Music Weblog » Concert Review

Madame Butterfly

abdulmajid — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 18:31:01 +0000

How does one explain the appeal of opera? Is it musicals for the snobs amongst us? Theatre for playwrights who have trouble with realistic dialogue? Or a specific artform with it’s own framework that forces composer & libertist to be at their artistic peak before they can create true opera? I am sitting in the Coliseum, London home of the English National Opera on a warm Friday night in early summer so unless I am a masocist you can guess my answer. Opera is somewhat like Haiku, in that there are fairly strict boundaries outside if which one should not stray but that if created artfully produce something of utter beauty. Haiku can in three short lines take one out of the world for a brief moment like all good poetry. Opera does the same & normally for longer; even Pagliacci & Cavalaria Rusticana are an hour each & I have not mentioned Wagner, a man who saw opera as a test of the true mettel of a person. Puccini falls somewhere in between. Madame Butterfly is 2 hours 45 minutes long but Puccini also invented the perfect three minute pop song with his catchy arias.

This production was created by Anthony Mingella, the late film director & is suitably beautiful using a minimal of props. This is a great opera but perhaps not the best to start with given it’s length. The English version is good but even so I found myself following the lyrics on the LED screen above the stage & the poetry of the sound comes in part from the Italian language.

This was quite a traditional production, albeit with the use of puppets for a few characters. It is hard to find fault with such a production & Butterfly herself sounded like am angel.

Un bel dei indeed.

Folk Music in Blackheath

abdulmajid — Sat, 30 May 2009 18:44:11 +0000

Folk gigs are funny things. If it is traditional folk music then it tends to be an older crowd who discovered folk in the sixties & attend Cropredy. More mainstream folk music attracts a younger audience with a smattering of the old folkies who have stayed up to date.

Cara Dillon is more traditional than modern but with her good looks and more recent albums demonstrating her singer-songwriter skills rather than a reliance on reworking traditional songs a reasonable proportion of the audience is young. Although there is a lack of smart phones, which is unusual at gigs now.

The cabaret table arrangement of Blackheath Halls was quite odd, frankly bails of hay would be better suited than the bizarre Las Vegas in a school hall affair. However, folk music being traditionally a music of the people (no pun intended on either parts of that statement) it was pleasing to see Cara and her band had the same seats as the rest of us to sit on, although they did not have candles on red beize covered table. Frankly, the hall had the feel of an inter-village bridge tournament rather than a music venue. The fact that it was the hottest night of the year so far and there was no air conditioning helped to make it quite sticky and uncomfortable with a hint of the party after the village fête about the evening.

Of course having blathered on about her being a singer-songwriter she then proceeded to open with some traditional Irish folk songs! Performers hey, who can trust then. Third song in was a killer track from her eponymous debut album, “Black is the Colour”, which almost stopped time as the audience was caught up in the circling rhythms of the piano whilst her etherial voice filled the space with crystaline emotion.

The sound was not quite balanced properley at the start with the acoustic guitars drowning out her beautifully pure voice but it did improve thereafter, which particularly important for a voice like Dillons. A duet with John Smith was particularly good, although he was clearly influenced by the recently deceased John Martyn, their voices blended together like a good Irish whiskey that is a favourite of mine..

Her Northern Irish accent was not evident when she sang but came through sparkling with wit in her between song chats, which veered from how most of the folk songs were about badly behaved men to who was going to win Britain’s got Talent, the final of which was on at the same time as the gig. It was quite obvious where the talent was on Blackheath though.

Ultimately the test of a good gig is whether it transported the audience out of that time and place and into the world created by the melody and the lyrics. In that Cara Dillon and her band succeeded magnificently as the red beize tables and conference seats melted into the heat of a May night whilst the music took us to the Hill of Thieves in County Derry.

Radiohead Live at Earl’s Court, 27 November, 2003

abdulmajid — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 00:00:47 +0000

Firstly, let’s get something straight: all big venues are bad. Say it again, all big venues are bad.

Next the gig, well we were up in the gods, in fact we were so high we had to get clearance from Heathrow Tower control, I swear there was a jumbo circling the seats above us. However, Radiohead are now consummate aircraft hanger performers, so they had brought along the latest, state of the art, screens. These screens showed various images, all taken from the gig but sometimes using video tricks which have not been seen since the 70s Top of the Pops (and very welcome they were too). In fact they seemed to fit Radiohead very well, at times the visuals were straight out of Dr Who and Jonny Greenwood may be the new doctor.

The venue was, of course, designed and built in the 1930s for exhibitions and therefore we can forgive the designers for not foreseeing the invention of rock and roll and the subsequent growth of monster sound-systems. That said this is a bit of a bucket as far as sound goes but it does suite the bombast of Led Zeppelin (see the fantastic double DVD that was released earlier this year for proof) or the new electronica sounds of the Oxford boys. It has to be said that there is something strangely retro about the band whether it is Thom’s jeans and sneakers outfit, their use of effects peddles to create moody synth sounds or their oblique song titles I cannot decide but they would not look out of place in 1972.

