No, I’m not talking about a night in Brussels’ red light district.

To celebrate my having achieved further advancement through the aging process, my sweetie surprised me with a night on the town. After devouring a most delicious piece of medium-rare bovine flesh at Acme, we began an evening stroll. It took roughly a second after I saw the big hersheys kisses of merchandising in the parking lot of Candlestick Park, to realize what we were in for. She must have cashed out our retirement fund and bought tickets to the newest Cirque du Soleil show! I didn’t even know they were in town!

CdS shows are always based on a story. That story is usually about a francophone dreaming about a troupe of acrobats, and Corteo is no exception. One could say that when you’ve seen one of them, you have a pretty good idea of them all. I won’t say that, because their performances never cease to amaze me. I find myself looking all over the place, trying to catch all of the myriad of simultaneous action. It isn’t just the often manic main floor that I watch. The musicians, though under dim lighting at the edges of the stage, are always amazing. And then there are the ceiling and sides where props and performers enter and later vanish. The coordination of the show is nearly as impressive as the acrobatic feats.

“What was your favorite part so far?” she asked during the break. “The one with all the bouncing and flying and spinning in the air”, I replied. I’m notorious for avoiding straight answers, but in this case, it was adequate. Every one of the acts is incredible.

Cirque du Soleil is doing their west coast leg in San Francisco through the end of the year , and then (oddly) one hour south in San Jose for some weeks. Sorry, Socalites and Northwesterners!