Boston Pops Film Night June 6-11 2014

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,362]

I met Thor and survived!

Meaning Thor did not?

[Incanus 5,785]

That is the last happy picture before the dramatic falling out and subsequent duel of Jason and Thor at that bar. Oh the humanity!

[Smeltington 1,539]

My name's Smeltington and this is my story...

I flew out of Atlanta Thursday morning with my friend and fellow JWFan, known as jwalk713 on the forum. We had two days to enjoy Boston, a lot of which we spent outdoors biking through various parks and greenways, renting a boat, going to the beach (Castle Island), etc. We also took some time to visit a couple of comic and record stores. We found an old Starlog magazine from 1979 with fascinating articles about David Prowse, an upcoming movie called Alien, etc. The weather was good, our spirits were high, and the good people of Boston were treated to more than a few of our impromptu renditions of JW themes. We were staying in the same hostel as Thor, but from the sound of it I think we enjoyed the experience a bit more than he did.

On Saturday we joined everyone for dinner at Uno, and for the rest of the evening we enjoyed the company of Jason, Marcy, Thor, Nightscape, and quite a few others. We got to meet fellow Atlantan and Superman enthusiast Croweyes1121. I also had the privilege of speaking to JWFan member ins and his friend, who were visiting from Germany on a John Williams pilgrimage ten years in the making. I learned I need to give Tintin another listen, and ins reached a greater understanding of Lapti Nek, a track he had overlooked, much to his own peril. Jwalk and I had a fantastic time meeting everyone. It was a great group of people, and I don't think we've gotten over the shock of being in a roomful of people capable of discussing the music of The Terminal, the Winter Games Fanfare, and Short Round's Theme.

We waited around outside Symphony Hall with everyone else to try for autographs, I with my HPSS CD and jwalk with his Superman CD - his first Williams purchase ever. It was crowded, though, and when Williams arrived there were unfortunately a lot of rude and shameless people being very pushy and not very respectful to Williams. He was gracious enough to sign a few things anyway.

The interior of Symphony Hall was gorgeous. We were up on the balcony, third level, on the right side. I always like to avoid looking at the program, so each piece performed was a surprise to me, but I did catch strains of Jurassic Park and Hook as the orchestra members warmed up. The chorus was a very pleasant surprise. I was extra excited for Flight to Neverland, Adventures of Mutt, Sound the Bells, and Call of the Champions. And I never get tired of hearing Harry's Wondrous World or anything from Star Wars.

I think Jason covered everything after the concert in his post. All in all it was a wonderful evening, and I'd like to thank Jason for organizing the meetup, and all the JWFans in attendance just for being so awesome Let's all do this again!

[rpvee 854]

Just got back from tonight's show! Great fun as always, and I had great seats (front row, nearly center)! Can't wait for next year.

It's just a shame those eBay low-life's have made Williams so reluctant to sign autographs. It used to be so easy to get an autograph and picture with him. Still, that aside, it was a WONDERFUL evening!!!

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,362]

How about Koray Savas? Was he there? Did he chicken out?

[TownerFan 4,998]

We waited around outside Symphony Hall with everyone else to try for autographs, I with my HPSS CD and jwalk with his Superman CD - his first Williams purchase ever. It was crowded, though, and when Williams arrived there were unfortunately a lot of rude and shameless people being very pushy and not very respectful to Williams. He was gracious enough to sign a few things anyway.

Same thing happened in Chicago last November. There was a bunch of hideous guys with stacks of LP covers who really didn't have the slightest respect for anyone, let alone an 80+ years-old man who had a lot of patience with them.

I can only agree with JW's reps about safeguarding him as tight as ever in those kind of circumstances, even though this means being rude with polite people who probably just want to say hello and thank you to him. When I saw those nerds just thrusting each other and slapping LP covers in front of JW's face without even saying "thank you" to him, I was almost ashamed for them.

I consider myself immensely blessed when I had the opportunity to meet, pose for a picture and even being able to speak a few words with him back in 2007. My lucky star was watching over me.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,362]

I dont rember what the hell I mumbled when JW signed my The Phantom Menace LP, but i know I said thank you.

[Koray Savas 2,254]

The second he got out of the car a bunch of people swarmed in. One guy was knocking over the roped barrier and was being pushed back by a security guard as he was shoving his LP in John's face saying "Right up here, John! Sign right here!" He maybe signed about 5-6 things at that point and that's when the other guards just rushed him inside.