What about the music? Good question. They played almost all the tracks from their last magnum octopus “Hail to the Thief” (which Thom Yorke has said is not named after the dumb Texan, if not then why all the political cut-ups during the show and the anti-Bush/Blairisms? Not that I have anything against that at all but it is a spade, we all know that). These songs worked very well live and hearing the crowd slow clap in rhythm to “We Suck Young Blood” was quite spooky. They played something from every album including a stupendous “Creep” and a sublime “Paranoid Android”. Though for my money the highlight was the final encore version of “Everything in it’s Right Place”, which was monumental live and used to be my soundtrack as I walked to work through St James’ Park. One final point to note, this show was broadcast live on xfm, so I have now appeared on a Top 10 album and a live radio show!Links:

The official site

The best fan site (officially endorsed – at least they link to it)

xfm

Earl’s Court

Originally posted on November, 2003

The Flaming Lips at the Hammersmith Apollo 4 November 2003

abdulmajid — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 23:52:04 +0000

First, thanks to Gaynor for the tip-off about the sound being appalling at the back of the Apollo (née Odeon), those of us in row Z (I kid you not) found that the Lips clearly had the best sound engineer in the business, every word that Wayne (not a very rock’n’roll name for someone who is) said came through loud and clear.

Second, a word on the two support bands; Steve Burns (from Brooklyn) was terrific. Very funny videos, catchy songs and bags of chutzpah (which is the correct term I believe), check out his website for some great QuickTime movies and a flavour of the man. Alfie, on the other hand, need to find themselves. The sub-Beatles Yellow Submarine graphics and the Gallagher-esq swagger of the lead singer were tiresome. In fact the whole lolloping around the stage like the aforementioned neanderthal was so hopeless that I really have to mention it again.What about the Lips? Well, most concerts start with the house lights being dimmed and an electric sense of anticipation in the air, caused in no small part by the fact the audience have been sat there for a couple of hours with no sight of the main attraction. Then the music starts, this can be either the bands’ latest song (“Beautiful day” by U2 at their gigs last year) or by a suitably monumental classical piece (I believe Elvis started this with Strauss’ “Also Sprach Zarathrusta” – the 2001 theme for those not of a classical bent but a sci-fi one, or the moon landings music for those of us old enough to remember, if none of these give you a clue well what are reading a music site for? Go out and get some CDs!). Anyway, this is not the case at a Lips concert. Firstly, Wayne Coyne (lead singer, main songwriter and only ever present member in their near 20 year history) is almost constantly on stage throughout the support acts (watching them mostly), then he helps the roadies set up the Lips equipment (and waves at the crowd as he is recognised). Finally, when it comes time for the Lips to begin he wanders up to the mike (with sundry people in animal suits wandering around behind him) and asks us if we are ready to begin? We obviously reply in the affirmative.

Coyne clearly has some Elvis in him because when we start it’s option B, monumental classical piece to open: namely, Carl Orff’s “O Fortuna” from “Carmina Burana” (for those still without a classical section that’s the Old Spice music). Then the band launches into “Race for the Prize”, surely the best opening song written in many years. The music is always accompanied by a film of one sort or another, for the singles it is the official video for the rest it is bizarre shorts filmed by Coyne himself. However, the most striking feature is just how chatty Coyne is; most artists say a few words of thanks and then launch into another song, Coyne rambles on abut numerous topics. He announces that festivals apart this (and the previous evening at the same venue) is the largest audience that has paid to see the Lips, he is clearly moved by this and mentions it a couple more times during the evening. He mentions that the band were supporting Beck in San Francisco when Arnie was elected Governor of California, cue booing, so he starts talking about what a bad move that is then he name checks Bush, cue louder boos (it is clear where the Lips core audience is drawn from politically), finally, almost to see what the British really think of our leader he talks about Blair, cue the loudest boos of the evening, clearly a surprise to Coyne.

In fact the chats are as much a part of the show as the music. All told there is only an hour of recorded music in the whole performance but the gig lasts an hour and 45 minutes. The musical highlights are mostly the singles, with “Do You Realize?” and “Waitin’ for Superman” performances of particular merit. As the concert ends it is almost as if Coyne cannot bear to halt proceedings but the world must keep spinning and reluctantly he finally leaves the stage. We can only hope it will not be long before the circus comes back to town.

Links:

The Flaming Lips official site

BBC review of Lips gig in Southampton

Guardian review of the gig

Independent review of Lips gig

Pictures from the gig

Steve Burns’ website

Hammersmith Apollo site

Originally posted November 16, 2003

Bill Nelson “Painting with Guitars” at Windsor Arts Centre 4 October, 2003

abdulmajid — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 21:48:27 +0000

Although I have been a fan of Bill's from 1981 it was only with last years gig at the Jazz Cafe, Camden that I finally managed to see him live. This subsequent tour was scheduled after the success of that show and the Windsor gig was the easiest for my wife and I to attend. Having said that we found Windsor okay but finding the Arts Centre was rather more tricky, so we missed the 1st half of the show which was a film that Bill had created. The staff at the venue were very helpful though even when we both tried to use the bathroom that was theoretically Bill's.


