The Wonderful Earworm

Sometimes, in certain places, under certain circumstances, magic can still take place, even in this profoundly pragmatic world we’re living in. Such was the case last night. Between exactly 8:00 and 9:25 PM in Oakland, California, USA, an undeniable bit of musical magic happened on the stage of Yoshi’s (accomplished sushi restaurant and excellent jazz venue): Charlie Hunter’s 11^th annual holiday show, with the unexpected addition of tap dancing prodigy Tamango Vancayseele.

I say magic happened and I’m sticking to it. Charlie Hunter is one of the most gifted guitarist of our times and him alone, with his custom-made eight-string guitar would have made for a great show. But the vibrant performance of his tap-dancing friend onstage, combined with an unexpectedly pleasant elderflower-and-sake liqueur to top a belly-full of delicious sushi, all in the company of good people simply pushed the experience to new heights.

Lessons learned from this random encounter with the miraculous:

1. Never again underestimate the power of live music!
2. Elderflower makes damn good liqueur…
3. Sashimi is just fish.

Thankfully, someone already posted one of Charlie's recent performances with Tamango on YouTube, so here it is, although a recording doesn't really do it justice.