[Thor 8,114]

Report time. My recent 10-day trip to the US East coast can be separated in half with two very different and distinct experiences – first New York, then Boston (to see Williams live). This is only about the Boston bit, as the New York bit (including a film music gathering) was covered in this FSM thread.

After an intoxicating (in more sense than one) 5 days in New York, I arrived in Boston on Friday. Not going to bore you with all the sightseeing stuff, but a brief summation will do before I get to the event itself. On Friday, I basically just walked around my neighbourhood in South End and a little bit of downtown. On Saturday, before the concert, I took the subway to the Samuel Adams Brewery where I had a brilliant tour of the facilities (with a somewhat drunk, but enthusiastic guide who apparently drinks beers with all his groups). Then I headed back downtown to cover the upper part of the Freedom trail. Went to the Bunker Hill monument and hiked all 300 steps to the top, after which I got a severe cramp in my legs (due to the large amount of walking I'd done on the trip previously). Walked a bit more downtown before I headed back to the hostel to change.

Off to Uno's, where I was the first to arrive. Had a beer at the bar before the others arrived. What a great experience – both the food and the company. Relieved to see no one wanting a piece of me because of a certain opinion I hold on a certain matter. Here's a photo of us all at Uno's:

Then it was off to the Symphony hall. As others have said, the mayhem in front of the stage door was rather embarassing. I kept a safe distance, as that's not really my kind of thing, but managed to shoot this picture:

Probably the closest I'll ever get to meeting John Williams.

Into the hall we went, and I was placed right in front of the stage. Great closeness (only 3-4 meters from the podium), but too much to the side so I had to turn my head 90 degrees to see Williams (partly obscured by a cellist). Next time, I want the same closeness, but more in the middle. But it was fantastic to see the man up-close – all his gestures, facial expressions etc. Something I didn't experience at the Hollywood Bowl two years ago, where I was seated, like, 50 kilometers away. The fact that there were two other strangers sitting at my table didn't mean anything. They were nice to talk to, and we mostly focussed on the music anyway.

The highlight for me was hearing Williams perform the JURASSIC PARK theme – my alltime favourite score. The combination of that, and the closeness to the man himself almost made me tear up a bit. All the other selections were brilliant and have been covered by others already. "Cadillac of the Skies" from EMPIRE OF THE SUN reminded me again how gorgeous that score is, especially when it taps into elements of the 'religious sound'. I couldn't hear the choir very well from my position, but it was a nice colouring to the orchestral palette. That goes for the other choral pieces too.

I wasn't particularly intersted in the segments from the Broadway/musical/dance world which opened the second half, so I focussed 90% on Williams instead of the big screen. But fun to see his own arrangement of "The Varsity Drag" in concert (which he did in the 50s). I never expected that.

Three encores – "Yoda's Theme", "The Imperial March" and the "Flying Theme" from E.T. That's a great bonus.

After the concert, we waited for like an hour outside the stage door again, with an incredibly large crowd. My hope of getting a personal photograph with the man quickly faded, especially after the stage manager came out to say that he was feeling a bit under the weather and would just be rushed to the car. And rushed he was – he barely had the time to wave to the crowd, as the security guards practically pushed him into the car and off he went.

Well, for us the night wasn't over. We trailed on over to a pub in the Back Bay area (close to my hostel, which was perfect), and others have recounted that already. I was somewhat disappointed that Boston seemingly closes everywhere at 2 AM, which is relatively early and only gave us like 3 hours to socialize. I wanted to keep going, preferable with karaoke!  But there you go. Thanks again to Jason for putting it all together (and for the IPA!), and for all the fellow JWFANners I finally got to meet in real life. And thanks to Koray for showing up, so there were at least TWO Zimmer fans there, including myself. I also shot a brief film of Williams exiting the symphony hall. I'll see if I can put that up later. Meanwhile, here are a couple of more pictures (apparently, the board doesn't allow me to post more than two pics pr. post, so you'll have to click the links:

http://www.celluloidtunes.no/non-website/boston2.jpg

http://www.celluloidtunes.no/non-website/boston3.jpg

http://www.celluloidtunes.no/non-website/boston4.jpg

http://www.celluloidtunes.no/non-website/boston5.jpg

http://www.celluloidtunes.no/non-website/boston6.jpg

http://www.celluloidtunes.no/non-website/boston7.jpg

http://www.celluloidtunes.no/non-website/boston8.jpg

http://www.celluloidtunes.no/non-website/boston9.jpg

http://www.celluloidtunes.no/non-website/boston10.jpg

On Sunday, I did the rest of the Freedom trail and some other stuff. On Monday before departure, I visited Harvard University and the Cambridge area. The only sour thing is that several of my items were either lost or stolen at the hostel -- an iPod, an expensive dictaphone, a Mastercard, a 'code activator' for the bank and my house and bicycle keys(!).

