After spending a relatively OK final day of the week at work (WOW—yet another week gone by already since returning home from Japan), I drove to the Chatsworth Metrolink station to meet my family and ride the shuttle bus to the Hollywood Bowl. It’s been a long time, and it was a lot of fun.The program was an extravaganza of Celtic music—which I think is what I saw on my last trip to the bowl. They even had the Kennelly Irish Dancers perform.

The guest conductor of the L.A. Phil was one Bramwell Tovey, an Englishman and wonderful conductor. More than that, he was hysterically funny and really made the audience have a good time. I’ve always enjoyed that dry, wicked English sense of humor, and he didn’t disappoint. The Orchestra was superb as usual, and you couldn’t have hoped for a more beautiful evening, especially after our recent heat waves. It was really lovely having a picnic out under the stars with cool breezes and beautiful music wafting through the air. This is the way it should be living in So. Cal. in the summertime…

Places like this really are special and I’m lucky to have the opportunity of enjoying them once in a while in my very own home town.