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taz_39 **Disclaimer** The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not reflect the views or opinions of my employer. DO NOT RESHARE ANY PART OF THIS POST WITHOUT PERMISSION. Thank you.
We started the day off with another walk to Tatte because their menu is so enticing, we had to try it again! This time Jameson got the French toast with whipped ricotta and berries while I had the “Greek-style pancakes.” Apparently that meant they came with Greek yogurt on the side because otherwise they seemed quite like normal fluffy delicious pancakes. And they also came with a house-made pear chutney that was fantastic. Once again, stellar breakfast in Boston :)
After that we relaxed in the hotel for a bit, lost track of time, and had to kinda rush around to find lunch before the matinee. Jameson got to chill at the hotel while I played the show (which went fine.)
For dinner we met Jameson’s musician friend Bleu at a dim sum place. It was hopping and crowded, and we ended up sharing a table with others but that was no problem. We ordered rice rolls and shrimp dumplings, steamed and seasoned greens, egg custard balls…all sorts of delights, and everything was delicious. I was stuffed! Jameson and Bleu talked about teaching and exchanged stories about their students or various gigs, and I answered Bleu’s questions about our tour and the circus and things. Tbh, he’s a bit of a celebrity and I DO like his music a lot, so I was shy to ask him anything for fear of sounding stupid, and just let Jameson handle most of the talking (which he was quite happy to do.)
After dinner we had a little extra time so walked to a nearby bar. The guys had a pint and I just listened until it was time to walk to the theater. Jameson followed me shortly thereafter.
Jameson got to see our show!!! Eeeeee!!!
Obviously his opinion on it means a lot to me. I played my best. He came to the pit before the show and got to meet a few people that way, and also at intermission. The show went really well, it was all lead cast too except for Belle but she/the understudy did a fantastic job and Jameson said as much.
After the show it happened that there was a fun company event backstage: we've been doing a "baby photo matching" game where some of us submitted baby photos and had several days to try and figure out who's who. Our company management made a big display and everything. For days we've been wringing our hands over it between shows and during intermission. My photo is up there...can you guess which one is me?
(Reminder that you can click the image to open in a new tab, then click it again to enlarge.)
So after this show was the "big reveal" where they'd reveal who's who and then give out small money prizes to the people who'd guessed the most correctly. It turned into a whole hang with snacks and drinks and everything, but I'd already planned to go to the hotel bar with Jameson so I couldn't stick around. We got to the bar and I listened to Jameon's thoughts on our show while we waited for band members to come over once the "baby reveal" was over. Overall he loved the show, praised the whole thing and the spectacle of it, with some small critiques of "Personally I wish they'd do X" which all of us have. For example he wished our audio was louder in some portions (not totally sure that I agree) and wished that the Beast's character had been kept more frightening, a la the animated version or the 90s Broadway version (I DO agree with this and wish Beast were a little meaner especially at the start.)
Eventually more people showed up and I got to introduce Jameson to them. He hit it off right away with Tim (trumpet) because they're both Cubs fans, and not surprisingly he spent 95% of the evening with Gary (drums) because they're both ROCK musicians, are into the same music, and have quite a few industry mutual friends.
Eventually we had a pretty large group, everyone except French horn, clarinet, and DAR who is on vacation.
Group photo!!
I was so proud to share Jameson with my colleagues, and grateful to them for taking time on a late night and a heavy show schedule to meet him and make him feel welcome. It was really wonderful. We didn't get back to the room until 1am so I will be exhausted for Sunday, but imo it was well worth it for this lovely experience :) :)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SUNDAY
I hadn't gone to bed until nearly 2am, Jameson and I were up talking about the show and Boston and all sorts of things. And then I was awake at 7am, sigh. It's gonna be a long day. Made coffee and breakfast in the dark, fumbling around and trying not to make noise. We had talked about it before bed and decided that since my Sunday schedule is 1pm and 6:30pm which doesn't really allow me to eat meals at normal times, we'd do things separately today. Hence, me eating breakfast in the pitch dark. Otherwise I wouldn't get to eat until 10-11.
Jameson eventually got up, and by the time we were both ready to go out it was 11am (see?)
