Derek Hough Live At Benaroya

Deb and I spent an enjoyable night at Downtown Seattle's Benaroya Hall to watch Derek Hough (bottom picture) and his dance troupe.  Hough was one of the most accomplished and popular choreographers on Dancing With The Stars.
Hough said he enjoyed performing live because of the ability to feed off the energy of the crowd.  Indeed, he often went into the crowd and had audience members come up on stage.
Our seats were excellent although the lighting and constant motion made it impossible to really take a great picture of the performers.

Homegrown Brandi Carlile Dazzles Benaroya Hall

Brandi Carlile, who grew up in Ravensdale , near Maple Valley, performed last night with the Seattle Symphony to a screaming, toe tapping, hand clapping audience.

Starting with only her band, Carlile began with probable her best known song "What Can I Say" pointing the microphone to the crowd who was singing the chorus along with her.

Many of Carlile's song are somewhat dark, lending themselves well to the strings in the orchestra. She spoke fondly of the venue, Benaroya Hall saying that she frequently drove past the place in her youth, only dreaming of playing there.

Her ablility to engage the crowd was reminiscent of another home grown band "Heart". Brandi announced that she was making a live album with last night's performance included.