Dinner Saturday evening at Fonda Solana. This is a new restaurant run by the same folks who own Lalime's, in the space that used to be Christopher's, and it's much more my style than either of those. Fonda Solana offers a number of bite-size and medium-size East Bay Latin dishes, much in the style of Cesar. I sampled the "Chicharron" de pescado, succulent mahi fried in chipotle with lime crema to cool the heat, and the cachapas de Jojoto, Venezuelan corn cakes with the lightness of a souffle. My most substantial dish was the Tinga Poblana, a fiery stew of pork, potato, tomato, and chipotle. I tried to use tortillas to dampen its potency, but it still cleared out my sinuses and good. Mango slices with silver lime for dessert cooled my mouth off. Perfect!

After dinner I visited Mills College for the first time ever to hear a number of composers from their Center for Contemporary Music and special guest artist Francisco López. Chris Brown performed a cerebral piece called "CloudStreams/Bellwethers" in which he and three other musicians manipulated Macs in each corner of the concert hall to create networked emusic. Dancer Mary Cochran, swathed in a filmy sea-foam green prom dress, shuddered and shook to Les Stuck's "She-Ra," a piece that was inspired by Cochran's improvisation and that "was an attempt to evoke a fiercely powerful but kind-hearted superhero." The cultural reference was not lost on me. Maggi Payne illuminated her "System Test (fire and ice)" with EL wire that glowed in the dark of the hall as her recordings of Jacob's ladders, ice melting, and papers sliding against each other filled the space. Best use of EL wire I've seen this side of Burning Man. John Bischoff twiddled knobs on stage during his "Graviton/Interlude/Aperture" amdist knots of extension cords, unruly wires, and duct tape. I totally get turned on by a good mess of computer and sound equipment.

After the interminable intermission the ushers distributed blindfolds that Francisco López explained he wanted us to wear to further immerse ourselves in his piece, "absolute music 021." I was lucky enough to get one, so I obediantly donned it and put in the earplugs I had already worn for the first half of the concert. I can't describe the music as well as I can describe the experience of listening to sound with my eyes physically covered. I went through a period of being really aware of the enforced darkness, and then I just zoned out and rode the waves. The length of the piece (around 45 minutes or so) made listening to it an act of meditation. Quite a trip, in all senses of the word. I only wished I'd brought my own comfy fleece-lined blindfold.

Mills College Music Department Concert Information