On my suggestion we went to Cafe Nero because it was close and had both breakfast and lunch sandwiches, European-style i.e. reasonable portions not gigantic American ones. He had caprese on a crunchy baguette and I did turkey and Swiss with fig jam on a multigrain croissant (who ever heard of a multigrain croissant! But it was very good.) The cafe was right next to the grocery so after our meal I bought a few things for the coming week (yogurt, blackberries,) dropped those off at the hotel, and Jameson walked me to the stage door.
While I was doing the show Jameson was going on a nostalgic solo walk, listening to music and visiting places that he remembered such as the bandshell on the Charles River and a record store he'd frequented while in college. He swung by a Japanese culture festival happening in the Commons and said it was very crowded with long lines for the food. There was a Greek fest nearby too but he said it was kind of sad-looking compared to the Japanese one, with only a gyro stand and not many people. When the show was done I walked back to the hotel where he told me all this and showed me the record he'd gotten (David Gilmour's daughter doing a single-take album.) Either he'll ship it to himself tomorrow or I'll put it in my trunk and ship it for him later on.
For dinner we did things separately, since he'd eaten snacks while walking and I needed to eat kinda early. He got to watch me make my mish-mash of random foods: tuna, beets, rice cake, PBFit, apple. I mean, I do the same thing at home :p When I was finished eating he walked me to the stage door and as a result got to meet Holly (Madame/Wardrobe character) and chat with her a bit, then he went off on his own to get Taco Bell.
The evening show went well, though I airballed my pedal E for the umpteenth time, lost my temper with myself, and decided that in Indianapolis I will try to get lessons from a bass trombonist. I know two who live in the city and hope one of them will be available to help me out. I just...we are at the end of April, soon I will have been on this tour for a year, and STILL sometimes when I try to play that note nothing comes out. It's happened LESS often, but I am sick of it happening AT ALL, and clearly I am doing something wrong. A little guidance from REAL bass trombonists is in order.
Otherwise it was a great show. it's also the end of Broadway Cares fundraising...and as of today we have raised $262,000!!! Wooooo!!
---------------------------------------------------------------
Monday: Jameson's last day with me in Boston :( We want to eat at Tatte AGAIN (it really is THAT good you guys) and get clam chowder and sightsee at Faneuil Hall not sure what else we will do, he's got to leave at 4pm so we'll see.
Tuesday: I'll probably use this day to get groceries and decompress from a rather busy week of fun and NINE shows. One evening show.
This post covers the weekend.
--- --- --- --- --- ---
FRIDAY
Well, let's start with Thursday night. I got back to the hotel just as Jameson was boarding the T, so had just enough time for a rushed shower before he showed up. I met him in the lobby, hair dripping lol. We caught up a bit but by the time he was unpacked it was past midnight, so we went pretty much straight to bed.
Oh, and I rescheduled another Poplin laundry service because I realized that two of my three black work outfits are dirty so I'm on my last one for the weekend. Argh. Well, maybe they will get it right this time, and it's fair to give them another chance. I mention this because I scheduled it on Thursday night before we fell asleep, then on Friday morning some subconscious part of me woke me up at 7am and said, "Psst. Check your laundry app." And the Poplin guy wanted to pick up between 8am-9am. Thanks, Subconscious Me! So I got up and dragged the bag to the concierge before Jameson was up.
When Jameson was awake I had coffee while he got ready, then we decided to try Tatte, a popular cafe chain here. It was VERY good. I had whipped Greek yogurt and muesli with fresh fruit and honey, and a side of toast. Jameson had a salmon egg sandwich on brioche that looked fantastic.
From there we walked through the Commons. It was cold but sunny, a very lovely day. Jameson was having lots of nostalgia and memories...he went to Berklee School of Music and lived and worked here for a long time.
We walked through the Public Gardens area of the Commons, then down the Mall which is kind of a strip of walkable greenway.
Jameson had lived in several dorms or apartments here, and showed me each one that he'd lived in, described what it had been like for him, roommates, etc., and took pics to show friends. It was very interesting for me to hear him talk about his school days and try to picture what it must have been like. As a VERY rurally raised child, a big city would have been terrifying to me even at college age. Putting myself in Jameson's shoes, I think I wouldn't have been able to handle it!
After swinging by Fenway briefly to take some pics of the ballpark...
