Life in a English city and the slowly decaying industry during the Thatcher era. Turning that into a musical isn’t easy. But The Last Ship is moving and struck a chord with me. The cast is strong, and the women in particular were perfect. There was a moment of emotion during one of Meg’s first songs. Of course, seeing Sting is always a treat. But this was truly a perfect story. So many years of work, and now the goal has been achieved. A very strong show with a great cast.
Hector Berlioz Symphonie für Viola und Orchester op. 16 »Harold en Italie«
Bernd Alois Zimmermann Rheinische Kirmestänze für 13 Bläser
Robert Schumann Symphonie Nr. 3 Es-Dur op. 97 »Rheinische«
Mayhem & Marduk for me last Tuesday at Electric, Camden, London. Absolute brutal assault on the senses, both sonically & visually but amazing. Venue was packed, sound was excellent for such extreme music & Mayhem’s ever-changing backdrop during their set meant a great A/V combination.
I’ve seen JM a few times. You can tell he just loves playing live. In an interview he once related a story about one of his heroes, Nile Rogers who was going through a period of heavy drinking. Apparently NR happened to hear a recording of himself playing live at a Chic gig and was appalled at how sloppy he sounded and it shocked him into sobriety as he couldn’t bear the thought of not playing well (like it was disrespectful to the universe or something). The implication was JM had a similar experience. Both guitarists have a deep respect and love for their art. JM always strikes me as a genuinely lovely guy who is completely dedicated to his craft and his enthusiasm is so infectious. Just listen to him being interviewed on That Pedal Show (on YouTube).
JM seems much more excited about continuing to write new material than exploiting the appetite there clearly is for a lucrative Smiths reunion tour with the remaining members of the band. Got to love and respect the bloke.
Saw the SSO last night with a few friends as they were doing a “spooky” set including bits from Fantasia, Psycho and a number of classic pieces like “Symphony Fantastique” by Berlioz.
Not my normal kind of show and while I don’t find classical all that interesting when listening to it at home (although I have a deep respect for it and its history) hearing it in the flesh makes me appreciate it properly. What struck me was how quiet the overall sound was yet every instrument was clear as a bell with the whole coming together quite nicely. Seeing the performers strut their stuff really helps the enjoyment factor. A nice change.
Jörg Widmann Dirigent und Klarinette
Ilian Garnetz Violine
Sarah Maria Sun Sopran
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy »Die Hebriden oder Die Fingalshöhle« Ouvertüre op. 26
Jörg Widmann Paraphrase über Mendelssohns Hochzeitsmarsch für Violine solo
Jörg Widmann »Versuch über die Fuge« Fassung für Sopran, Oboe und Kammerorchester
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Andante aus der Klarinettensonate Es-Dur, Bearbeitung für Klarinette, Streichorchester, Harfe und Celesta
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Symphonie Nr. 1 c-Moll op. 11
For me new music from Widmann, was interesting while the piece with soprano was a bit more difficult to appreciate. After the break a more easy program. Best 1St symphony which I ever heard….
Ok, back to normal. Been listening to DT for 25 years but this is the only time I bothered to see them live as it’s part of a 40th anniversary tour with the core group albeit with Jordan Rudess over Kevin Moore on keys.
Overall a really fun gig. They started with “Metropolis Pt.1” and followed directly into a truncated “Pt.2” which was fantastic and for the most part played fan favorites for the entire show. It passed me by that they released a new album last year so a good 30 minutes was devoted to that but considering the whole gig lasted 3 hours I can’t really complain. They ended things with my favorite (and many others) track, “Pull Me Under” at the encore but sadly they omitted “Under a Glass Moon” from the set-list. You can’t have everything.
Performance-wise the band was pretty tight. Petrucci is still and absolute freak on guitar even if he’s slowly morphing into Rick Rubin with age. Labrie… look, he didn’t cover himself in glory at the start, needing a guide dog to help him find the note. Thankfully he found his footing after a spell and managed to keep up with the rest. Was pretty funny seeing him exit the stage every time the band segued into an instrumental section, even if it was only 30 seconds long.
Now for what I was deeply disappointed by. Decent-sized bands generally have a video-element to the performance, throwing up visuals on a screen behind the band. However, it is becoming prevalent for gen-AI usage to make up some if not the majority of the visuals and it is embarrassing for highly regarded artists to denigrate the medium in such a way. Opeth did it last year when I saw them and DT did last night. This is a mark of shame and all it does is normalise gen-AI, which only exists due to the stolen art of existing, hard working creators, leading us further down the path of a world where creative endevour has been swallowed up by algorithm-generated garbage by talentless hacks using up natural resources. It honestly sucked part of the enjoyment out of the show for me. I expect better from artists, especially, large, rich ones such as these.
Suede rock Newcastle City Hall, 14 Feb. First time seeing them but suitably impressed. Seems singer Brett Anderson can’t stand still for more than three seconds.
Ese on Friday at Maxines@Frontline Club in Paddington (right across from St Mary’s Hospital where Fleming discovered penicillin). A video by a dear friend of ours and roadie to the Vooduu Queen. He always gets great shots, better than mine…
Dammit, link doesn’t work, so here’s a couple from me instead.
Fiachra Garvey at the Wigmore Hall, London yesterday. Programme
Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 14 Op. 109
Rachmaninov Piano Sonata No. 1
(Encore Field Nocturne No. 2)
A new artist to me, I was charmed by him taking a mike and briefly introducing each piece. His Beethoven was wonderful, really bringing out the profundity. He used the mike to make a strong defence of the rarely played Rachmaninov and his performance backed that up, a spectacular reading. His encore was tenderly played and beautiful.
(I have to admit I’d not read the programme properly when booking and had thought it was Sonata No. 2, I only realised when he talked before the piece, it was a nice revelation, I don’t think I’ve heard it live before and don’t normally play it at home, something to change.
Robin Smith and others performing Tubular Bells I, II and III at the Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. No photography permitted but the 8 musicians on stage certainly did justice to Mike Oldfield’s legacy.
English National Opera’s Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny at the London Coliseum yesterday evening. Pared back high energy production, I enjoyed the stage sets and direction without being totally convinced. The orchestra were superb, as were the chorus, both managing the tricky marriage of musical theatre and opera with world-class aplomb. The leads also sang superbly, Jimmy from Alaska being the stand-out for me. Overall I found it musically superb and the production very good, but not quite to the same level as the musical performance. (Judging by the audience response I may have been unusual in that.) Despite the bleakness of the opera’s message, I really enjoyed the evening, it’s a shame it’s only running for three performances.
Liked a few of their songs when they first rose to prominence but saw them by chance three years ago and thought they were great. Since seen then a number of times and really loved their last album - ‘Stream of Life’ - and so when they were celebrating 20 years of their first album, we had to go!
Really enjoyable show. Paul Smith is a great front man and his lyrics are always a joy. Very lively performance and a packed crowd. Really hope more people catch on to them.
Saw them on this tour in Liverpool a couple of weeks ago,fantastic,but I knew they would be,I’ve seen them 32 times,and am off to Amsterdam in March to make it 33 !
