Midday Mariachi

A wonderful surprise in the Fishbowl (a commons area in UOregon's student union building) today: a mariachi band took out their instruments and serenaded the lunch crowd. They were terrific. Great singers and musicians, in the full scale outfit. I think they were members of Mariachi Viva Mexico.

While I enjoyed the musical treat, I took a quick appraisal of my surroundings. There were about 40 people present in the bowl. 9 (including myself) had laptops open during the performance. 3 of those 9 continued listening to their own music and one person talking on the phone complained that some sort of band was playing.

I was a little surprised at the lack of crowd enthusiasm. What does it take to stir these people up? I hope our elephant will do the trick in March... oop. I've said too much. I hope every Thursday is mariachi day. At least Thursdays.

Best $5 Ever Spent

A little while back I was privileged enough to experience "The Project", a Brooklyn based ensemble, at the University of Oregon. Originally I picked up on posters advertising the arrival of the beatboxing flute player, but I left the show completely enamored with the group as a whole (not to mention two cd's, autographs, and a how-to manual).