Knoxville (Wo d F ir)

So all that I knew about Knoxville going into our run there was from the episode of The Simpsons where Bart gets a fake ID, rents a car, and drives to Knoxville to see The World's Fair. When he gets there The World's Fair has been over for years, and the Sunsphere (the symbol of the fair) has been turned into the Wigsphere. That alone would have been enough to keep me amused, but it turns out the Knoxville is a pretty happening place!

So imagine my nerdy excitement when we pull into our hotel which happens to be directly across the road from the Sunsphere! Sadly the Sunsphere is not now a wig shop but houses an observation deck and offices. I did not go up in the Sunsphere since I will be back with Beauty and the Beast. I wanted to save some of the excitement for then!

A few remnants of the World's Fair remain in the World's Fair Park, but for the most part there is not much left.

I am planning to go to the Museum of Art on my return visit although the eyes do creep me out! Unlike the World's Fair Park, Downtown Knoxville is actually quite happening. Our first night there we went to a really fun brew pub which I will definitely do again. There is a really nice cinema where I was able to squeeze in most of The Princess and the Frog before our matinee. I had to leave before the last couple of minutes, but I can guess how it ends! Knoxville also has a strip of interesting restaurants on both sides of a block. I had a really good meal consisting entirely of cheesy carbs (gorgonzola risotto and macaroni and cheese). I am amazed that I was able to stay awake for the show that night!

There are two theatres downtown: The Bijou and The Tennessee. The Bijou seems to be more of a concert venue. The Tennessee is where we played, and oh what a theatre!

So what is going on in this picture you might ask? Well it is an intersting story. During one of the performances in Knoxville, we were in the pit playing The Merry Old Land of Oz minding our own buisness when all of a sudden there is this horrible metallic clanging noise. My mind immediately thought, "Did one of Phil's cymbals fall to the ground?" Well that theory was proved wrong when a metal serving platter comes crashing into the pit. It narrowly missed Mike's head and came to rest in between Mike and myself hitting my flute and piccolo stand. Thankfully neither Mike nor my instruments were damaged, but neither of us were happy. (Although I could not resist having my picture taken with the offending object!) What we later found out is that during the song there is choreography involving one of the actors "pretending" to hit the platter like a gong, and apparently he has dropped it on more than just this one occasion. This is why some shows have a scrim covering the pit so that when clumsy actors are given potentially life threatening objects, the musicians are safe!