I muscled my way into an improv set at the UCB Theatre last night. Actually, the way I remember it, Neil Casey asked me if I wanted to do a Harold and I said “sure”—the way Dyna remembers it, Neil asked her if she wanted to do a Harold and I said, “can I do one too!” The last time I did any improvising was 5 years ago. Being on stage again, I felt that slightly self-conscious feeling I always felt when improvising, like going to a sports bar and having to pretend I like sports—pretty soon I’ll give myself away as an impostor. Also, after complaining that back when I was on an improv team, my characters were always labeled “gay,” I decided last night to initiate a scene where I played a gay lumberjack. But I was fine considering how long it’s been. Fine.

On a totally different note, Kaveri and I went to Carnegie Hall on Sunday to see a performance of the Turangalîla-Symphonie by Messiaen. I had never been to Carnegie Hall before—it’s impressive. It looks exactly like a grand concert hall. When you close your eyes and think “concert hall,” you will think of Carnegie Hall, even if you’ve never been there. This is what we looked like, sitting in our box:

Turangalîla is something else. I had never heard it before. It’s exciting. There are lots of angular percussive parts. Some parts have a near-schmaltzy Romantic vibe. A lot of it is balls-to-the-wall madness. The piano is constantly banging away, often going against the grain of the main theme. Several themes repeat themselves again and again. The orchestra includes a crazy electronic instrument called the Ondes Martenot, which sounds like a Theremin (but you can also play it like a piano)—you hear it and think, “what the fuck was that?” There were also two people playing what sounded like toy pianos. And a vibraphone. And maracas.

Here’s the 1st movement:

here’s the 5th: