What was the last concert / gig you attended?

I was at the Royal Opera House to see Wagner’s Tannhäuser on Wednesday. A bit of a disappointment overall, especially if you take into account how much a night at the opera sets you back.

On Saturday seeing Holy Other with Malibu at King’s Place in King’s Cross. Looking forward to it and hope it’ll be better!

2 Likes

Andràs Schiff in Eindhoven.

I won’t spoil it for anyone that will see him sunday night in Amsterdam

My first concert outing after the pandemic which made the outing an even more special event

JULIO CESARE

Giulio Cesare [Christophe Dumaux]

Cleopatra [Julie Fuchs]
Curio [Georgiy Derbas-Richter]
Cornelia [Teresa Iervolino]
Sesto [Cecilia Molinari]
Tolomeo [Cameron Shahbazi]

Musical director Emmanuelle Haïm
Direction Calixto Bieito




Handel’s Julio Cesare at the Dutch National Opera.
Lovely music conducted by Emanuelle Haim and her band Le Concert d’Astree. Julie Fuchs delicate and skillful singing was utterly amasing and also Cecillia Molinari who played boy’s role gave a terrific performance. Countertenor Casare was a bit odd for me and sometimes not enough power I felt.
The biggest problem i had with this production is that they decided to turn this drama into a comedy. So the happy ending is everyone smiling with golden toilets! Or explicit somehow overly sexual moves felt out of context. Bargain basement costumes and the only set is the giant rotating box which various images get projected onto it depending on the mood of the story.

It was amusing but I would like to see other production of this piece as well.

Black Stone Cherry supported by the Darkness and Danko Jones.
It was a decent gig and they all played well and the audience were definitely into it,
BUT (you knew there was one coming)
We felt a bit cheated. Neither Black Stone Cherry or The Darkness did a headline set and I would guess that was because of band number 3 and the long changeover between The Darkness and BSC.
*Danko Jones 35 minutes
*The Darkness 1 hour 15 minutes
*BSC 1 hour 25 minutes
Plus with no new music to bring, both bands did essentially, a golden oldies set.
It wasn’t a terrible gig, but it was a lot of travelling and expense for an OK gig.
Not “disappointed” as such as Live music is always fun, but not left “wowed” either…:man_shrugging:t2:




Bonny Light Horseman at the Union Chapel last night. The musicianship and quality of singing were just off the scale. Plus, seeing them in this beautiful venue which has some of the best acoustics in London made this an unforgettable gig.

PS Support was from Sam Amidon who was also brilliant and well worth checking out

10 Likes

Who is Mr Beth Orton - saw him playing guitar for her on a rare occasion.

2 Likes

Indeed he is. Really enjoyed it so will be diving into his back catalogue

1 Like

Paolo Fresu tonight in Genoa

3 Likes




Had a great evening with Andras Schiff as conductor and soloist…., while I prefer him as soloist. We started with Haydn symphony, which was ok, but not special…, then Bartok dancing suite which was much better. The main course was the 5th piano concerto of Beethoven. It was a sublime performance of Schiff and I really enjoyed it with a small encore of Bartok…

2 Likes

Went to the matinee performance of Girl From The North Country, yesterday, at the Alex in Birmingham.

Superbly acted, sung and played with a moving story. Plus, of course, lots of great Dylan songs.

That was the first time I saw Andras Schiff and it was a real treat. He said it was a pleasure to be back in Eindhoven with the previous 2 years cancelled due to COVID. The program was not announced in advance. He suggested that usually pianists are requested 3 years in advance for their program to which he responded that it was refreshing to have the opportunity to announce the program from the stage. “It’s like being asked what one would like to eat in 3 years time and one has no idea on what one would like to play that far in advance”. It lasted almost 3 hours including an interval and opened with Goldberg Variations (Aria) followed by telling us he would not be playing the complete set. Also saying that starting off each day with music from Bach was like a cleansing of the soul.
I can’t repeat everything he said but each piece was introduced with interesting aspects related to the music on how they influenced other composers. Quite different from what I’m used to and accompanied with some humour as well

  • J. S. Bach Capriccio in B-flat major, BWV 992

  • W. A. Mozart Piano Sonata No.17 in B-flat major, K.570

  • J. S. Bach French suite No. 5 G-major

  • J. S. Bach 3 point fugue

  • W. A. Mozart c-minor fantasie

Interval

  • J. Haydn: Piano Sonata No.33 in C minor, Hob.XVI:20

  • J. Haydn: Variations in F minor, Hob.XVII:6

  • L. v. Beethoven, 6 Bagatelles, Op.126

With one encore

  • F. Schubert: Hungarian Melody in b-minor D817
3 Likes

Enjoyed Ludovico Einaudi’s experience in Dubai. Was such an amazing performance!



2 Likes

The Musical Box present The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. Progtastic.


4 Likes

Suzanne Vega acoustic at the Dearne Theatre, Northants.

Amazing sound and performance.

4 Likes

Not quite a concert. But i got invited to The Slow Resders Club " listening party" to celebrate the launch of their new album in Manchester last Thursday evening at the Viaduct. Good to get some insight on the album and the band. Hosted by bbc 6 musics Chris Hawkins and Greater Manchester’s very own Mayor.

Standing at the Sky’s Edge in the Nstional Theatre London. Super acting, singing, choreography and a great band

2 Likes

We have tickets so really looking forward to seeing it

2 Likes

Dream Theater - tonight at the Symphony Hall Birmingham.
It was good, but not as good as when we saw them at the start of this tour (The Top Of The World Tour) back in April last year @ Wembley.




1 Like

Mogwai at Cambridge Corn Exchange. Still playing the tinkly tinkly intro then visceral wall of distorted sound game well. Standing area was over packed with people so we ended up requesting a transfer to the balcony. I can understand why some people need to use camera phones now, as its the only way they would get to actually see anything.

1 Like

Was lucky enough to see the original production in Sheffield (pre Covid?). One of the most moving pieces I have ever seen. Superb.

2 Likes