Hollywood Bowl - Dinner and Jewel

So this season of the Hollywood Bowl wasn't too inspiring to me. The only person that I was excited to see happened to be playing on the same weekend that I was going to New York. Awesome.

But we love the venue, so on Friday Mr. Insom bought some tickets to see "The Art of Song" featuring Jewel, Michael Feinstein, and the Hollywood Bowl orchestra. Okay.

Off we go.


The joys of stacked parking.

I love all the picnic boxes, coolers, and backpacks.

...although they make for a lengthy line at the entrance gates.

Before the concert, we picked up some amazing cheeses at Wally's (Rogue River Creamery Smokey Blue, Andante Dairy Figaro wrapped in fig leaves, and Marieke Young Gouda) along with a bottle of Rombauer and some Marcona almonds. We didn't bring much this time as we were planning on actually eating food prepared and served by the Patina Group for the first time.

We got a late start and barely made the cutoff for ordering food. Everything was brought out in a mad dash so we could get stuff before the concert started.

He got some sort of fishcake garnished with a mango salsa in a bowl of chilled corn soup.

I got the heirloom tomato salad with burrata, olive oil, and mixed greens. It would have been nice if this had some basil with it, and it needed some salt.

He got some chicken.

One of our companions got cod. I got one lobster ravioli. It was a large one, but still. lol

Time for the show.

Thomas Wilkins was the conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and did a great job, especially with providing accompaniment to the vocalists.

Michael Feinstein did a nice medley of songs from the American Songbook... some Sinatra, some Gershwin.

Some were kind of Vegas cheesy.

But one song in particular was pretty beautiful - a stripped down version of a Henry Mancini song that I've never heard before. It was just him at the piano without the orchestra accompaniment, serenading Mancini's widow (it was her birthday and see seemed very touched). I love quiet moments like these at the Bowl.

Intermission.

Apparently according to Mr. Insom, intermission is when celebs walk around and chat to their friends. It becomes quite the scene. lol He knows this because on Sunday night he went back to the HB with some friends and he met Halle Berry, Laurence Fishburne, and Apollonia (she of Purple Rain fame - my first glimpse of a "bad girl" as a kid! I wonder what she looks like now... Oh.). I couldn't go as I had already committed to chatting up homophobes in Glendale. Fabo.

But for me, intermission means dessert.

Berries with vanilla creme.

Assorted cookies, biscotti, and macaroons.

Pear tart with homemade ice cream.

Chocolate mousse.

All in all the food was presented well, but it tasted just so so. I did like my lobster ravioli, but I don't know... to me the Bowl means taking your own stuff. Our cheeses tasted better than anything we were served.

But now it's time for Jewel.

I thought she looked pretty. And her dress looked very comfortable, which is always a plus in my lazy fashion book. She sounded good too.

I would have preferred if she did just classics from the American Songbook too, but she sang her own stuff. Set list: Anything goes, I'm sensitive, Foolish Games, Meant 4me, Hands, Over the Rainbow.

She and Michael did a duet of something I don't remember. I'm not saying it wasn't good, I'm saying that I had drunk a lot of wine.

Some items from her twitter feed:

RT @jeweljk: Wow-what a rush! I LOVE the conductor! He saved me several time 2night-but what an honor 2 play @hollywoodbowl ! Woohooo!

RT @jeweljk: Thank you @hollywoodbowl & thank u audience! Wanna do this more-feels so good 2 really sing-the orchestra pulls it out of me :)


All in all, it was an enjoyable evening.
Next time though, I'm going to bring my own food.


Oh and there were fireworks! How bout that?