Beethoven's 9th at the Hollywood Bowl

Tuesday night we went to the Hollywood Bowl to see the Los Angeles Philharmonic perform Beethoven's 9th. Thanks to Kenny's work we had awesome box seats, center stage.

Usually, when we go to the bowl we sit way up in the back. Those seats aren't bad because you get to take in the whole ambiance of the amphitheatre, Hollywood hills in the background, and the huge spotlights shining into the sky. But this time we got to see how the other half enjoys the bowl. Each box seats 4-6 people, they all have little tables where people can eat dinner before the show. (The bowl is the only venue in town that allows people to bring in their own food.) Or you can order a three course meal in advance and they will deliver it to your box when you arrive. You can tell who are regulars, because they all had pretty table clothes to put on their tables.

We arrived early and brought some good cheese, crackers, and grapes from Trader Joe's. The group in the box next to us brought a whole chocolate cake which they shared with us.
No, we didn't have any celebrity sitings. I doubt any well-known celebrities would have much interest in going to see Beethoven's 9th and they're not known to visit the bowl as frequently. However, the ones who come to see the LA Philharmonic are the artists, screenwriters, composers, etc, along with the executives whose companies own box seats.

The performance was really good. The conductor, Michael Tilson Thomas, was very lively which was very entertaining. The most popular piece in the performance was Ode To Joy, which was played in the last section. The Los Angeles Master Chorale accompanied the symphony, along with four soloists who were very impressive. For more information you can visit their site at http://www.hollywoodbowl.com/tix/performance_detail.cfm?id=3243&back=%2Ftix%2Fseries%5Fclassical%2Ecfm%3B