On the Town: Ozomatli mixes it up at the Starlight Bowl
A break in the mid-July heat saw a cool evening breeze blend with the hot collision of urban-Latino, hip-hop, salsa, dance-hall, cumbia, samba, funk, merengue and comparsa that has become the signature sound of Ozomatli at the Starlight Bowl this past Sunday.
Presenting the third of the bowl’s seven summer-concert series as “An Evening with Ozomatli,” Sunday’s show was coordinated by Gabby Flores, deputy director of the city’s Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department, and recreation supervisor Vickie Cusumano.
Among the throng who made their way into the Verdugo Hill’s amphitheater toting picnic baskets and blankets were Burbank Councilman Jess Talamantes and his wife, Sandy, Police Commissioner Nat Rubinfeld and his wife, Alma, Parks, Recreation and Community Services Commissioner Barry Gussow and his wife, Karen Volpei, Jennifer Wyatt, who serves as Burbank’s information technology director, and former City Treasurer Donna Anderson.
Having become as much a tradition as the music at Starlight Bowl concerts, the audience was also introduced to Sally Chasman, who serves as the operations director of the volunteers of the Burbank Animal Shelter.
Joined by a 7-week old kitten named Lydia, Chasman reminded the audience that when looking for a pet, adopting from a local shelter should always be considered before going to a breeder, and that buying from a pet store should never be an option.
She also promoted the upcoming kitten adoption fair that will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 3 at the shelter, located at 1150 N. Victory Place.
Others who enjoyed the cool evening’s hot sounds included Susie and Christie Augustine, Victor Corbera, Jessica Wood, Layla Chamberlain, Krista McMillin and Vahe Shahinian, who is producing a special-engagement concert starring Engelbert Humperdinck at the Starlight Bowl on Aug. 4.
Shahinian says tickets to see the legendary crooner are still available and can be purchased through https://www.itsmyseat.com.
The 2013 Starlight Bowl Summer Concert Series continues next week with a return of the Beatles tribute band the Fab Four. Always a crowd-pleaser, the Fab Four’s attention to detail — both visually and with their uncanny, note-for-note renditions of the Mop Top’s most beloved songs — will make you think you are watching the real thing.
This incredible show — which has been performed all over the United States as well as in Japan, Malaysia, France, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, Germany, Mexico and South America — includes three costume changes representing every era of the Beatles’ evolution.
Tickets for the Fab Four, along with the other remaining summer shows, are available online at https://www.StarlightBowl.com or on the third floor of the Burbank Community Services Building, located at 150 N. Third St.
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DAVID LAURELL may be reached by email at dlaurell@aol.com or (818) 563-1007.
