my first time to see the Maria Schneider jazz orchestra, a highly respected 18-piece big band. Our tix, bought just a couple days before, were front row center. It was great to watch Maria, who composes on piano but doesn't play publicly, conducting the band with the grace of a trained dancer. But I wasn't prepared for the sheer power and impact of a dozen horns at close range. The solo mikes were placed about 12 feet in front of me. When the trombonists racked their long valves in and out, I wanted to duck! I sat four feet below the stage, so the effect was more overwhelming. But overall, it was great to see the band filling my whole field of view. I could hear a better-balanced mix on the album, but this was once in a lifetime.

Each of these ticket purchases happened in the last few days before the show, suggesting that front row isn't the first to go-- at least with the "mature" performers and crowds I seem to be hanging with.