Merging of Cultures Right Here In Helena

On Saturday, I went with AVD and boyfriend to a Newbie concert at the Myrna Loy in Helena; MARIMBA music. I'd never seen it performed live and it was quite a treat. Who would have imagined that a Montana group could be so good at playing music from Zimbabwe? There were probably 10 people in the ensemble and their instruments were xylophones - the only way I know to describe it - that ranged from small like the Tinker Toys version we had as children to a very large one that required a step to access it because the pipes that resonated the sound were large enough for me crawl in them. The music was energetic, fun, and hard to resist foot-stomping or doing a little jig in my chair. There were many brave souls that ventured out on the dance floor but I was not one of them. I love to dance but not when the whole audience is aimed directly at the dance floor with nothing else to watch but the dancers. It made for a great people-watching concert though.

At one point, mid-concert, the band moved their instruments to make room for another Newbie and treat. A group of 4 kids - probably not older than 21, 22, choreographed a break dancing routine to one of the songs performed by the marimba band. Fascinating. They performed it onstage with the band and because I was late to the concert and had to, actually GOT TO sit up front where no one else wanted to sit, I was able to see how proud they were of their performance. It was great to see the kids so appreciative of a likely different type of music than they generally enjoy and it was even more great to see how good they were at their art. I think I'll take up break dancing for a Newbie sometime.