Pop Stand

Welcome back to "Where In the World Is JoAnn Falletta?," the show wherein we track and trail our globe-trotting maestra around the wide, wide world.

Last time we played this game we were a few miles off. It turned out our divinations were not completely accurate. Falletta was in London, not where we said she was. Well, we were close! Getting there was half the fun.

Today we are absolutely sure! So, without further ado ...

Where in the world is JoAnn Falletta?

She is in this city.

Here is a hint. The city's name means "Northern Capital."

Let us take another shot. It is of ancient fortifications!

Here is a clue that is closer to home.

Think food.

Got it yet? JoAnn Falletta is in ...

Beijing!

That is the Great Hall of the People above. And above that is Peking Duck. Before it was Beijing, Beijing was Peking.

The Tonawanda map will lead you to Beijing Garden.

The picture above that is of the Great Wall where JoAnn Falletta went wandering the other day according to an email she sent to Pop Stand. That's right, this is direct information!

"I am here in Beijing, conducting the Beijing Symphony - What a fascinating city- I went walking today on the Great Wall  (actually quite challenging- it is VERY steep) and went to the Ming Tombs and the Olympic Stadium, she writes.

She adds: "The concert will actually take place in the Forbidden City!"

Pop Stand wrote back to Falletta telling her not to get persecuted, that from what we were reading, a lot of people in Beijing were getting persecuted.

She replied:

"So far it has been wonderful! The environment is very different, but somehow musicians must have the same chemical makeup.  We really enjoyed our Tchaikovsky and Beethoven together today. No discussion of politics! Just music-making."

BPO Concertmaster Michael Ludwig is making his debut in Beijing. He is playing the Wieniawski D Minor Concerto which goes like this.

That is an earlier Michael on violin. It is Michael Rabin. What a romantic piece that is.

The Forbidden City is echoing with it even as we speak!

I haven't yet seen "The Help," the movie set in 1960s Mississippi, but I've heard it makes you hungry.

Hungry for justice, for equality, for mutual respect among all human beings? Probably.

But I was really just talking about food.

Don't laugh! I didn't give myself this idea. One food site got Viking Range On-Line Chef (there is a job that sounds like fun) to come up with recipes in tribute to "The Help," "to celebrate the opening of this empowering movie."

Another gave the recipe for Minnie's Chocolate Pie.

Even august Food and Wine weighed in with a list of recipes from "The Help" including Cucumber-Rye Tea Sandwiches, German Chocolate Cake and Tomato Aspic.

Is anyone actually going to make this tomato aspic? It seems to me that aspic is one retro food we will never see come back. Just the name!

Also, tea sandwiches. If anyone in Buffalo makes tea sandwiches as a result of this movie, I would love to hear about it.

See, this is the mark of a really good movie.

It gives you a lot to talk about!

-- Mary Kunz Goldman

Today in the Buzz column I got bold and told about how I broke a bottle of Pinot Grigio at Premier Liquor.

At first I was not sure if I should tell the story. After all, it made me look like a klutz.

But then I thought, why be bottled up? Plus, think of how at Jewish weddings they break a glass for good luck. Imagine the luck that will be mine for breaking a whole bottle!

That luck has already begun. Because just now I got an email from an address I did not recognize. The subject line read: "Your Trip to Premier Caught On Camera."

Oh, no! I was afraid to look.

Then I did... and I have been laughing and laughing.

That is the video up above and if you watch it you will see what I mean. There is a swear word in it and I am sorry about that. But the video cracked me up. Plus, it resonated with me, I will say that.

"Here I am enjoying my nice peaceful afternoon...."

I know the feeling!

-- Mary Kunz Goldman

In the blink of an eye...

In the sparkle of a sequin...

And before you could say "Stayin' Alive"....

The World's Largest Disco sold out!

"This includes both the VIP and General Admission events. We expect there will be some cancellations, so if you are interested in signing up for our waiting list please do so," the disco organizers announce in an email.

Oh, no! Perhaps it was the last two days' of relentless disco talk on PopStand that did it! We have been on kind of a disco kick.

The grim bulletin continues:

"As previously promised, there will be a small allotment of tickets (300) that will go on sale to the general public on Saturday, August 13th at 10:00am thru Ticketmaster.com.  These tickets will be sold at a cost of $65 but will include all regular Ticketmaster services charges. Star 102.5 will also be giving away tickets on the air over the next few months so be sure to listen in for your chance to win tickets."

