Tag: Miller Theater

The Ride-In Theater

When we were all young, drive-in theaters were the most fun (almost) you could have sitting in a car though sitting was never in-plan. Our neighborhood venue was ironically named, The Thunderbird Drive-in. The memories! Fast-forward, quickly! This summer is Miller Outdoor Theater’s 90th year and their big screen movie shows are as close to those hazy nights at The Thunderbird as we’ll ever be again. Last night several of us rode-in and caught the movie, Men In Black. We just sat there and watched — the plan is completely different now.

Riding home the memories came flooding back … there’s something about seeing a movie on a big screen … at an outdoor theatre … under the stars.

the audience

Men In Black movie frame

Dark Knight at Herman Park front wheel

At Miller Outdoor Theatre – August 19th 2013

The Tao Of Jazz

Not all forms of transportation have wheels…

Chucho Valdes

It wasn’t planned … last evening we found ourselves rolling into Hermann Park on a random ride. Turns out Chucho Valdés and his Afro-Cuban jazz band were on the stage at Miller Outdoor Theatre. No place on Earth can hide from this music and over the course of 90 minutes Valdés took us to Havana, Senegal, the Serengeti Plain, Morocco, Andalusia, to New York for 15-minutes of “Take Five,” across the North American Indian soundscape, and back again never leaving our seats. The Tao of great jazz is its power to transport you across time and space.

Riding home I couldn’t stop thinking about this unexpected journey and all the amazing sounds of this night. Como la vida.

The Dark Knight on Herman Drive

At Miller Outdoor Theatre in Hermann Park – August 13th 2013

Asleep At The Wheel

Asleep At The Wheel returned to Miller Outdoor Theatre last night after a 20 year hiatus to commemorate 42 years as a band, 2 million miles on the road. The show started with a documentary-history of the band to re-introduce themselves and remind us how much we loved them. Sometime over the course of 42 years and dozens of players the band became the living manifestation of Ray Benson’s spirit: kinetic energy, free love for country swing, scary ability to play the same song a thousand times like it’s the first time, and undying devotion to “the band.” Today’s band has chops and heart. Asleep At The Wheel is on the stage alone now when it comes to Texas Swing. The old swing-bands are all gone.

The ride home was eerie and quiet above the rumble of the Harley. I couldn’t help thinking about the last 40 years and the music we all loved so much. And how much a part of our lives it was … and still is.

Dark Knight at Herman Park 7-5-13

At Miller Outdoor Theatre in Hermann Park – July 5th 2013