Other than that, top experience from start to finish!

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,362]

And thanks to Koray for showing up, so there were at least TWO Zimmer fans there, including myself.

I can just see the two of you now. Sat at a separate table, discussing the relative merits of Zimmer's work in hushed whispers.

[Koray Savas 2,254]

On Sunday, I did the rest of the Freedom trail and some other stuff. On Monday before departure, I visited Harvard University and the Cambridge area. The only sour thing is that several of my items were either lost or stolen at the hostel -- an iPod, an expensive dictaphone, a Mastercard, a 'code activator' for the bank and my house and bicycle keys(!).

Really?? That's insane.

[Jay 38,847]

Thor, nice write up, thank you for posting!

I still need to do my write-up.

And that's freaking nuts about all your stuff that got stolen! Big bummer dude Everyone else who has stayed at that hostel had good experiences there, sorry yours was so bad!

As for multiple pictures in a post, you can definitely have way more than too. In fact, you don't even need to first host the pictures yourself - you can attach them directly to the post and have them be hosted by JWFan. You just have to be on a real computer, not a phone or tablet, and click "More Reply Options" to get the full editing screen, and you can attach pictures from there.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,362]

Thor, you didnt make use of the safety deposit boxes that were in every single room?

[Dixon Hill 4,236]

Sounds like a great time. I've gotta try and make it next year.

[Tom 4,966]

Was the program for the second round of concerts the same as the first?

[Thor 8,114]

Thor, you didnt make use of the safety deposit boxes that were in every single room?

There was no safe in the room or in the lobby. You basically had to lock your belongings in the room and hope for the best or carry them around with you. Stupid hostel. Oh well, I'll do my best to get back the lost money through my insurance. Hopefully, that will work.

Tom, the second round was pretty much the same as the first, as far as I know. The only difference is that they played one extra encore on Saturday.

[Jay 38,847]

Tom was asking about Tues/Wed compared to Fri/Sat, not Sat compared to Fri.

[nightscape94 965]

I regret nothing.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,362]

Thor, you didnt make use of the safety deposit boxes that were in every single room?

There was no safe in the room or in the lobby.

Then this didnt happen in Boston Hosteling International, which is what I assumed from Jason's post.

[BuzzLightyear 143]

We waited around outside Symphony Hall with everyone else to try for autographs, I with my HPSS CD and jwalk with his Superman CD - his first Williams purchase ever. It was crowded, though, and when Williams arrived there were unfortunately a lot of rude and shameless people being very pushy and not very respectful to Williams. He was gracious enough to sign a few things anyway.

Same thing happened in Chicago last November. There was a bunch of hideous guys with stacks of LP covers who really didn't have the slightest respect for anyone, let alone an 80+ years-old man who had a lot of patience with them.

I can only agree with JW's reps about safeguarding him as tight as ever in those kind of circumstances, even though this means being rude with polite people who probably just want to say hello and thank you to him. When I saw those nerds just thrusting each other and slapping LP covers in front of JW's face without even saying "thank you" to him, I was almost ashamed for them.

I consider myself immensely blessed when I had the opportunity to meet, pose for a picture and even being able to speak a few words with him back in 2007. My lucky star was watching over me.

I was there in Chicago last year, too. I was really disapointed about these guy's out there with their LP Covers. Some of them don't even attended the show's. And this guys have made it even more difficult for people like us. People who appreciate Williams art. People who love him for his music.

At least I got a autograph, and I'm forever grateful for that.

But to pose for a picture or even being able to speak a few words with him, is something which has unfortunately become very difficult.

So I am happy for the true fans who could get an autograph in Boston!

[Ricard 2,254]

Thank you guys for your reports and photos! Looking forward to Jay's contributions

PS. I'm surprised there's virtually no coverage of the event apart from the Boston Globe article.

