Concert Time in LA

(And What We Ate)

For the first time in a very long time, we took a weekend trip. Six months ago, Jonathan saw a video of Anna Lapwood playing the organ. He found she’d be on tour playing in Los Angeles on May 3, 2026. We bought tickets and planned to use the weekend as a test to see whether we can still travel.

We put off planning the details until a couple of months before the concert. By then, the low-cost carrier between Arcata and the Los Angeles area changed from Avelo to Breeze. We wanted the low cost airline for price, but also to fly direct to Burbank rather than the huge and busy LAX. Our flights on Breeze would be an experiment, as the service was set to begin just a week or two before our trip. They don’t fly every day, so we’d be in LA from Thursday afternoon until the following Tuesday morning with the concert on Sunday night. Once in Los Angeles, we chose a hotel located between Disney Hall, the concert venue, and our daughter Lyra’s apartment. We looked forward to seeing her during our stay.

We decided not to rent a car, but to use Uber or other services. We got lucky, when my son-in-law’s mother put us in touch with a man who drives for her at a discount from Uber rates. We were able to use Anthony for all our travel except the very first trip from the airport (he was already booked). It was a big help to have the same person come to pick us up for each ride, and Anthony got to know us, and became adept at stowing Jonathan’s walker.

Anna Lapwood at Disney Concert Hall

Our concert was Sunday evening at 7:30 pm at Disney Hall. Neither of us had been there, and we looked forward to seeing the building designed by Frank Gehry. We were impressed by the swooping curves of the high facade.

The concert hall has amazing construction. For example, the ceiling in the performance space is curved and looks a bit like fabric suspended from above. In fact, it is solid, shaped of wood, and is among the features that contribute to the excellent acoustics.

Anna Lapwood is a phenomenon. At age 30, she has won awards and held the most prestigious positions possible in her field (first woman organ scholar at Magadalen College, Oxford; at age 21, youngest music director of an Oxford or Cambridge College, etc. etc.). She plays a dozen instruments, sings, and has put organ performance into the world of social media.

Anna bounds onto the stage, grabs the microphone and launches into an introduction of the music, it’s themes (singing several), and the story behind them. She says, “I’m going to tell you about The Lord of the Rings as quickly and compactly as humanly possible.” And she does. Between her British accent, the handheld mic, and the audience groans and cheers, it’s a bit hard to follow, but her energy is unmistakable. She wears her hair in a long blonde braid, with black slacks, a sparkly jacket and pink organ shoes. She is a sprite flown out of the organ to entertain us. Between pieces, she bounces up and grabs the mic for more commentary. At the end of the concert, a full two hours and four encores after it started (and a half hour after the scheduled end time), she bows, waves her flowers, and skips, really, skips off the stage. Anna Lapwood loves her work.

The pieces played in our concert were music from films: The DaVinci Code, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and Pirates of the Caribbean. A single piece, Limini Luminis, by Olivia Belli, was not related to the movies. Some audience members were familiar with every note, starting the applause as she played the first chords. The lights changed throughout each piece, adding drama to the performance. My favorite was the star-like pattern of light that accompanied one of the final encores.

It was a wonderful concert, great music, very entertaining, lots of visual interest, and a dynamic performer.

I’d recommend Anna Lapwood to anyone who has a chance to see her perform. She has huge talent and a performer’s heart. I am sure she always presents a memorable concert. I would go to see her again any time.

Eating and Drinking in Los Angeles

Much of our time in LA was spent in restaurants, to enjoy the company of our daughter, and the great variety of dining options in the metropolis.

Our flight arrived Thursday afternoon, and we had no plans until the next day. Our hotel turned out to be located in Koreatown, so our first goal was to have Korean barbecue. We rested for a while, then set out down the street toward a restaurant recommended by the front desk. Part way there, we passed a restaurant that was full of people. Let’s try there, we agreed. Inside, we were seated at a table and noticed we were the only non-Asians in the room–a good sign.

The barbecued ribs were good, and so was the vegetable pancake suggested by the server. I did discover that in Korean restaurants, it is customary to wait after your ribs are served to let the waiter come to your table. Using the scissors and tongs that arrive with the dish, he cuts the meat from the bones, and then into small squares so that you can eat them neatly with chopsticks. I even saw a man chewing on a bone, with chopsticks! A newcomer, I did not wait for our ribs to be dismembered, I didn’t even notice the scissors and tongs until later, when I realized we were the only people diving into our pile of ribs and eating them with our hands. And asking for more napkins. Barbarians! I’m not sure I can show my face in Koreatown again, they might remember me.

On Friday, Lyra had arranged a haircut for me at the salon she goes to. We met at 1 pm at All Seasons Brewery, right across the street from the salon. While I got my haircut, Jonathan and Lyra would have lunch and I’d have a bite afterward. It was fun to get a haircut in a new place and I was happy with the outcome. Back at dog-friendly All Seasons Brewery, Lyra and her two dogs and Jonathan were eating pizza and sipping their beer.

We dropped Jonathan at the hotel to rest while Lyra and I took the dogs for a walk around Silver Lake. It was a sunny afternoon and the path around the lake is wide. More people watching and lots of dogs later, we finished our walk and headed back to the hotel to collect Jonathan. We looked forward to seeing Lyra’s current apartment. That evening we relaxed at Lyra’s and ate takeout sushi from Orange Door.

Saturday, we met Lyra at The Grove shopping mall to see Project Hail Mary. Afterward, we had a delicious late lunch at Sogno Toscano (Tuscan Dream). Jonathan had a truffle topped pizza and I had an excellent salad.

After our meal, Lyra and I dropped Jonathan at the hotel to rest, while she and I took her dogs for a walk around Silver Lake. I hadn’t been there before, and it’s a lovely location. Lots of people were out on a Saturday afternoon, so there was excellent people- watching.

Sunday again started with lunch. We met Lyra and our nephew Cy to go to the Peruvian restaurant near Lyra’s apartment. In Peruvian style, it was closed. No note on the door, no one around, opening hours posted, but no one was there. It was May 2, so there was no holiday that we know of, so we found a nearby restaurant, Fuegos.

A small, corner space, there was an old pickup truck parked by the door, with a charcoal grill built into the back. This was where all the grilling took place at this Argentine restaurant. One of the owners was there and greeted us. The rest of the staff was enthusiastic, capable, and friendly. We all enjoyed the workout for our Spanish skills. The grilled meat was delicious, with plenty for everyone to take a bit home.

We could have lounged around all afternoon, but this was the day of our concert, and we already had plans for an early dinner before the concert, so we returned to the hotel to rest for the remainder of the afternoon. I’d revisit Fuegos any time, the atmosphere was delightful and the food was very good.

Our early dinner on Sunday took us to Girl and the Goat for another delicious meal. Some of their specialties are goat related and we tried the goat pate, excellent, and Jonathan had the goal belly. It was utterly unlike pork belly, and much more like a light version of pulled pork. Wonderfully delicious. I had a salad, considering our sizeable lunch, but saved room for dessert. The building that houses the restaurant is lovely, a nicely restored older structure. We sat in a dining room with high arched windows and lots of light. Another great meal finished in time for us to get to the concert hall.

Monday we got a late start, but it didn’t matter because we had a single goal, visit Chinatown. We had lunch at Yang Chow, highly recommended to us. We strolled around looking for a stone mortar and pestle. We didn’t find one, but enjoyed the walk.

We spent one last evening with Lyra. The next morning, we took one last ride with Anthony to the airport. We returned home by mid-afternoon.