...he took me to Berklee, which has changed a lot since he's been here last. They've had a merger with Boston Conservatory, and there are huge new buildings all over campus reflecting that change, built to accommodate a larger student body and also today's music technology, so different than how it used to be. We sort of, erm, caught a door behind a student at one of his old classroom buildings, and he showed me some things in the lobby, but so much had changed--even the location of the stairwells!--that he barely recognized the place. He was pretty flabbergasted! I don't blame him, that's kind of how I felt at MY alma mater too.
After that we were ready for lunch, and walked down Newbury Street to see all of the upscale trendy shops and try and find a good place to eat. We found an Italian place, but before stopping in Jameson remembered that the hotel where he used to work was around the corner so we popped in there. It is a VERY fancy hotel (the Lenox) and it too has changed drastically since Jameson worked there 20+ years ago. The front desk was in a totally different location, he said, and the whole interior had been remodeled.
Anyway, we went back to the Italian place and had a very wonderful lunch of frutti de mare in a white wine sauce for Jameson, and "Clelia's Penne" for me: sauteed chicken with penne pasta, cubed butternut squash, and an apple cider gorgonzola sauce. The sauce especially was unlike anything I've had before, I suppose sort of like piccata sauce but with apple cider instead of the lemon? Very delicious!
After that we were quite tired so started heading back to the hotel, but swung by the Christian Science Plaza to see the reflecting pool.
A quick stop at CVS so Jameson could get some deodorant, then we crashed at the hotel. My laundry wasn't done yet but the room had been serviced, hooray. I was just starting to feel sleepy when we realized it was time for dinner. We decided to try a sit-down grill place next to the theater (I'm forgetting the name right now.) The food was nothing special but was fresh and served hot and quick, what more can you ask? Jameson had lamb lollipops and I had chicken kabobs with rice and salad because we're eating out basically the whole time he's here, so I gotta be KINDA healthy :p
After dinner, back to the hotel where Jameson was done for the day and settled in to eat some candy and watch the Cubs game while I got ready for the evening show. My Poplin laundry hadn't even been packed yet and was due to be delivered in an hour so I was wringing my hands over it, but after I'd walked to the theater I got an alert that it had been delivered.
I'm typing this a day later and I *think* the show went well? Nothing to report?
And when I got back to the hotel and checked the laundry, it was NOT wrinkled. Woot!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SATURDAY
FRIDAY
Well, let's start with Thursday night. I got back to the hotel just as Jameson was boarding the T, so had just enough time for a rushed shower before he showed up. I met him in the lobby, hair dripping lol. We caught up a bit but by the time he was unpacked it was past midnight, so we went pretty much straight to bed.
Oh, and I rescheduled another Poplin laundry service because I realized that two of my three black work outfits are dirty so I'm on my last one for the weekend. Argh. Well, maybe they will get it right this time, and it's fair to give them another chance. I mention this because I scheduled it on Thursday night before we fell asleep, then on Friday morning some subconscious part of me woke me up at 7am and said, "Psst. Check your laundry app." And the Poplin guy wanted to pick up between 8am-9am. Thanks, Subconscious Me! So I got up and dragged the bag to the concierge before Jameson was up.
When Jameson was awake I had coffee while he got ready, then we decided to try Tatte, a popular cafe chain here. It was VERY good. I had whipped Greek yogurt and muesli with fresh fruit and honey, and a side of toast. Jameson had a salmon egg sandwich on brioche that looked fantastic.
From there we walked through the Commons. It was cold but sunny, a very lovely day. Jameson was having lots of nostalgia and memories...he went to Berklee School of Music and lived and worked here for a long time.
We walked through the Public Gardens area of the Commons, then down the Mall which is kind of a strip of walkable greenway.
Jameson had lived in several dorms or apartments here, and showed me each one that he'd lived in, described what it had been like for him, roommates, etc., and took pics to show friends. It was very interesting for me to hear him talk about his school days and try to picture what it must have been like. As a VERY rurally raised child, a big city would have been terrifying to me even at college age. Putting myself in Jameson's shoes, I think I wouldn't have been able to handle it!
After swinging by Fenway briefly to take some pics of the ballpark...
...he took me to Berklee, which has changed a lot since he's been here last. They've had a merger with Boston Conservatory, and there are huge new buildings all over campus reflecting that change, built to accommodate a larger student body and also today's music technology, so different than how it used to be. We sort of, erm, caught a door behind a student at one of his old classroom buildings, and he showed me some things in the lobby, but so much had changed--even the location of the stairwells!--that he barely recognized the place. He was pretty flabbergasted! I don't blame him, that's kind of how I felt at MY alma mater too.
