Wife got two free tickets to this performance by Rhiannon Giddens. Who? Checked on the internet…read moreand thought she sounded decent on YouTube videos.
Only problem was that it was Friday at 730pm at the Louis B Mayer theater, as in Metro Goldwyn Mayer. Wife bought the tickets expecting me to drive all that way in rush hour traffic, and find the theater at night in unfamiliar surroundings? Yes. Why do you think she married me?
Left our house in Sunnyvale at 6:15pm, and 7 miles, 40 minutes and 30+ traffic signals on El Camino Real reached Santa Clara University. LBM theater address is 500 El Camino Real, but that's the address for the whole Santa Clara University. The theater is on the opposite end of the campus, at least a half mile from El Camino Real.
All nearby street parking taken, with on campus street parking restricted to vehicles with SCU parking permits.
The central parking garage is located near the stadium, but that was completely across campus. Closer parking garage at the corner of Alviso and Franklin St. Take El Camino Real, right on Lafayette, left on Franklin. Took 10 minutes of DWA to find it, at night.
Only spaces near the garage entrance are compact spots. Backed into a compact spot, so named as next to a concrete wall. So you are pulling out blind.
$5 to park, with you having to enter your license plate number on the receipt. Guess this is to prevent cheapskates from loaning the ticket to a friend for reuse. Parking free after 8pm, but wouldn't you know it, but the show starts at 7:30pm.
5 minute walk from the 4 story parking garage to the theater, the entrance of which is not visible from the street.
The usual bag check at the entrance, with hand searches, just like at Disneyland. Sign says no food nor drinks permitted in theater. Ticket electronically scanned. Wife wisely goes to the bathroom before the play starts.
Inside a very modern theater, full house, with seating 395-525 depending on configuration, with movable seats up front. 20 rows of seats, two aisles, with stairs going down, and hand railings on the side.
Stadium seating at the bleacher area, with your knees at head height of the people in front of you. Great panoramic viewing. Got to stand up to let people get by. One poor dude gets stuck behind a lady wearing a fedora hat the entire show.
Francesco Turrisi plays the piano, drums and accordian, while Rhiannon Giddens plays the violin and the banjo. Bluegrass music, Irish ballad music, folk music, instrumentals, and Rhiannon singing.
Rhiannon featured on Ken Burns country music, and performed for the Obamas at the White House. Her songs tell stories of historic black womanhood and survival. If it's good enough for Obama, it's good enough for me.
Intermission the wife races to the bathrooms, while I take my time. Men's bathroom has 5 urinals and 2 toilets, with line backed up a dozen deep in no time.
Women's restrooms have even longer lines. Assume 7 stalls for the women, or at 3 minutes per use, 49 women can be accommodated in the 20 minute intermission. The other 150 women are just going to have to hold it for the 2 hour performance, as the theater was designed for university students age 18-21 with strong bladders.
Get back to my seat, just as the college age ladies behind me, remove their bare feet off the top of my seatback. Some people are still learning proper manners.
End of the show, get back to the parking garage. Drive out just as the person next to me is backing out, hidden behind a concrete wall between us. Just did avoid meeting by accident, and no it was not an Asian woman driver!