The tour is a one man show, highlighting Bill's guitar skills. He played to pre-recorded backing tracks, on which he played all the instruments, and then improvised guitar parts over the top on half-a-dozen beautiful guitars, changing guitar practically every song. Each piece has an attendant film that Bill has created using his movie camera and Apple Mac (well, what else would you use?).
The show started well but really started to take off with the third piece "Appolinaire", which not only showed what a great guitarist Bill is but hinted at some of his early influences such as Hank Marvin, with its' clean guitar lines. "It Just Doesn't Rain Like it Used to" highlighted Bill's use of cut-up taped voices, sourced from old films, radio programmes and the like. It is a piece that has a haunting nostalgic feel, whilst using some of the most modern techniques in its' creation.
Another key piece was "Locarno", which had excerpts from an early 1960s Richard Harris movie spliced into Bill's accompanying film. The Harris movie, "This Sporting Life" was shot on location in Bill's home town, Wakefield, and included shots both interior and exterior of the Locarno dance hall, which the teenage Bill Nelson frequented to pick up girls and listen to rock and roll.
"For Stuart" was as beautiful as ever. this piece initially written to be played at the memorial service for Stuart Adamson, a fan of Bill's music with Be Bop Deluxe, guitarist with the Skids and guitarist, singer, songwriter with Big Country.
Unsurprisingly given the warmth of the reception Bill played wonderfully and his final encore piece was the one which fascinated my music graduate wife the most. He recorded short bursts of guitar music using one of his effects pedals and then looped that burst, repeating the process until he had created a stunning backing track. He then proceeded to improvise over the top of that, calling the piece "My Flickering Neon Afterlife". It left the audience in no doubt as to Bill's skill with the guitar or ability to create hauntingly beautiful music out of the wires.
Links:
Bill Nelson's Official site
Bill Nelson's fan site 
Sound-on-Sound (publisher of some of Bill's music and named after his 1979 album) 
Windsor Arts Centre (unfortunately now closed)
Originally posted October 5, 2003

A mini review and a major moan about the evening with David Sylvian at a beautiful London venue (David Sylvian’s Concert at the Royal Festival Hall, London September 26, 2003)

abdulmajid — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 21:52:08 +0000

David Sylvian, his brother Steve Jansen (family name Batt) and a Japanese multimedia artist (Masakatsu Takagi) put on an intimate show for those of us privileged enough to get tickets. The venue is marvellous, giving a real sense of both the 1950s in which it was built and designed and the timelessness nature of the performance arena.The concert itself could be split into two parts. The first was to play the new album, “Blemish”, in both its entirety and in order. This album details the marital difficulties that Sylvian and his American wife Ingrid Chavez have gone through recently and in fact he was working on another album when he recorded this experimental work in a few days. It is quite remarkable that this most private of recording artists should choose to perform this work in full on a tour of half-a-dozen countries. Most of the tracks actually worked well in a live context, with some clever musical additions for a couple of tracks provided by the underrated Mr Jansen. The highlights being “The Only Daughter”, “Late Night Shopping” and “A Fire in the Forest”. The latter is the best track on the album.The second was to dust off some old songs, in part perhaps to highlight the re-issued Virgin albums by both Japan and Sylvian solo, although the first track of this second section was “The Other Side of Life” from the Ariola/Hansa album “Quiet Life”, which is not part of the re-issue programme. A medley of “When Poets dreamed of Angels” and “Cries and Whispers” followed, along with “Maria” and “Praise”. There were also a couple of unreleased tracks from the upcoming (due early 2004) album by the Batt boys and they were both very promising, the second track was a real return to the beautiful rhythms and melodies these two shared in Japan’s heyday. The first encore was the new single by the Ryuichi Sakamoto co-ordinated group Chain Music, called “World Citizen”, it is a rather pleasant track but on first hearing is not in the same league as their work in the 1980s. The second and final encore was a very pared down version of “Jean the Birdman”, a rather subdued end to a beautiful evening.Or it would have been a beautiful evening if it had not been for (Major Moan) the ludicrous rule that the audience was allowed to leave the hall to get drinks during the performance. In fact, at the end of every song tens of people would get up stagger out to the bar, buy more booze and then stumble back in at the next song end. This meant that those of us who had come to see the performance rather than get bladdered had to get up and down like yo-yos to accommodate these buffoons. My wife had a bag full of beer by the end of the evening as one drunkard had knocked another drunks pint all over the floor. Surely the Royal Festival Hall does not let the audience wander in and out of a Wagner opera? Okay, that may not be the best example as they do go on for days but why was this allowed?Overall a great evening, the pared down arrangements, often only Sylvian on guitar and his brother tapping out a rhythm, allowed Sylvians’ vocals to come to the fore and that rich baritone has not sounded better.Links:David Sylvian’s website The Royal Festival HallOriginally published September 26, 2003