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Post by Kimby on Jan 1, 2012 9:42:48 GMT
Come with me as we ring in the 2012 at First Night Missoula There are more than 75 performances and/or activities for all ages at 29 different venues, running from 10 a.m. till midnight and then some. (oops, it's upside down, but you weren't gonna read it anyway!) There are shuttlebuses to get you from place to place if you don't want to walk or drive. As with all First Night celebrations, it's an alcohol-free event. $12 gets you a button that gets you into all the events.
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Post by Kimby on Jan 1, 2012 9:44:00 GMT
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Post by Kimby on Jan 1, 2012 9:44:46 GMT
Next we stroll down to the riverside where the Carousel has opened its doors for free rides for all wearing First Night buttons. Kids of all ages, including me, take a spin on a painted pony: Stepping outside to get away from the overly cheerful band organ music, we see the luminaries arranged into a familiar shape. Yes, that's a good wish for the new year.
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Post by Kimby on Jan 1, 2012 9:45:34 GMT
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Post by Kimby on Jan 1, 2012 9:46:52 GMT
Back to the car, to drive to campus where many of the performance venues are. After we park in my secret parking place that's always available, we walk to the University Center, a three story building with a three story atrium in the center: Seven performance venues are in this building. First we visit Jenn Adams and Lawrence Duncan in the UC Theater Downstairs in the Copper Commons, Mike and Tari Conroy are playing bluegrass and folks are dancing The little kids are enjoying it too Some more than others
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Post by Kimby on Jan 1, 2012 9:47:47 GMT
Back outside, we cross the Oval on our way to the University Theater in the Fine Arts Building. Though the campus seems largely undecorated for the holidays, the Oval is lined with what looks like Christmas Trees at first, but is actually hoops and strings of lights attached to lightposts. We pay a visit to the statues commemorating one of Montana's finest statesmen, Mike Mansfield and his wife Maureen. They don't make em like Mike anymore, and we sure could use more like him these days.
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Post by Kimby on Jan 1, 2012 9:48:44 GMT
The previous act, a choral group called F.R.O.G.S. (Federation for the Renewal of Group Singing) is just wrapping up when we arrive. We have to wait while the techies set up for the next act, Amy Martin and "Whiffletree" I've seen her several times before and really like her. The two ladies she's singing with these days are great instrumentalists and the three of them harmonize like angels. I forgot to mention that she brought 4 boxes of her CDs to GIVE to audience members!
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Post by Kimby on Jan 1, 2012 9:49:25 GMT
We had planned to head home after this act, but are having such a good time that we head back to the UC to catch John Floridis's set. He plays rhythmic licks and moves around so much that he's hard to take a photo of, but the crowd loves him - and so does his Mom who's in the audience. It's her birthday, so he leads the whole audience in singing Happy Birthday to Mom. He does a kind of electronic thing called "looping" that involves setting down and recording a simple melody or rhythm then playing it back and playing another melody along with it. It gets pretty dense and hypnotizing. Here's the machine that he uses
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Post by Kimby on Jan 1, 2012 9:50:01 GMT
Back to the Copper Common where the Drum Brothers' set is about to begin. Matthew Marsolek and Michael Marsolek are the brothers, and there are two other drummers in the group. They play West African jembe and dunun drums, Middle Eastern frame drums, Australian didgeridoo, along with vocals, acoustic guitar, flute and sax. People filled the dance floor as the rhythms heated up, so I'm glad I took my pictures early.
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Post by Kimby on Jan 1, 2012 9:50:49 GMT
Finally, we head to the University Center Ballroom for the Ed Norton Big Band, who will play the crowd into the New Year and beyond This is a dance band for sure, and it's fun to watch couples young and old show off their footwork.
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Post by Kimby on Jan 1, 2012 9:51:19 GMT
We leave before midnight, heading home to listen to the gunfire in our rural valley, but on our way across campus are surprised to see a herd of mule deer on a campus lawn. They are uneasy about the crowds, and cross right in front of us! What a special sight! I hope you enjoyed celebrating the new year with me. Though it's not big city excitement and there is no midnight ball drop, it's an uplifting way to "wring out" the old year and ring in the new.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 1, 2012 12:23:16 GMT
That looks like a lovely evening, Kimby, with a lot more music than is readily available in a place like Paris without shelling out a fortune.
Seeing the herd of deer would have been the highlight of my evening as well!
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Post by tod2 on Jan 1, 2012 13:21:29 GMT
That was terrific kimby! You are so lucky to have some cultural activities to enjoy. We have TV, or private parties. Some restaurants were running a special New Year's Eve get together but at a price -and then it would not be anything better than we could do ourselves. I was on babysitting duty and it went off without a hitch.
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Post by lola on Jan 1, 2012 15:24:04 GMT
Oh, fun, Kimby! Great report. I love your photos.
No snow on the ground, I see.
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Post by Kimby on Jan 1, 2012 15:41:59 GMT
No snow on the ground, I see. I hadn't even thought about that, as there is plenty of snow at my house. I'm pretty sure I crunched through snow in some places, but that deer herd seemed to have found a place with exposed grass to munch on. Happy New Year!
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