pgmc2pc?

saturday evening i attended my friend flug's christmas concert. i look forward to the annual event even though my attendance has been hit or miss recently due to conflicts with the holiday party circuit.

the holiday production this year by the philadelphia gay men's chorus (pgmc) was a hit in all regards -- music selection, performance and ability to put people in the holiday spirit.

the only thing that buggered the whole production in my eyes was the use of a sign-language interpreter for the concert. (all hearing-impaired homies in the house) say what?

explain this to me in a way my blonde, idiot-girl-self will understand -- if you are hearing impaired -- what exactly do you get out of a concert?

i pretend to be deaf sometimes...usually when my hubby is blathering on about something. i just cannot imagine what sense there is for me to be at a concert.

sure, i understand the whole "i want to see my partner/friend/family member perform on stage" but you can not tell me the interpreter with fingers a-flying is picking up all the nuances of a song.

choral music contains multiple vocal sections layering sounds and words to round out a song. it is the vocals that make or break the musical experience, not the words.

and if you are not getting the full exposure of those audible nuances -- visually, it's just a bunch of guys in tuxes. trust me, you can only stare at the stage and scan for weird audience members for so long before you get completely bored.

so aside from the spastic interpreter and the rude man in front of us who kept turning around to give us evil looks ... the concert was excellent. (and the rude man who changed his seat got his when two teenaged girls moved into the seat behind him and chattered for the whole section half. HAH! who is annoying YOU now, buster?)

the rousing rendition of jingle bells -- complete with handbells for jingling, percussion to mimic the clip clop of a clydesdale and a leather man to give out the paddling -- provided an encore to remember.

and what says "home for holidays" more than a leather vest and a paddle?