Lucky you, Austin! I know I've seen Eric before, but I just can't remember when.
Zakir is always amazing. I've seen him numerous times. My favorites were at a small theater at Harvard where the local Indian community held concerts. The crowd was always 99% Indian all dressed up in their best with a smattering of hippies grooving on the music. I did see a couple with Zakir and his dad (Alla Rakha, who played with Ravi Shankar. Dawn and I got to hang with him while he smoked cigarettes between sets a couple of times. Very wonderful man.) playing together at that series, along with an uncle or two. The tamboura player was usually a teenage girl who looked as if she had been pressed into service by her parents against her will. I wonder if they still do that series?
My friend, Ty Burhoe, is a student of Zakir and has brought him to Boulder a number of times for concerts. Ty is pretty amazing in his own right and well worth seeing if you live in the Bay Area or here in Colorado. He does a lot of collaborations with interesting instrumental combinations. His recording with flamenco guitars Miguel Espinoza and bassist extraordinaire Kirwan Brown, Curandero, is well worth seeking out.
And then there is Indian food.... The thing I miss most about leaving Boston is India Quality Restaurant. Simply stunning food. Their lamb saag with mushrooms would be my last meal if it came to that.