The disco is Nov. 26 at the Buffalo Convention Center. Above is a Buffalo News file photo taken at last year's bash, of a Toronto guy dancing the night away.

Those of us unfortunate enough to be left out in the cold may get on the waiting list by clicking here -- or here for the VIP waiting list.

So... that's that.

We now return to our previous programming.

-- Mary Kunz Goldman

When the spirit moves us, Pop Stand is going to review books we find edifying. Today we brake for a new book called "Bar Hopping Thru America."

This merrily casual paperback is by Terry W. Lyons, a Western New Yorker now in his 70s and living with his wife in Florida. The back cover blurb reads, in part: "The inspiration of this book followed completion of a course, 'Searching for the Lost American Bar,' at the Chautauqua Institute. Who knew Chautauqua taught a course like this? Where do we sign? If you've taken any of those Forgotten Buffalo tours, this would be a way of taking your scholarship to the next level.

So, what everyone wants to know is, what does the book say about Buffalo?

Not as much as it says about Olean, I will say that. Lyons grew up in Olean, and his hometown gets a lot of ink. When he was 17, he used to hang out at a place called the Wheel Restaurant and Bar. He writes: "Unlike teenagers today, economic circumstances usually prevented any one of us from having too much to drink." He describes shuffleboard, which sounds like fun. Only boys would drink, Lyons remembers. Girls did not.

There was also an upscale bar called the Capitol, with a bandstand and a dance floor. Wow, Olean had a lot of bars! Lyons knowledgeably discusses Welch's, where you could place off-track bets. And a few dives: the Brown Bear, Dinty Moore's and the Cabin. "They opened early in the day and, as far as I could tell, never closed."

About Buffalo, Lyons takes time out to discuss our town's brewing history. The Anchor Bar makes it onto the list at the end of the book of bars not to miss. The Place also has a place of honor. Lyons presents it as an example of an endangered old-time tavern. He knows all about its Tom and Jerrys, the drink the bar serves at Christmas time. He has clearly put in his time there.

Lyons is a charming Irishman and rambles through history and geography not really caring what goes where. He interjects quotes. ("I never met a man I liked who didn't drink." -- Will Rogers. I never heard that!)

There are a lot of typos. "Yeats" is spelled "Yates." The absolute last sentence, on p. 241, is a classic: "Ray Brush provided a wonderful final editing of the book" it reads. With no period.

But so what if the book is a somewhat rough, er, draft?

What better mark of authenticity could it have?

-- Mary Kunz Goldman

Where in the world is JoAnn Falletta? We like to play this game from time to time, track the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra's music director, JoAnn Falletta, and see where she is and what she is up to.

As Joe Williams used to sing: "Baby, I want to know where you're going, what you're doing, and who are you doing it with." Well, not quite. But any excuse to quote Joe Williams.

While looking forward to JoAnn's next appearance with the BPO -- which happens 7 p.m. July 28, at Artpark -- one might well wonder where she is right now. She has been out of town for a while. And, it turns out, there is a good reason for that.

Because JoAnn Falletta, The Buffalo News has learned, is in ....

Here is a hint.

She is in Chile!!

Or at least she was just a few days ago.

Not only that but she is talking about us.

A South American publication features JoAnn talking about Buffalo. The headline reads: "Mi Barrio Favorito: Buffalo Centro, N.Y."

There is mention of "El Oliver's" and "El Cole's." JoAnn is talking about restaurants she loves!

Spot Coffee and Studio Hart also get a mention.

A picture captioned "Parque Japones de Delaware" gives a very flattering glimpse of Delaware Park.

And JoAnn says this about Kleinhans Music Hall: "Tiene una acstica espectacular
y es una de las salas de conciertos más famosas y aclamadas en todo Estados Unidos." I do not speak Spanish but, well, maybe I do. I think I understand what she is saying. She is saying it is one of the most famous and acclaimed concert halls in the entire United States and its acoustics are spectacular. Someone, correct me if I am wrong!

JoAnn has been in Chile conducting the Orquesta Sinfónica de Chile in Santiago at the Teatro Universidad de Chile. Jacek Muzyk, the BPO's Principal Horn Player, was there too, soloing in Kenneth Fuchs' "Canticle to the Sun." That is a picture of Falletta and Fuchs at the top of this post.

