An evening with Frigg

...Frigg banishes the darkness with a series of bright, smiling instrumentals. -Michael Toland, High Bias

On Saturday, May 19, we attended a spectacular performance of the acclaimed Scandinavian acoustic music group, Frigg at the Museum of History & Industry auditorium in Seattle, presented by community radio station KBCS 91.3FM.

Frigg is a multi-talented Finnish-Norwegian group of seven, who produce fresh Scandinavian folk fiddling accompanied by fretted instruments, upright bass and endless energy. The style they represent is a mixture of Kaustinen (Finland) and Nord-Trondelag (Norway) traditions with a bit of Americana and Irish folk music mixed in.

Frigg has been on an international tour during 2007 which included many appearances in the United States, including being a musical guest on A Prairie Home Companion.

We came home with three of their CDs - the first and second (newest) one and a great live recording - and you can listen to some of their tunes on Frigg - MySpace.

Short (business) trip to Palm Beach, Florida

First week in May, I was away for a few days attending a catastrophe modeling vendor's client conference at the Breakers resort in Palm Beach, FL. Although my daily schedule was very full with meetings and sessions, I did get a chance to stroll through the grounds during the breaks and a few moment of spare time and take in the beautiful scenery. I was lucky to be assigned a beach-front room, so I could enjoy a beautiful view and calming sound of the waves, but since the weather was hot with not only high temperatures but also very high humidity, I could not keep my balcony door open for long. Living in Seattle, I had forgotten how hot and humid it can get in the southeast in the summer, without any relief at nighttime!