Mann Music Center’s Summer 2011 Schedule

I’m not one to just copy and paste links here (so I won’t!), but in an unanticipated display of pride for my home city, I read on Uwishunu.com that the Mann Music Center’s summer 2011 season schedule is starting on May 21st – provided the world doesn’t end, of course – with Philadelphia On Parade. Read the article here.

As someone who’s only been getting into live music and concert experiences within the past few years, the Mann has been one of my favorite venues, and boasts a beautiful view of the city that’s, honestly, quite magical in the summer. (It’s a far cry from the similarly-designed outdoor venue Susquehanna Bank Center, which boasts a view of Camden.) I first went to the Mann in early September 2005, when my life was in an upheaval and I needed a distraction. My dad and his then-girlfriend asked if I’d be interested in seeing a show there; Trio!, featuring Stanley Clarke, Jean-Luc Ponty, and Béla Fleck, was my introduction to music other than loud guitars and crashing drums, and, even though I might be romanticizing it a bit based on my frame of mind at the time, the combination of the music and the scenery made me just fall in love with it.

My next show there was two years later, when I saw Elvis Costello and the Philadelphia Orchestra perform selections from Il Sogno, his orchestral adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, in the first half, and a smattering of rearranged hits and album songs in the second half. It was a unique experience, especially considering I had seen Costello fronting the Imposters four months prior at the Electric Factory; going from screaming guitars to crooning bandleader was a neat juxtaposition.

It’s been four years since I’ve been, but I’m hoping to make it back to the Mann at some point this summer. I know Roger Daltrey is visiting in September, but prices are way high, so we’ll see if I get to go there. Perhaps I’ll pay Ray LaMontagne a visit. Whatever the concert, I’m definitely seeing something there.