12/31/2023 0 Comments Usher tickets los angelesI knew when a band had a crowd in the palm of its hands from witnessing Roger Waters, Belle and Sebastian, and Al Green perform. I learned how to follow along with orchestras by watching Gustavo Dudamel, Bramwell Tovey and John Mauceri conduct Vivaldi, Beethoven, Mozart, Gershwin, Puccini and others. You are a part of the vibrating community of this iconic landmark - one that depends on the symbiotic relationship between the performers onstage and the audience. The Hollywood Bowl’s magic has always been rebalancing that ecosystem every night. Huddled up at a table between trees, it was our turn to look like bears ferociously attacking a campground cooler. Sometimes the popcorn attendants would bless us hungry ushers with a trash bag full of unsold popcorn. One minute you’re up on Prom 5 telling a group of dads they can’t smoke the joint they snuck in, and the next you’re down at the boxes pretending not to be in awe of celebrities who asked you to help set up their tables. Apologies, again, Josh Groban.īut that’s why working at the Bowl was the best: Every night was a completely different experience. So seriously, in fact, that I stopped a nice loafer from sneaking in without a ticket, only to be immediately corrected that they were an invited guest of the show. That respect came with insane pit stains and sore feet, but there was respect and responsibility nonetheless! And I took that cultural weight seriously. We were dressing for the respect of this institution. We were standing where the Beatles shouted into a jet-engine roar of hormones, where Leonard Bernstein conducted frequently, hell, where Monty Python performed “Argument Clinic.” Suddenly the strict uniform of white button-up shirt (always long sleeves), black pants ( not denim) and a clip-on tie didn’t seem so arbitrary. The Bowl was empty, but the energy of past shows was still there. On my first day, the house manager walked me and my fellow ushers through a dim corridor onto the sun-drenched stage. When I started to think about how I wanted to spend my summers working, I couldn’t think of a better place to be. I applied because the Bowl was my family’s summer home, the four of us snapping tickets up for any and all symphonies and rock shows that we could for the highly coveted $1 seats. This place is my roots, not only as the location of my first concert (Randy Newman in 1996) or as a born-and-raised Angeleno, but also as my first employer. Any time I step through the Bowl’s gates, I feel that same sense of grounded belonging. Recently I was told that going barefoot in a park is a fail-safe cure for jet lag, rejuvenating the body by being in touch with the earth around you. To be an usher at the Hollywood Bowl - my first foray into the working world at the tender age of 16 - I followed similar rules to a park ranger: be full of interesting stats for curious hikers (currently the venue has 17,500 seats) map out journeys for weary travelers (there are bathrooms on both sides of the Bowl) be prepared for any wildlife that appears (Rush fans and Kenny Loggins fans are kindred spirits when they’re all loudly complaining about stairs) and leave the place cleaner than you found it (those rented cushions don’t get back into the shed by magic). And, unless you happen to be made of money, you’re definitely getting your blood pumping hiking up to your seats. Doesn’t the crisp air make you breathe a little deeper? As you gaze out, do you admire the natural world that thrives mere feet from one of California’s most cursed highways? I know you pack picnics like you’re going on a multiday excursion. Think about every time you’ve seen a show there. In reality, though, being an usher is much closer to being a park ranger than a theater attendant. Actually, I worked at the Hollywood Bowl, which people automatically assumed meant that I got paid to watch concerts while pointing left or right a few times a day. I used to be a ranger for Los Angeles’ greatest park.
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