Concerts as inspiration

This will be brief, as I've got a pile of work still to do and a meeting in an hour. I kept waiting for "time to blog" today, but it looks like a block of time just isn't gonna happen.

But I did want to mention that we saw a kick-ASS concert last night, Empire Brass. It's a quintet with 2 trumpets, a trombone, a french horn, and a tuba. Man, they were sooooo good, perfectly crisp and clear. They played everything from classical to Gershwin and Copland, and we all loved it.

We go to a lot of shows around here. We buy season tickets for most of the series, so that's 5 symphony performances, 4 or 5 community concert series shows, 3 or 4 theater series shows, the kid's theater, and sometimes community concerts, ballet performances, or shows in neighboring towns. It's especially cool now that Child is 6, and actually pays attention and enjoys going. (Aside: the only year we did NOT bring her to shows was when she was 3--she was too wiggly. Before that she slept, and since then she sits nicely. Of course she taps her feet, conducts, or plays violin on my arm sometimes, but that's all good.)

Anyway, my point is that I love going to concerts, but I only pay attention to the music ones about half the time. The other half I spend pondering my characters in my head, or daydreaming new plot twists. There's something about sitting still, letting music pour over me, that induces book-thoughts. I get some of my best ideas in concerts.

Actually there are 3 places I get my best ideas (outside of sitting at my desk and writing):

1. The shower
2. Movie theatres, sitting there waiting for the previews (I'm often early)
3. Concerts

Apparently I need to force myself to be still to have the opportunity to ramble-think. How about you? What are your best places for inspiration, other than your writing place?