Ditty Bops in Concert

Near the end of last year, I posted on hearing the Ditty Bops in concert opening for Nickel Creek. Well, last night I had the terrific opportunity to hear them again. Tracy had promised me a surprise date, and they were it. I don't mean to make it sound like it was just the four of us.

They were at the Grand Emporium. I had never been there as a concert venue, only as a place to get a quick drink while visiting the Unicorn, and I was really impressed. The space seemed pretty small to me (but what do I know of concert venues) with chairs on the outside of the hall, and an open space for standing (and dancing) in the middle.

The Bops played for a solid 90 minutes, with a lot of their stuff from the new album (which they are bicycling across the country to promote) and plenty of their better-known favorites. In rereading my prior post, I was struck by my use of the idea that they were hosting a private joke that everyone was in on. Last night's show TOTALLY reflected that vibe. The Bops do "theme" shows regularly. Last night was "The Wizard of Oz," with Abby dressed as Dorothy, and Amanda switching from Glinda to the Wicked Witch in the middle of the set. (Both of her costumes featured tall hats which entailed tricky acrobatics when changing between mandolin and washboard.

As I mentioned, I don't know what the Grand Emporium crowd is usually like, but I have to guess that this wasn't it. There were little kids in the house (one of whom danced on stage when invited) as well as older folks, families and some urban hipsters. (I belive the fact that I have used the phrase "urban hipster" makes me not one). Amanda, as I mentioned played mandolin and washboard, with Abby on guitar, and Greg on piano and accordian (Greg gamely wore a funnel on his head for the first few songs, but eventually gave up on it). The girls have amazingly tight and intricate harmonies that make it impossible to not want to sing along with them, and nearly impossible to actually do so.

We paid ten bucks to get in. Incredible. Folks are paying three times that to see Menopause: the Musical at the Heartland. Seriously, it is hard for me to remember a better theatrical experience (the Bops' show is musical at its core, but it's nothing if not theatrical) ever at that price. So, if you read this blog, and you live East of KC as the bike rides, find a way to see them. It will be well worth the effort. Everyone else, get on itunes and buy their albums.

A Nice Downtown Moment

Yesterday I was walking down a city street (in very hot weather) against three lanes of one-way traffic. Several cars were stopped at a stoplight. All but one went forward when the light changed. The other car started driving backward, at a pretty good clip, about a half-block back up the street. Suddenly the driver's window rolled down and a middle-aged Asian woman rolled her window down and yelled: "Hey! Where you going with that baby?"

She was yelling at a young black woman with an infant in her arms. The young woman looked startled. "What?"

As the black woman drew closer, the woman in the car lowered her voice. "Where are you going with that baby? You can't take it very far in this heat. Let me give you a ride."

I was really struck by the gesture. I like to think it was Midwestern generosity, but it was probably a generalized maternal instinct that might have happened anywhere. It made me happy.

Just Like the Cross, or the Star of David, or Golden Arches

This is a clip from the front page of The Kansas City Star's website this afternoon. Two things strike me. First of all, iconic? Really? For whom was it an icon? Was it the squiggly Germanic "ss" or the laid-back-cool "o"? The hot air balloons at Metro North -- those are iconic.

Second, Dave Helling gets a byline for the photo? Has the political reporting gig so dried up that he's now being farmed out to document mall closings? Oh, Dave.

Haec Credam a Deo Pio, a Deo Justo, a Deo Scito?

I have previously mentioned how I have been reduced to watching Joan of Arcadia. But, as much as I make fun of it, it really seems to reflect a lot of what I believe. First of all, the conceit of the show is that God talks to Joan (a high schooler) through the image of people she meets throughout her life. That is to say, Joan may be walking down the street and the guy painting the wall might talk to her. Only it’s not the guy. It’s God, inhabiting the guy. It’s not explained, as near as I can tell, whether the owners of the body remember their conversations, or black out or what – I don’t think it’s necessary to the understanding of the show.

I like the way this clearly illustrates that we/Christians/believers/people of faith/people not of faith/humanity are the way that God communicates. The Old Testament God had burning bushes and still small voices, but pretty much Christ is what we have now. And while Paul tells us that we have to be hands and feet for Christ, we have to be – in addition to the doers – the forgivers and the finders and the hug-givers and the hug-receivers. Christ is only here through us. And anyone can and should be that conduit. Not just preachers or deacons or Jesus freaks –everyone in their own shows God and acts for him somehow, often without realizing it. And we need to remember to listen for God’s voice. It speaks to us 100 times a day from at least as many people.

That was also reflected in an episode a watched last night. God tells Joan to go to a dance with an outcast and listen to him. She does, thinking that she’s doing this great thing for the guy by assuming that there is some untapped potential in him that she will get to release. But things go badly at the school dance (as they so often do on networks), and Joan winds up with the guy and a gun in a vacant lot. No one gets hurt, but the outcast will go to jail and Joan’s parents are mad. Then, God appears to Joan at the school. She asks why everything turned out so terrible. God says that it wasn’t (really) about the outcast. If Joan hadn’t played her role, he would have returned to school the next day and opened fire. God enumerates the names of people who would have died, including some who would die protecting their friends. Joan’s acts didn’t seem to help much of anyone, but they saved the school. I love that illustration of how we can’t know what effect our acts have or will have. We just have to trust that we are doing the right thing, acting as we are called, and that God will take the basic water of our lives and turn it into wine for someone we encounter.

Also, I’m sure I was particularly moved by that scene because God was inhabiting a teacher played by Kathryn Joosten, who played the delightful Mrs. Landingham on The West Wing.