After that we were ready for lunch, and walked down Newbury Street to see all of the upscale trendy shops and try and find a good place to eat. We found an Italian place, but before stopping in Jameson remembered that the hotel where he used to work was around the corner so we popped in there. It is a VERY fancy hotel (the Lenox) and it too has changed drastically since Jameson worked there 20+ years ago. The front desk was in a totally different location, he said, and the whole interior had been remodeled.
Anyway, we went back to the Italian place and had a very wonderful lunch of frutti de mare in a white wine sauce for Jameson, and "Clelia's Penne" for me: sauteed chicken with penne pasta, cubed butternut squash, and an apple cider gorgonzola sauce. The sauce especially was unlike anything I've had before, I suppose sort of like piccata sauce but with apple cider instead of the lemon? Very delicious!
After that we were quite tired so started heading back to the hotel, but swung by the Christian Science Plaza to see the reflecting pool.
A quick stop at CVS so Jameson could get some deodorant, then we crashed at the hotel. My laundry wasn't done yet but the room had been serviced, hooray. I was just starting to feel sleepy when we realized it was time for dinner. We decided to try a sit-down grill place next to the theater (I'm forgetting the name right now.) The food was nothing special but was fresh and served hot and quick, what more can you ask? Jameson had lamb lollipops and I had chicken kabobs with rice and salad because we're eating out basically the whole time he's here, so I gotta be KINDA healthy :p
After dinner, back to the hotel where Jameson was done for the day and settled in to eat some candy and watch the Cubs game while I got ready for the evening show. My Poplin laundry hadn't even been packed yet and was due to be delivered in an hour so I was wringing my hands over it, but after I'd walked to the theater I got an alert that it had been delivered.
I'm typing this a day later and I *think* the show went well? Nothing to report?
And when I got back to the hotel and checked the laundry, it was NOT wrinkled. Woot!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SATURDAY
We started the day off with another walk to Tatte because their menu is so enticing, we had to try it again! This time Jameson got the French toast with whipped ricotta and berries while I had the “Greek-style pancakes.” Apparently that meant they came with Greek yogurt on the side because otherwise they seemed quite like normal fluffy delicious pancakes. And they also came with a house-made pear chutney that was fantastic. Once again, stellar breakfast in Boston :)
After that we relaxed in the hotel for a bit, lost track of time, and had to kinda rush around to find lunch before the matinee. Jameson got to chill at the hotel while I played the show (which went fine.)
For dinner we met Jameson’s musician friend Bleu at a dim sum place. It was hopping and crowded, and we ended up sharing a table with others but that was no problem. We ordered rice rolls and shrimp dumplings, steamed and seasoned greens, egg custard balls…all sorts of delights, and everything was delicious. I was stuffed! Jameson and Bleu talked about teaching and exchanged stories about their students or various gigs, and I answered Bleu’s questions about our tour and the circus and things. Tbh, he’s a bit of a celebrity and I DO like his music a lot, so I was shy to ask him anything for fear of sounding stupid, and just let Jameson handle most of the talking (which he was quite happy to do.)
After dinner we had a little extra time so walked to a nearby bar. The guys had a pint and I just listened until it was time to walk to the theater. Jameson followed me shortly thereafter.
Jameson got to see our show!!! Eeeeee!!!
Obviously his opinion on it means a lot to me. I played my best. He came to the pit before the show and got to meet a few people that way, and also at intermission. The show went really well, it was all lead cast too except for Belle but she/the understudy did a fantastic job and Jameson said as much.
After the show it happened that there was a fun company event backstage: we've been doing a "baby photo matching" game where some of us submitted baby photos and had several days to try and figure out who's who. Our company management made a big display and everything. For days we've been wringing our hands over it between shows and during intermission. My photo is up there...can you guess which one is me?
(Reminder that you can click the image to open in a new tab, then click it again to enlarge.)
