The Sunlight and the Shadows
February 24, 2015
Jackson Browne 
The Sunlight and the Shadows
This week marked the third time in the last
month or so that I had the chance to go see a live concert by a member of the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. After seeing Billy Joel and Bob Seger, this time I
was headed back to Miami to see a show by one of my favorite singer
songwriters, Jackson Browne.
Browne was playing on a Friday night at the
wonderful Fillmore Miami Beach Theatre and as I was traveling up to Daytona, I
was able to stop in South Beach and catch the show, and I am so glad that I
did. Unlike the previous two shows, which were in large arenas, this one was in
a much smaller and more intimate space and was part of a short mini-tour of
just the state of Florida by Browne and his band.
Unlike the others as well is the fact that
Browne featured no opening act and played a set that spanned over three hours.
The set was much heavier on both recent songs and deep cuts from his back
catalog, rather than just a “greatest hits” show and was pretty cool for an old
time fan such as myself. I have seen Browne about 4 or 5 times over the years
and he is still as vibrant and interesting as ever. I really enjoy the easy
crowd banter and storytelling that accompanies many of his songs.
Jackson Browne
The show was fantastic with a
singular exception and that was the rude crowd which in addition to repeatedly
yelling out loud requests, even after Browne suggested he was not going to play
anything that was yelled out, also there were some in the crowd who yelled out
negative responses to his political activist statements even such seemingly
benign suggestions as to reduce the use of plastic to help clean the oceans. It
was disheartening and embarrassing, do these people not know what they are in
for when attending a Jackson Browne show.
Thankfully Browne was pretty good
natured about it, but it marred a wonderful experience for many in the crowd.
The show highlight was when Browne introduced legendary Cuban Nueva Trova
singer Carlos Varela to share the stage on Varela’s song “Walls and Doors”
which Browne has covered on his new CD. It was Varela’s first appearance on a
US stage as was pretty cool.
Carlos Varela 
The week got off to a great start
with a wonderful presentation by noted author and artist Jonathan Santlofer at
the Friends of the Library lecture series. Santlofer was a panelist at last
year’s Key West Literary Seminar on crime writing and is back in Key West as an
artist in residence at the Studios of Key West. His presentation was on both
his popular art and his best-selling mystery books and was really interesting.
Jonathan Santlofer 
The same evening, my favorite bar
the Porch hosted a fun event that paired delicious craft beer with girl scout
cookies for a tasty and fun combination of food and libation. Who doesn’t love
a delightful girl scout cookie paired with a tasty and refreshing beer. It was
a great idea and had a good turnout of people to enjoy the pairings.
Eileen & Graf 
Landon
After leaving South Beach, I headed
north to Orlando, where I spent the day visiting Epcot Center at Disney World.
Holding an annual pass for Disney, I enjoy visiting whenever I am in the
vicinity of Orlando and Epcot is always my favorite place to spend a nice
afternoon. It was a perfect day, overcast and not too hot with thankfully
average sized crowds
I had the good fortune to meet the
famous Norwegian Cologne designed Geir Ness who was promoting his colognes in
the Norway store. His fragrances are among my favorites, I especially like
Laila, the ladies perfume which I often get for Kathy when I visit Epcot
center.
Geir Ness 
posted by Michael and Kathy @ 1:04 PM
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