[Thor 8,114]

Thor, you didnt make use of the safety deposit boxes that were in every single room?

There was no safe in the room or in the lobby.

Then this didnt happen in Boston Hosteling International, which is what I assumed from Jason's post.

No, it was 40Berkeley.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,362]

I seem to remember in my reseach from last year that that was the lesser of the two

[Jay 38,847]

Thank you guys for your reports and photos! Looking forward to Jay's contributions

PS. I'm surprised there's virtually no coverage of the event apart from the Boston Globe article.

Thanks Ricard. I've been too damn busy this week to get the pictures and story up here. Hopefully on Sunday.

[WilliamsStarShip2282 318]

http://www.wgbh.org/995/bso.cfm

will br broadcast on wgbh June 21, 30

[Croweyes1121 14]

Question - how do we know the show that's being broadcast is the Saturday performance (as opposed to Friday's, for example)? I also find it funny that they're still regurgitating the official description of the show in including Jaws as one of the scores Williams performs, when he played nothing from it during this show.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,362]

Well if they only recorded on saturday, it would stand to reason

[BLUMENKOHL 1,081]

I think WGBH lets you listen to Pops concerts on demand after a certain time.

[edit] Yup.

I would post a direct link, but this forum is so fucked on Chrome, I can't copy and paste.[/edit]

[Foxfan 133]

Question, did JW purposely edit/shorten the "Hymn to the Fallen" piece for concert performances, or did the orchestra and chorus just fall apart at several moments during the Saturday night performance and miraculously ended back up in the same bars?

"Dry Your Tears" sounded great though and it would be nice to have an MP3 recording of it. So many of the recent scores are due for concert arrangement recordings. All we've had is Geisha with the Chicago Symphony.

[Jay 38,847]

Hymm To The Fallen played to a video montage of WW2 footage, so it was played at the exact length and tempo needed to match the footage. In other words, he chose to shorten it for the performance.

[Moto Gizmo 2]

Please forgive me for bringing up this older thread.

My wife and I would like to attend the Film Night next year, but because we live in Europe we kind of have to book our flights and hotel some time in advance. When do they usually reveal the schedule for the Film Night?

[Thor 8,114]

Around Christmas time, I seem to remember.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,362]

Tickets go on sale early December.

[Bespin 8,656]

Currently listening to the public recording of the June 11 concert.

Great concert and during the intermission they included a performance of Weber's Second Clarinet Concerto, recorded earlier in spring of 2014 and conducted by Keith Lockhart (Clarinet: Nicolas Brown), cool!

On the Memoirs of a Geisha selections, is it just me or Martha Babcock have some problems of pitch accuracy? It's soooo painfull !

In those moments we miss Yo-Yo Ma !

[Tom 4,966]

Currently listening to public recording of the June 11 concert.

Great concert and during the intermission they included a performance of the Clarinet Concerto recorded earlier in spring of 2014 and conducted by Keith Lockhart (Clarinet: Nicolas Brown), cool!

On the Memoirs of a Geisha selections, is it just me or Martha Babcock have some troubles getting always on the pitch? It's soooo painfull !

In those moments we miss Yo-Yo Ma !

is this on wgbh? could you provide a link to the performance?

[Bespin 8,656]

It's not the JW clarinet concerto, I made an edit to my post, sorry!

http://www.wgbh.org/programsv2/The-Boston-Symphony-Orchestra-in-Concert-1641?episode=53074

[thx99 1,786]

is this on wgbh? could you provide a link to the performance?

http://www.wgbh.org/programsv2/The-Boston-Symphony-Orchestra-in-Concert-1641?episode=53074

And here is the 2014 Film Night at Tanglewood: http://www.wgbh.org/programsv2/The-Boston-Symphony-Orchestra-in-Concert-1641?episode=51514

[Bespin 8,656]

is this on wgbh? could you provide a link to the performance?

http://www.wgbh.org/programsv2/The-Boston-Symphony-Orchestra-in-Concert-1641?episode=53074

And here is the 2014 Film Night at Tanglewood: http://www.wgbh.org/programsv2/The-Boston-Symphony-Orchestra-in-Concert-1641?episode=51514

Yes and Martha Babcock has pitch accuracy problems on that one too.

Well, it's the Boston Pops, not the Berlin Philharmonic!