The composer's Web site has a clip of them rehearsing it. And there is also a review.

Donde el mundo es JoAnn Falletta?

Ya sabes!*

-- Mary Kunz Goldman 

*That is "Where in the world is JoAnn Falletta? Now you know!" in Spanish, according to a translating page I found on the 'Net. Please pardon that I do not know how to do the upside-down question mark. Gracias!

Still wondering what to do on Independence Day? Well, for starters you can declare your independence from the stove (or the grill, which can get pretty hot and sticky when you're the one doing the grilling).

Why not leave that grilling to somebody else? Like Gerhardt Yaskow, the owner of Gene McCarthy's Tavern, in the old First Ward? (Above is a picture of Gerhardt's sister, Suzette, tending bar).

This announcement just came in from Gerhardt and naturally we halted our work to study it:

On July 4th, we will be open only during the evening hours starting at 5:00.  I will be cooking free hotdogs and hamburgers on the grill again (like last year, and yes, all mirco-craft drafts will be only $2 during the evening), plus drink specials on domestic beers.  So if you want to grab a chair and watch the fireworks from an Old First Ward institution, then RSVP or just stop down and visit us throughout the night.  

Free hot dogs! Free hamburgers! Sounds good to us!

Gene McCarthy's Tavern is at 73 Hamburg St. The phone number is 855-8948.

-- Mary Kunz Goldman

John Vincent Mahady is performing a holiday cabaret show at the Tralf Music Hall on Friday night with Debbie Kilgore (the singer wife of sportcaster Ed Kilgore). Mahady is a singer. But he is so much more than that. 

Mahady -- who grew up here and went to St. Mark's School and St. Joe's -- lives in Chicago now where he leads a very unusual life. So unusual that, when I was asking him a few questions for a couple of paragraphs to run in Friday's paper, I found myself staying on the phone much longer than I should have.

"I have three names and three personalities," Mahady told me. It is true!

He is a career waiter at a French restaurant. (On his Web site, someone says, "I would gladly wait for hours just to be at one of his tables.") He is a high-end wedding consultant. And he is also famous for his baking company, Vincent van Dough -- which cranks out cookies known for their sinful richness. In between all these other jobs he somehow manages to sing regularly at Chicago clubs. He also released a CD several years ago, called "Intimate," pictured above.

Cookies first. "My signature cookie is the Triple Chocolate Chip cookie with the candy bar center," Mahady confided to The News on the phone this week.

Another hit, he added, are his To Die Fors, which involve chocolate, marshmallow, caramel, butterscotch and I forget what else, because my head began to swim. "The secret is, I only make things I love," Mahady said. "All my things are very comfort-food desserts. I did a party for a thousand people. This woman says, 'Do you have anything gluten-free?' I said no. I mean, if you're gluten intolerant, just don't have a dessert. Don't rain on our parade. Dessert is not a nonfat brownie. I can understand, if someone is gluten intolerant, and I sympathize. But that's not my gig. I believe in trying to be as honest as possible."

Mahady is friends with the cabaret singer Ann Hampton Callaway. He remembers going out to see her before she had "made it," when there were only a handful of people in the audience. "We'd all go out afterward, be out until 5 in the morning," he says. "Now that she's gotten so big, it's so different. This was years ago. She's so nice to me. She wanted to do a song I perform, 'I Walk With You.'"

His show with Debbie Kilgore is at 8 p.m. Friday at the Tralf. (Admission is $20 in advance and $22 at the door; call 852-2860). Mahady is looking forward to it. He treasures his friendship with Kilgore. "Debbie's a very spiritual type person and so am I."

One song they are singing is called "I Love My Family." Mahady reflects: "When I heard that song it moved me so much. That song is the last song on my CD. It's a beautiful written song. It's so easy to sing with her.

"We believe in the beauty of the marriage of music and lyrics," he adds. "It has to go hand in hand. For us, it's important that the message of the song is important to us, as well as the message and music. For me, when I'm performing, a lot of times, people will say, 'Oh, my God, the selections are so beautiful.' You know, that means more to me than anything. Because as a performer, that's my No. 1 goal. I want people to leave with something. I want them to be touched, to feel something. Then I feel I've done my job."

-- Mary Kunz Goldman