Some notes on my trip to Nashville...

I am a Nashville first-timer. Had it not been for the Hans Zimmer concert in Nashville this past February, I might not have visited at all. But after a client learned that I was a fan and Hans was performing in Nashville with his orchestra, I finally had a reason to go and explore.

If you need a refresher, Hans Zimmer composes music for the movies. If you've seen The Dark Knight, Inception, or Man of Steel, you've heard his soundtracks...

Now, we really didn't explore Nashville. Rather, we Uber'ed 5 minutes from our hotel, speed-walked through Printer's Alley in the blustering cold wind, and went right back to the hotel...

Some fun was to be had, however. I finally fulfilled my life-long dream of riding an e-scooter. I got an awful craving for something sweet and used it as an excuse to scoot to Whole Foods. 

Scooting was harder than I expected. My fear was breaking too hard and launching clear off the scooter and into traffic. But the danger made it exhilarating. You should have seen me flying through the streets, oversized furry coat flapping behind me in the wind.

I got back to the hotel (alive), breathing excitedly and adrenaline pumping, ready for the next thrill, but...

... it was concert time! Yaaay!

After getting dressed, my adorable client joked that I looked like I was ready for a Harry Potter fan club meeting. Isn't he cute??

(I'm still thinking of a comeback! Grrr)...

Bridgestone Arena before the concert started...

The maestro and his star cellist, Tina Guo.

Hans and his orchestra performed some of his most popular scores: The Dark Knight, Interstellar (beautiful), Gladiator, The Lion King, Dune, and others I can't recall at the moment. It was very much a rock concert because some violins and wind instruments from the original scores were replaced with guitars.

If I remember correctly, in the shot above, they were performing the theme music to Pirates of the Caribbean...

Here, I believe he was announcing that his orchestra recently won a grammy for the soundtrack to Dune: Part Two.

This was actually my second time seeing the show, Hans Zimmer Live. And if you're interested in knowing why I enjoy Hans Zimmer's music, here's a track I've had on repeat ever since the concert. Around 0:21, you'll start hearing what kind of sounds (to me) like a snarling animal... but it's an instrument. You'll have to play it loudly and on a sound system that will give the clearest expression of each instrument.

I still haven't figured out what they're using to play that sound but Reddit says its an upright base. I'm amazed that someone can get a sound like that out of a musical instrument. Marvelous. I still need to see it to believe it.

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