Funny name, sure, but he's still cooler than you

Yo-Yo Ma RULES!

My wife and I were lucky enough to catch The Silk Road Project last week. Cellist Yo-Yo Ma founded it to better understand the migration of music, especially through the cultures strung along the Silk Road.

My appalling lack of knowledge about music (I know what I like, but that's about it) and my lack of writing/critique skills can't begin to convey how good the music was. It was simply one of the best performances I've ever seen, start to finish. The music, inspired by thousands of years of interactions on the trade routes between China and the Mediterranean, ranged from epic soundtrack of Asian history to an all-out, ten-person, global garage jam that brought the crowd jumping to their feet.

This is the second time we’ve seen Yo-Yo Ma. I have never seen a performer of his caliber, in any discipline, that seems as comfortable, gracious, and truly happy to be with you. The first time we saw him he played with an orchestra, and so couldn’t talk and riff as much as he did with his Silk Road partners, but he still came across as engaging and engaged. During the other night’s performance, not only were he and the other musicians exceptional, but they were having a blast. How often do you get to see classical cellists and violinists using their instruments as drums?

If you ever have the opportunity, see him, and pay what you can to sit close to the stage.