Date Night

Tuesday night Tim and I went on a date and it was incredible. We met in Berkeley and started our night out with dinner at the Sunrise Deli in Berkeley - falafel, schwarma, fattosh, hummus, tabouli and well, you get the point. From there we took a little walk down to Urban Outfitters to check out what they had, I got a new coffee cup for my office.

After stashing my new mug safely in the car, we went to have some ice cream and walked around the campus before the concert started.

The concert was AMAZING to say the least. We were both completely blown away. I wasn't sure if Tim was going to be into it since my love affair with Arabic music started about 15 years ago and is still going strong. The music generally starts with the eerie sound of violins and then tapers off a bit and percussion enters and the rest is like a tennis match of constant volleying between strings and flutes and percussion - a playful banter back and forth and then finally coming together and just blowing your mind. My favorite Arabic singer is Fairouz, she is known the world over and has the voice of an angel. There was a singer there from Lebanon that sounded just like her, it sort of freaked me out and made me tear up a bit as well. It was a great night. We both loved it and would see it again in a heartbeat.

Here is more information on the concert:

Celebrating the Golden Age of Arab Music Aswat (Voices)

Simon Shaheen, artistic director, oud, & violin Featuring Ibrahim Azzam, Sonia M'barek,Khalil Abonula, Rima Khcheich, and The Aswat Orchestra

The period from the 1920s to the 1950s was a golden age of song throughout the Arab world, when many of the region's greatest vocalists and composers reached unprecedented heights of artistry and stardom. Now Simon Shaheen, one of today's leading Arab composers and multi-instrumentalists, recreates this magical era with a multimedia experience of historical depth and lasting emotional impact, working with a traditional orchestra and some of the leading singers in the Arab world today, including Ibrahim Azzam of Palestine, Sonia M'barek of Tunisia, Khalil Abonula of Palestine, and Rima Khcheich of Lebanon.