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The last time we attended an event at the Balboa Theatre we were able to enjoy a boxed meal, dessert, and cocktails at our seat. This last event, Lila Downs, we were not allowed to even take in a bottle of water. Additionally, the enforcement of no cell phone use was destructive to the experience.
The facility was directed to send a security person into the audience whenever they saw use of cell phones, which was every few minutes. They flashed their lights directly into my eyes once just looking for an offender. They were asked to desist by several patrons. They persisted in bending over other patrons to tell the offender to stop. It was extremely disruptive. I would not wish to attend another event hosted by the La Jolla Music Society. On the plus side, the many musicians were well balanced by the sound engineer. Lila Downs delighted the audience with her signature sustained notes.
It was my first time to see her and she was so good and fun. The Balboa theatre was a perfect venue.
The ushers were so busy policing cell phone use that they would pass down the aisle and block our view five or six time per song. Several patrons finally spoke to them, and it seemed to moderate. Sound mixing was poor, way too much bass to the point of distortion and masking Ms. Downs voice.
I expected more of Chris performance because of the concert title. But they are all good. The concert is more of Chris Botti and friends/guests. All good.
Chris is one of my preferred performers. Concerts we have previously attended have been open-air stages however this one was an enclosed theater Having read some recent reviews, I took some ear plugs just in case the enclosed environment might be too loud for my/our liking. Glad I did as the electronics were cranked up and it was loud! The enclosed theater seated around 1,200 guests and in no way did the instruments need increased electronics to be heard. IMO, the show would have been significantly better if the performers had played with no added electronics.
This was a performance that truly had something for everyone. All of the musicians were exceptional. The music varied from Led Zeppelin to opera. Very entertaining.
Review is for the recent Lang Lang concert. Event was organized well. Covid protocols were a bit much considering where we are but they were handled pretty efficiently. Staff was friendly and helpful. Concert started way too late. Probably close to a half hour or more late which was not great as there was no intermission for 90+ minute concert and several people needed to bail or take their children to the restroom during the concert. As usual it started with the usual speech by the director to thank sponsors and ask for money. It's fine, but as usual the speech was overly long by someone who loves to hear themselves talk and constantly reminding us that our "ticket doesnt pay for all their expenses" is sort of insulting. A tradition that needs to be changed. Essentially reprimanding and calling out your audience does not lead to additional contributions. I As for the concert, it was not good at all. Lang Lang does not play Bach well. It is muddled, very poor in phrasing, and generally dull. It's not very musical. He is certainly technically advanced, and I think he wanted to prove he could play Bach but generally failed. He would have been much better served just playing the highlights of the Goldberg Variations.
Wonderful strings performance!! I would definitely recommend it if it comes back to San Diego!
In true organic "Lines" fashion - these dancers test the limits and give an honest TRUE performance. Every movement has potential to steal your breath as you watch - I am always afraid that if I blink I will miss a piece of the undeniable beauty. Alonzo - you are a brilliant mentor - Dancers - Standing ovation a million times over!!
I don’t know how the dancers can move with such fluidity and gracefulness! It’s like they’re noodles and they have no weight
Thoroughly enjoyed the amazing performance of Alonzo King Lines Ballet! The choreography, dancing and lighting was like nothing I had ever seen/expeeienced. Bravo!👏
The concert was jaw-dropping! A truly unforgettable experience of masterpiece quality!
Great venue and perfect sound , have been to the balboa theater for several concerts and am very impressed with acoustics and there are no bad seats !! Bela fleck and crew truly are amazing artists
Event was well organized with diligent security. The musicians were top notch. Only glitch was parking. Paid for parking with purchase of ticket but had to pay again when I attended the event. I had no receipt to prove I had already paid. Why wasn’t I sent confirmation that I’d paid for parking?
Awesome evening with performances by six virtuosos. I would highly recommend seeing Bela Fleck even if he were playing a kazoo. He is a musical genius.
