Brother mine: That soundtrack represents everything we got into music for in the first place. [Takes a drink.]

On Saturday, Alissa and I went to see the Madison Symphony Orchestra perform the score for Raiders of the Lost Ark in sync with the film itself on a large screen suspended over the orchesta. The conductor, Kyle Knox, stood facing the orchesta and the screen, but he also had his own small screen positioned just above his score. That screen showed timing cues and other information he needed to keep in sync with the action.

Knox gave a 30-minute talk before the show to a small crowd of interested ticket holders about John Williams and his place in cinema score history. He also talked a lot about leitmotifs. It was a good little lecture, with examples.

Out in the lobby there was a small display about archeology in Wisconsin with a couple of experts there to answer questions. There were Native American artifacts like arrowheads and a video about an ancient canoe found at the bottom of lake Mendota, archeological dig tools, and a real field notebook. You know I enjoyed thumbing throught that.

Many concertgoers were wearing their idea of Indiana Jones-style fedoras and leather jackets. None of them were even close. I wore my normal fedora, but I checked it with my coat. I wasn’t going to wear a hat in concert hall! What kind of uncouth nerd would do that?

I was wearing my Alden Indy boots, though. Only I and Alissa knew how cool I was.

I didn’t bring my whip.

The performance was thrilling. Many was the time I forgot there was a live orchestra there. But I brought my opera glasses so I could get a close look at the percussion section, with the snares, bass drums, timpani, triangles, bells, chimes, tamborines, and especially the slap-stick, which they repeatedly percussed while Toht’s face melted off his skull. Music to my ears.

There were some noticable flubs, especially in the horns and some of the more difficult flute and reed parts. That is to be expected. It wasn’t the London Symphony, and they only had 24 hours to rehearse. But it sure was fun to watch the strings pizzicato through the tarantula scene and the trumpets blaring out the Raiders theme!

You would have loved it, Rob. Vale.