So after this show was the "big reveal" where they'd reveal who's who and then give out small money prizes to the people who'd guessed the most correctly. It turned into a whole hang with snacks and drinks and everything, but I'd already planned to go to the hotel bar with Jameson so I couldn't stick around. We got to the bar and I listened to Jameon's thoughts on our show while we waited for band members to come over once the "baby reveal" was over. Overall he loved the show, praised the whole thing and the spectacle of it, with some small critiques of "Personally I wish they'd do X" which all of us have. For example he wished our audio was louder in some portions (not totally sure that I agree) and wished that the Beast's character had been kept more frightening, a la the animated version or the 90s Broadway version (I DO agree with this and wish Beast were a little meaner especially at the start.)
Eventually more people showed up and I got to introduce Jameson to them. He hit it off right away with Tim (trumpet) because they're both Cubs fans, and not surprisingly he spent 95% of the evening with Gary (drums) because they're both ROCK musicians, are into the same music, and have quite a few industry mutual friends.
Eventually we had a pretty large group, everyone except French horn, clarinet, and DAR who is on vacation.
Group photo!!
I was so proud to share Jameson with my colleagues, and grateful to them for taking time on a late night and a heavy show schedule to meet him and make him feel welcome. It was really wonderful. We didn't get back to the room until 1am so I will be exhausted for Sunday, but imo it was well worth it for this lovely experience :) :)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SUNDAY
I hadn't gone to bed until nearly 2am, Jameson and I were up talking about the show and Boston and all sorts of things. And then I was awake at 7am, sigh. It's gonna be a long day. Made coffee and breakfast in the dark, fumbling around and trying not to make noise. We had talked about it before bed and decided that since my Sunday schedule is 1pm and 6:30pm which doesn't really allow me to eat meals at normal times, we'd do things separately today. Hence, me eating breakfast in the pitch dark. Otherwise I wouldn't get to eat until 10-11.
Jameson eventually got up, and by the time we were both ready to go out it was 11am (see?)
On my suggestion we went to Cafe Nero because it was close and had both breakfast and lunch sandwiches, European-style i.e. reasonable portions not gigantic American ones. He had caprese on a crunchy baguette and I did turkey and Swiss with fig jam on a multigrain croissant (who ever heard of a multigrain croissant! But it was very good.) The cafe was right next to the grocery so after our meal I bought a few things for the coming week (yogurt, blackberries,) dropped those off at the hotel, and Jameson walked me to the stage door.
While I was doing the show Jameson was going on a nostalgic solo walk, listening to music and visiting places that he remembered such as the bandshell on the Charles River and a record store he'd frequented while in college. He swung by a Japanese culture festival happening in the Commons and said it was very crowded with long lines for the food. There was a Greek fest nearby too but he said it was kind of sad-looking compared to the Japanese one, with only a gyro stand and not many people. When the show was done I walked back to the hotel where he told me all this and showed me the record he'd gotten (David Gilmour's daughter doing a single-take album.) Either he'll ship it to himself tomorrow or I'll put it in my trunk and ship it for him later on.
For dinner we did things separately, since he'd eaten snacks while walking and I needed to eat kinda early. He got to watch me make my mish-mash of random foods: tuna, beets, rice cake, PBFit, apple. I mean, I do the same thing at home :p When I was finished eating he walked me to the stage door and as a result got to meet Holly (Madame/Wardrobe character) and chat with her a bit, then he went off on his own to get Taco Bell.
The evening show went well, though I airballed my pedal E for the umpteenth time, lost my temper with myself, and decided that in Indianapolis I will try to get lessons from a bass trombonist. I know two who live in the city and hope one of them will be available to help me out. I just...we are at the end of April, soon I will have been on this tour for a year, and STILL sometimes when I try to play that note nothing comes out. It's happened LESS often, but I am sick of it happening AT ALL, and clearly I am doing something wrong. A little guidance from REAL bass trombonists is in order.
Otherwise it was a great show. it's also the end of Broadway Cares fundraising...and as of today we have raised $262,000!!! Wooooo!!
---------------------------------------------------------------
Monday: Jameson's last day with me in Boston :( We want to eat at Tatte AGAIN (it really is THAT good you guys) and get clam chowder and sightsee at Faneuil Hall not sure what else we will do, he's got to leave at 4pm so we'll see.
Tuesday: I'll probably use this day to get groceries and decompress from a rather busy week of fun and NINE shows. One evening show.
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Date: 2026-04-27 09:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-04-28 01:05 am (UTC)