I chose this as my first out-of-town performance after retiring, traveling from out of state as part of a winter vacation. On the one hand, it was amazing to get to see so many masters of bluegrass onstage at the same time. On the other, coming from a relatively small town that doesn't get concerts like this, maybe my expectations were too high, and in the end, I was somewhat disappointed. Bela Fleck and crew are all amazing musicians, but I was disappointed they didn't play more selections off the album being promoted on this tour. I was also disappointed in Sam Bush. To me, his playing style is very aggressive and rather monochromatic, and not the best match for Fleck's much more insightful style. The latter combines incredible technique with a wonderfully creative mind, knocking out harmonics like child's play and frequently exploring fascinating polyrhythms and extended harmonies in his improvisations. In contrast, while Bush also has masterful technique, his playing was very straightforward and relatively lacking in inventiveness. I would strongly have preferred Chris Thile or Sierra Hull on mandolin. (Interestingly, the picture in the program booklet included both Hull and fiddle player Michael Cleveland, neither of whom are playing on this tour). Another disappointment was the group's onstage presence. I wasn't expecting anything major such as stand-up comedy, but the between-song dialogues and jokes were particularly flat and sometimes even just plain strange. Electronic tuners for lungs? Really? The final disappointment was the sound. The balance was often not the greatest - it was sometimes hard to hear the melodic lines and improvisations above the rest of the band, and especially at the beginning of the second set, Edgar Meyer was heavily over-mic'ed, resulting in a booming bass that buried everyone else. All that being said, I did enjoy the show, getting to see these master musicians live for the first time. To me, the group was at their best when they were performing songs from My Bluegrass Heart. My favorite was Our Little Secret, but Baptist Pumpkin Farm was also amazing. Not only did Bush do an excellent job playing fiddle on this tune, but Edgar Meyer showed what an incredible musician he is by essentially playing third fiddle on his bass, nailing notes on the extreme high end of the fingerboard and perfectly matching the sound of the fiddles. Finally, aside from the sound man, I'll offer a hats-off to the staff at the Balboa Theatre. I appreciated their requirement to show either a Covid vaccination card or very recent negative test, and the ushers did their jobs well. They were friendly in their interactions with the audience members, including guiding people to their seats instead of just pointing out where they were. Before the show and during intermission, some walked around the venue, quietly held up signs reminding people that they had to wear masks rather than making repeated announcements, and during the performance, ushers were both quick and quiet in chastising those who attempted to take pictures or recordings of the performance.
I loved the Balboa theater. The entry related to ticketing was well managed, but I much prefer being able to print my ticket at home. Yuja Wang did a great job on the piano, but the violinist several times played in a loud and overbearing way, and the piece came across as disjunctive. (especially the first piece.) I like to hear verbally during the concert something from the performers about the pieces or composers, or themselves, or why they chose those pieces, to connect them to the audience. I also feel,, as they got rousing applause, they should have played a short encore.
I've watched Yuja Wang online and followed her career on social media. This concert allowed me to hear how she interacted with the violinist, Leonidas Kavakos. An additional fillip was a 7 pm tutorial about the music we were going to hear. Even though I had listened and watched the scores on YouTube, Todd Schultz, President and CEO of La Jolla Music Society, provided a detailed analysis of the structure of the music and explained why one piece was not going to be an ear worm. The audience was warm and friendly to the artists and to each other. I was fortunate to have the sightline that so many photographers use when recording Yuja playing. Beautiful theatre! Beautiful music! Perfect evening! Ticketmaster guided me every step of the way from ticket purchase; parking ticket purchase in a garage considered safe for Balboa Theatre patrons; patient explanations of how to navigate around construction in the area; potential dinner options (I got lost so I took a shrimp wrap to go from a local tavern and printed directions/voice directions on my phone back to 4th Avenue). I am not a frequent concert-goer and very much appreciated the online and phone help by Ticketmaster to make my evening as stress-free as possible.
Stunning original choreography, costuming and lighting, unique musical accompaniment. Exciting drama.
