Gershwin Prize Winners

Along one of the hallways of the Library of Congress Jefferson Building is the Coolidge Auditorium. We've been there many times for a variety of events and lectures that are usually free and open to the public. The graceful archways also serve as a great background for the posters that are on display every so many feet. This year the Billy Joel poster was added to the space as the 2014 Gershwin Prize Winner. This was also an artist that we got to see perform for free at Constitution Hall last year. Other winners include Paul Simon, Hal David and Burt Bacharach, Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney, and Carole King. They are all so very familiar to me, but I didn't get to see any of the others in concert. Every once in a while the employees get a chance to attend events to help fill the seats. I always try to take advantage of those rare opportunities. They don't happen that often, but we are always glad when we go. So when I walk the halls on an afternoon break it's a nice reminder to see the past recipients. I wonder who it will be this year? But more importantly, will I get to go?

Billy Joel Gershwin Prize at DAR Constitution Hall on PBS January 2

It was a fun night. We got free tickets to see the Billy Joel Gershwin Prize Concert at the DAR Constitution Hall. I work at the Library of Congress and every once in a while, employees have an opportunity to attend these types of events. We took our first Uber ride there, and immediately went to our seats. The tickets were for side stage views but couldn't be better because the box that Billy Joel, Dr. Billington, and SCOTUS Justice Sotomayor sat in was just to our right. I watched Billy Joel snapping his fingers, clapping along, and watching the production most of the night. The TelePrompTer words changed size based on the artist on stage - Tony Bennett had the largest letters - but now I know why they all remember the words so well. My husband loved Kevin Spacey the most - especially when he played harmonica at the finale. We will probably watch the edited version on PBS in January. Everything looks so different when you are actually there watching the set changes and some of the behind the scenes action. Unfortunately I left without my program and we ordered up another Uber ride. We were home before ten.  It's not something we do with any frequency, but it was quite memorable for a lot of reasons. That's what I call an employee perk - and a little luck getting a lottery ticket. The most frequent line I hear from my husband these days is "how could we ever leave this town?" He never said that when we lived in Milwaukee. 

 

The Uber Adventure

We have free tickets to the Billy Joel Gershwin event this evening at Constitution Hall. It only happened because the Library had a lottery for extra seats. This kind of opportunity occurs every once in a while and it is well worth the effort to attend. Usually the events are sponsored at the Jefferson Building- well within walking distance from our house. But the hall is near the White House and it's much too cold to walk. So we were scratching our heads thinking about the best way to get there. Both metro and garage parking are three and four blocks away. I tried scheduling a Red Top cab but it wouldn't let me select an address I wanted. So we decided to download the Uber App and give it a try. I liked the credit card scan feature, and the extra rewards on the credit card. I didn't care to read about the negative press Uber got today in the news. But in spite of it, let's see if it works as well as everyone says. Stay tuned!

 

Passing By the Billy Joel Concert at Nationals Stadium

It was just announced that Billy Joel would be receiving the Gershwin Award. Working at the Library, these announcements are routine. I personally never get to attend any of these events, but some of my coworkers have - Paul McCartney to name one. And in the Jefferson Building are posters displayed with all the past winners by the Coolidge Auditorium. Last evening Billy Joel had a concert at Nationals Stadium. It started at eight, so we decided to take a walk in that direction. That end of town has been transformed completely since we moved here, and there is a lot more construction going on. Several new apartments, condos, restaurants, and shops are in the works all near the stadium to South Capitol Street. We passed by several demolitions on our way over. When we reached the stadium, we heard it was a sell out concert. Many folks were bustling in while the opening act performed. We wanted to hang around and wait to hear the first couple songs. Of course, none of what we heard was familiar to my ears, and I know quite a few of his hits. I haven't been to a concert in ages, but this was the next best thing to actually being there, even though we couldn't see the stage, the performance, or even recognize the music as it bounced off the metallic stadium. So we retreated to our house only a few blocks away to the quieter, suburban Capitol Hill neighborhood. It's nice living close enough to all that action, but I wouldn't want to actually live in it.