MUSIC: The Great American Concert @ The Hollywood Bowl

Just came back from the Hollywood Bowl. I went with my rowdy home group. Tonight's show was The Great American Concert with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra conducted by John Mauceri. I thought it was going to be mostly Gershwin, Copland, and Bernstein. Well, I was right one out of three. The orchestra performed Copland's Lincoln Portrait.

Carol Channing was the first special guest. I never was a big fan of Channing but tonight she made me one. Wow, to see this American legend sing "Hello Dolly!" was like one of those special opportunities you're glad you had in your life. She's truly an entertainer. She defines "showmanship." They don't make 'em like her anymore. They're a dying breed.

Then the second special guest was Michael Bublé, who ironically is Canadian. But he sang selections from the American songbook. He is one great jazz vocalist. He sang the favorite standards such as "The Way You Look Tonight." He even made me like the songs I don't like such as "Fever" and "Moondance." Michael has a GREAT voice. He sounds like combination of young Sinatra and Michael Feinstein with a hint of Julio Iglesias. This was his Bowl debut, and everybody around me was just raving about him. He really captured everyone's heart. And guess what? He's a Vancouver boy. So it goes without saying that he's cute (there must be something about the gene pool in Canada). The dude is only 25 years old! And, boy, could he sing! He's one to watch out for in the coming years.

The concert ended with fireworks. It wasn't that impressive. After seeing the fireworks competition in Vancouver last year, I've been ruined. Nothing can compare to the awesome firework shows I saw there.