Elton John and Bernie Taupin Gershwin Prize

I worked at the Library of Congress for ten years. It’s the reason we moved to Capitol Hill from the Midwest. One of the great side benefits of working at such a unique place was the people you might happen to run in to. My husband and I had an opportunity to attend the Gershwin Prize concerts for Willie Nelson and Billy Joel. Neither of these artists are our favorites, but they needed to fill the auditorium at the DAR concert hall and I got two free lottery tickets. They were memorable events as there were many other famous artists attending to pay homage to the recipients. I retired several years ago now. But I wish I was still working just to attend the Elton John and Bernie Taupin event this year. Elton John is one of our favorite musicians. I remember hearing his first song in high school and then so many more after that, marking significant milestones in my life. So this week we watched the recorded performance of the Gershwin event. Both my husband and I were teary eyed and emotional just listening to the beautiful music performed by such wonderful artists. The venue was familiar and I felt like I was a part of it. When I look back on the fact that I actually worked at the library I am still amazed. And to this day every time we visit I can’t believe it. 

Willie Nelson Gershwin Prize Concert

In November, we attended the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize concert for Willie Nelson at the Daughters of the American Revolution Hall. As an employee, I won a lottery ticket. They needed to fill the seats, and we had an opportunity to do just that. Last year Billy Joel was the prize winner. For whatever reason, we landed in about the same seats as last year - to the right of the stage and fairly close to the action. And from our seats, we could easily see the guests of honor because they were located just in front of us. Being at the show is an interesting affair because of everyone else who is there. But watching it on tv can be even more interesting because you know you are in the audience. The show was broadcasted on public television this week, so we watched to see if we could see ourselves. It wasn't as clear this year as last, but we knew it was us because the grey hair shines out in the crowd. Personally I preferred the Billy Joel concert to Willie Nelson's, only because the music was more familiar to me. Regardless, each artist was entertaining to watch during the show to see their reactions, and also when they performed. What more could one ask for - especially since it was free?

Uber and Willie Nelson

It's been awhile since we took Uber, so I was a bit confused about how to enter the right address. The driver called to clarify exactly where we were located. He finally got us to our destination in rush hour traffic - the DAR Concert hall for the Willie Neslon Gerswhin prize concert. But it was quite expensive at $26.00? So we took our free seats that were a lottery win from the Library of Congress employee pool and waited for the music. Not long after we sat down, Mr. Nelson entered and sat within our view and seemingly enjoyed the show - Neil Young, Paul Simon, Cyndi Lauper, Don Johnson, and several others whom I don't really know. At the end Willie sang "on the road again," but we didn't hear "you are always on my mind." They had to redo the Cyndi Lauper duet because there was something wrong with the production truck. Nevertheless it will be broadcast in January.  We'll probably watch it because it's a very different show watching it on tv. It was a nice event, but I'm not a huge fan. But my husband enjoyed it. I think the songs of Billy Joel last year had more meaning for me. I didn't know half the songs played at Willie's show. When we left the concert hall, we walked a couple blocks and hailed a cab. He got us home in short order and it was $15.00. I'm sure it had something to do with the time of day - or did it? 

Willie Nelson Gershwin Prize Concert Tickets

It feels like yesterday that we went to the Gershwin Prize concert for Billy Joel. A few days back an announcement was sent to Library employees that tickets were available for the Willie Nelson Gershwin Prize concert. It's a great way to fill up the seats but also see some extraordinary artists - even if they are not your cup of tea. So I submitted an email request and waited for the lottery. Yesterday when I came to work there was an email informing me that I did get a pair of tickets. So I picked them up at the events office and brought them home. They are almost in the same spot as last year - all the way left and very close overlooking the stage. My husband was thrilled because he really likes these kind of events. They are really unexpected perks of working at the Library. The DAR venue is elegant and the artists honoring Willie Nelson are even more interesting - to me - in particular Neil Young. The event used to be held in the Jefferson building which was a lot easier for us to get to, but never enough space to open it up to employees. The DAR is much bigger and the concert will be broadcast on TV over the holidays. We'll probably take Uber to get there, and a cab home. It's one of those rare times we don't walk or drive ourselves, but it is worth it! 

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!