Desperate Measures rock Vermont
Si estimated that forty people or so would come to the concert last night — that’s already more than ten percent of the student body of Marlboro — but when the Desperate Measures strode confidently onstage to begin their concert, almost every seat in the auditorium was filled, making the attendance somewhere around 110. With an eager audience crowded into the venue, the stakes were high, but the local heroes did not disappoint. Bouncing through a program of a capella standards and fresh arrangements, the Measures delighted the house from beginning to (all-too-soon) end.
Dropping the artificial journalistic tone, now, we were thrilled and proud and excited by the evening in tons of ways. First, of course, we were very impressed that Si pulled this group together, devised some of the arrangements himself, rehearsed the group, and brought off a very creditable show. His talent and initiative shone, and that felt great. Second, we were touched at how visibly and unaffectedly proud he was of us; he acknowledged our family several times during the performance, and the group sang “Happy Birthday” to Pippa in the middle of their set.
The performance itself was excellent; I have it on somewhat wobbly video, which I’ll post to YouTube once Si gets approval from the rest of the group. After the show, and the enthusiastically-demanded encore, we provided doughnuts and cider for the forty people we had expected to show up — quickly gobbled up by the hundred! The audience included the President of Marlboro, who took time to have a wonderful talk with us, praising Josiah to the skies and tuning in attentively to Margaret’s and my academic pursuits.
It was a very, very special evening for Margaret and me as parents, for Pip as a sister, and for Josiah as a performer, an organizer, a student, and especially as a cherished son and brother.