Sky is clearer today; the air quality is still horrible, but not as instantly noticable as it had been. Another "snow day," no school.

I went to L.A. last night to see the Kronos Quartet and the Tiger Lillies. It was odd going to Los Angeles for fresh air, but it was nice to be able to breathe freely for awhile. They of course have their own problems at the moment, but the air quality didn't seem to be the issue it is down here. The show was at Royce Hall, which is a neat building, a nice place to see a concert. I had a pretty good seat near the center in the balcony. The first half featured the two acts doing solo sets. The Kronos Quartet were good, the Tiger Lillies were great. After intermission, the two groups took the stage together to perfrom The Gorey End. Based on works by Edward Gorey, I was expecting more of a visual aspect to the performance, drawings by Gorey projected onto a screen or something. I didn't get that (it turns out the writings Gorey had given to Martyn Jacques were not illustrated) , but was not at all disappointed by the evening. Even without many visuals, the story of the various tragedies to befall the Hipdeep family were still made vivid. And the spirit of Gorey was clear in every song. "ABC" followed a similar structure to "The Gashlycrumb Tinies," as did "Histoire de Kay." "Dreadful Domesticity" was perhaps the most bluntly dark song of the evening, as a married couple of a dozen years realizes "They have exhausted all the other/Revenges for existing wrongs," and proceeds to beat each other into a single pile of pulp. I think "Weeping Chandelier" and "Trampled Lilly" were my personal favorites, both especially well-suited by Jacques' distinctive voice. Overall, a great show; I'd highly recommend the album.