What makes even a rained-out Summer Pops concert unique?
What makes even a rained-out Summer Pops concert unique?
Rain ended Sunday's Pops in the Park season opener early, but there are three more chances to enjoy the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra al fresco in SouthPark this summer
This review by longtime Charlotte arts critic Lawrence Toppman was published by The Charlotte Ledger on June 9, 2024. You can find out more about The Charlotte Ledger’s commitment to smart local news and information and sign up for our newsletter for free here. And check out this link for the archive of Toppman’s reviews in the Ledger.
The Charlotte Symphony had to conclude its Pops in the Park season opener just two numbers in, but there were plenty of experiences to enjoy before the skies opened up
by Lawrence Toppman
Classical musicians have lovingly depicted the sky and sun for centuries, so you’d think Mother Nature might have been more forgiving when the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra opened its Summer Pops season Sunday night at Symphony Park. But dark clouds gathered on schedule, rain began to plop more irritatingly, and CSO president and CEO David Fisk came onstage to confirm that lightning had been spotted within 10 miles, so we’d have to evacuate the area.
I bolted home, knowing there was a slim chance the “Sonidos Latinos” concert might resume — it never did — because I’d already had a complete experience over the previous three-plus hours. I hadn’t been to a Summer Pops concert in years, and now I knew why some people have become devotees and attend every Sunday in June. (“Sonidos” concertgoers can exchange their tickets for a future symphony performance.)
I arrived at 5:20 p.m., early enough to get rock star parking near the entrance gate in the lot behind Dick’s Sporting Goods. Symphony Park sits adjacent to SouthPark Mall on a gently sloping lawn, with a stage at the end of it surrounded by a pond.
The first thing I did was the worst thing I did. I found four food servers: two selling ice cream, one selling alcoholic beverages, and Tacos El Thor. I scanned the menu on the side of the taco truck, bought an $8 quesadilla and a diet soda and went to the pickup widow, where I owed $18. Say what? “This is a special event. At special events we double our prices.” But you didn’t put that on the menu! “We didn’t have time to make a sign.” Now I knew why so many picnickers ordered food ahead at Reid’s and walked over to pick it up.
Between the upcharge and the downpour, though, everything went right. Rosalia Torres-Weiner brought the Charlotte Art Mobile from her Red Calaca studio, showcasing innovative local artists in an intimate portable setting. (She has a permanent relationship with the symphony, having painted the exterior of the CSO Roadshow’s mobile stage.)
Veterans came early to set up picnic carts and tables. They opened lawn chairs, many tall enough to block the views of people behind them, and erected shade umbrellas that would’ve protected a hippopotamus from sunburn. Those reappeared, against the rules, during the rain.
By and large, this group was unusually diverse for a Charlotte audience — many races, ages and languages — and polite. Nobody got boisterous, showed the effects of drink or bothered a neighbor. I didn’t see anyone smoking on the main lawn or puffing a joint anywhere at all. The worst rulebreakers insisted on bringing dogs: One woman strode up to the gate with a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel that bore no identifying garment, grunted “service animal” and kept going.
The relaxed vibe predominates down on the lawn. Folks who bought single tickets congregated near the back of that space, leaving 36 sq. ft. blocks known as “pods” to subscribers. Those squares, closer to the stage, have been marked off on the grass like rows at Belk Theater.
Yet listeners also heard the concert from peripheral locations: the front of the DoubleTree Suites hotel, inside which the musicians prepared before the show; pocket parks with benches at the fringes of the bigger venue; even the sprawling lawn of Coca-Cola across Carnegie Boulevard. The twin stacks of speakers adjacent to the stage carried sounds far enough for that.
All Summer Pops concerts have opening acts and/or emcees. Hector Cortes, a middle school teacher known as Sombrero Man when he whips up Charlotte FC soccer crowds, was the master of ceremonies, bringing on the group UltimaNota. I’d heard them open for the symphony at the April debut of the CSO Roadshow and was glad to reacquaint myself with their relaxed yet spirited, vaguely Santana-inspired groove.
The CSO leaves half an hour between the opening act and the main program. Musicians spent much of it tuning up, which sounds grating through a powerful, treble-heavy amplification system, though I had time to admire red clothes interspersed with the typical concert white and black.
Resident conductor Christopher James Lees introduced his portion in Spanish and English but had time to lead only two numbers before the cancellation: Arturo Marquez’ “Conga del Fuego Nuevo,” which the orchestra really did play with a fire new to me in pops concerts, and Roberto Sierra’s “Fandangos,” half sultry dance and half nightmare. Bizet, Piazzolla, Ginastera and others were soon washed away.
You may have better luck at the three remaining concerts: “A Juneteenth Celebration” on June 16, “Music From the Movies” on June 23 and “Celebrate America” on June 30. Go with sunscreen, insect repellent, a respectful chair, a small umbrella and a sense of joy.
Lawrence Toppman covered the arts for 40 years at The Charlotte Observer before retiring in 2020. Now, he’s back in the critic’s chair for the Charlotte Ledger — look for his reviews about two times each month in the Charlotte Ledger.
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