It's been a while since I've had a good solid rant. And I wasn't even going to acknowledge this subject. But after reading this FB post, the floodgates where thrown open and I couldn't hold it back. Please note that I'm very supportive of the LGBT community. What I take issue with is sensationalism and flat out attention whoring. And that's what Bruce Jenner is...an attention whore."

Source: http://is.gd/YeFCP7

This is the EXACT reason why I don't understand why anyone cares AT ALL about Bruce Jenner. A rich, middle-aged, white man decides to have a sex change and everyone starts talking about his "bravery"? SERIOUSLY!? Other than looking like a woman, he has not gone through all the things that women go through. I'm talking about the horrors of the monthly period (especially for the first few years), unwanted male attention BASICALLY THROUGHOUT YOUR WHOLE LIFE, body/weight issues, pregnancy scares/birth/miscarriages, inequality in the workplace...and the list goes on and on and ON AND ON AND GAWD DAMNED FUCKING ON!

You can change your physiology. You can take the hormones. You can change your name, your hairstyle and your clothes. You do that because you want to and you have the money to do it. That's fine. I don't care. If physically looking like a woman is what you need to feel normal, go for it! That's your choice.

BUT instead of having the procedure and going on with life, you pose on the cover of a magazine in a corset and then pretend like your "struggles" are even REMOTELY comparable to the daily struggles of the majority of women in the world. I have news for you. YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A WOMAN!

HOWEVER...everyone knows who you are. You can surround yourself with your money and your handlers. You will never have to worry that you might get raped...and become pregnant because of it. You will never know what it's like to have your ideas dismissed, only to see it lauded for it's greatness when a male co-worker presents it. You will never know what it's like to have to be 10x more dedicated to your job than your male counterpart and only get paid 70% (or less) of what he gets paid. And you will never have your career stalled just because you went on maternity leave. You will never be told that you're not woman enough because you chose career over family. You will never be judged or criticized for being "a spinster". You will never be judged for not being pretty enough because no matter what you look like, everyone will always say, "Well, she used to be a man, so you can't expect so much." But if a woman in the public eye is a little fat, slightly unkempt, or just having a bad hair day, it doesn't even matter if she solved world hunger...EVERY MEDIA OUTLET will be talking about how she looked ugly that day.

You're not brave. There's NOTHING brave about picking out a good dress and matching heels. You're just a rich, white, middle-aged man who decided that he would flaunt his status as a member of the most privileged demographic by changing himself physically to be appear like he's in a less privileged demographic. Congratulations on minimizing the struggles of women in probably the most effective way ever. Do everyone a favour, and just go pretend that you're a woman in your private life. Don't make it news or entertainment. The women of the world are too busy trying to take care of their loved ones, the things that matter to them, and meet society's demand that they be the perfect mother, daughter, wife, employee, boss, etc. We don't have time to give a shit about you and your little hobby.

End rant.

And now that I got that off my chest, I don't ever want to have to acknowledge this issue again.

I might be the only one, and judging by the speed at which everyone leapt to their feet for the standing O, I probably was, but I didn't like it.

Before all the Itzhak Perlman fans scream in uproar, let me start with the fact that I truly believe he is a great violinist. However, everyone has less than stellar performances, and music is quite subjective. So while everyone else in Roy Thomson Hall may have loved Itzhak's interpretation of Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto, I did not.

Source: Violin

This is a piece to showcase the violin...the soloist. But I felt like the entire orchestra was held back, suppressed both in volume and speed to the point where they sounded bound and gagged. The piece didn't flow lyrically with grace and ease, but dragged cumbersomely with odd pauses in some spots and awkwardly rushed passage to catch up. There were times, too many times, when the orchestra was out of sync with the violin. This was even more noticeable when the violin solo had its "dialogue" with the flute solo and clarinet solo. It was, as the Chinese euphemism goes, like a duck and a chicken trying to have a conversation.

Source: Duck & Chicken

Many things about tonight's performance threw me off. Aside from the over all timing being messed up, there was also the matter of odd volume drops from the orchestra. This concerto already has very few full orchestra passages. So when the orchestra passages are being played, I expect that they should be prominent. Instead, the first bar came out the way I expected, only to be suddenly stifled for the remaining bars as if Peter Oundjian had shushed them.

Source: Metronome

Source: Shush

*sigh*

Maybe I just went into this expecting too much. It's one of my favourite violin concerti, and I listen to it every Sunday with my morning coffee (in place of going to church...yes, I know, I'm a bad Catholic). So yes, I did bust out the iPod on the subway and listen to the Joshua Bell version of the Tchaikovsky violin concerto...just to make myself feel better. This night wasn't supposed to go this way. And as much as it pains me to have to say anything bad about the TSO, I have to be objective. I can't say it was good if I didn't like it. I just can't.