Boston Pops

Matthew I. ponders the Giant Fiedler Head on the Esplanade. You think, late at night, when everybody's asleep, it gets together with the Giant Baby Heads at the MFA?

Copyright Matthew I.

Joel Brown reports on who will be performing with the Pops at the Hatch Shell this July Fourth.

Practice, of course. And also don't be a Boston Latin student. Yes, some BLS students scheduled for a debut with the Pops tonight were barred so they don't spread the killer devastating disfiguring annoying swine flu, Joel Brown reports.

Jim Sullivan talks to Keith Lockhart about the spring season. Baseball is a big theme this year.

Joel Brown interviews the Pops conductor on the upcoming EdgeFest, which this year features Natalie Merchant and Amanda Palmer:

... I was vaguely familiar with the Dresden Dolls' work, and I'm thinking "Pops Goes Goth" was not a combination I ever saw happening. But as I listened to her solo stuff, it's really, really interesting, very lyric-driven, very honest, and very original, and that's what we're looking for. We're not looking for people to fill some sort of genre. We're looking for artists with something to say. In a way the disparity in people's minds of Amanda Palmer vs. the Boston Pops is going to produce some interesting results. ...

Theodore83 captures them practicing at the Hatch Shell yesterday:

Yes, they settled, by agreeing not to bring charges against each other. Geoff Edgers provides the Before and After photos (or should that be: During and After?).

The Suffolk County D.A.'s office reports those two guys who battled it out at a Pops concert face a probable-cause hearing in Boston Municipal Court. A court clerk will determine whether any charges in the case should be issued and, if so, against whom.

Stephen Colbert likes the idea of Fight Night at the Pops, but says management will have to keep upping the ante to keep fans engaged:

During "The Flight of the Bumblebees," why not release actual bees?

Or at least, somebody claiming to be one of the two guys gives his side of the story on a boston.com forum:

Ok, I'm the blond guy that got sucker punched by that jerk in the blue shirt.

Story goes like this...

After talking with his wife/mistress/girlfriend through the entire first piece, I tap this guy on the shoulder with my program and give him the "shhh" finger-to-the-lips motion. ...

Via B0st0n LiveJournal.

Best account of the fight (via Maggie).

Christopher Muther says the Pops brawl offers excellent proof why gentlemen should always wear undershirts:

... There's nothing worse than seeing grainy footage of your un-manscaped chest on CNN. ...

We'll have no more complaints about the common people, thank you very much. BPDNews explains what led to a balcony-clearing brawl at the Pops last night:

The first victim stated that the second victim kept striking him with his program and after the two exchanged words a struggle ensued and was broken up by security and others in the area. The second victim stated that the reason he was tapping the first victim with his program was because he wouldn't stop talking during the performance and refused to be quiet. He attempted to have Symphony Hall staff respond and when he returned to his seat, he said that the first victim stood up and another struggle ensued, which was promptly broken up by security.

The headline here shows why we need the Herald.

Another desperate attention grab by the Pops.

Jilly-D: WTF. why is Dr. Phil hosting the Fireworks Spectacular??

Zolok: I couldn't care less what this bumptious sumbitch thinks of our pyrotechnics.

Tim Jarrett: What a weird night, with the decay of Steven Tyler’s vocal chords on full display.

Single Girl in the City: Is it me, or were the Boston fireworks a bit of a let down this year?

Michael Bradford thinks it was you, Single Girl: The fireworks and the Boston Pops concert was not a disappointment this year - when are they a disappointment?

JS notes that the fireworks set off car alarms in nearby neighborhoods.

John captures the July 4th festivities, which left Wally pretty cranky. Brian and clan watched from the top level of the Museum of Science parking lot. He reports the fireworks were great but left him wondering:

... They're accompanied by pre-recorded music, which is really useless if you ask me. The music selection is lame and doesn't particularly suit a fireworks display, and, after all, there is a world-class orchestra just sitting there watching ...

Tim, meanwhile, ponders the differences between the confident, assured Keith Lockhart at the Hatch Shell, and the whiny, petulant Keith Lockhart in the Boston Sunday Globe:

... Why on earth would someone as apparently media-savvy as Keith Lockhart drop the shield for an interview that made him out to be such a whiner? You'd think he'd, I don't know, go start a LiveJournal or something.