What was your last concert you went to ?

Went to see MERCURY REV at Hammersmith last night - absolutely bluddy awesome - really tight too!

Kevin

Mercury Rev in Manchester. I would agree with Kevin, they were superb. I think that the new album is probably their best yet.

Just got back from the SawDoctors freebie in Trafalger Square. Not the greatest place for a concert but not bad. We stood by the boarding in front of the National Gallery.It's was a bit chilly, but enjoyable.
Thanks Ken.

Howard

John Adams conducting (and talking about) his own music at Northwestern Univerity in Illinois. The second part of the concert which was called "Grand Pianola" was excellent.
On wednasday I am going to hear Tomas Stanko preform at a night club (HotHouse) in Chicago. Minimum of two drinks are required.
Haim

Norah Jones - Sydney Entertainment Centre - wrong venue for this stuff - needs to be a small intimate venue.

She is charming, beautiful and her voice is wonderful but she does not seem overly comfortable being on stage. With the huge venue and being tired after a long day at work, I was close to falling asleep...

Adrian

Madeleine Peyroux - Darmstadt Centralstation - right venue for this stuff - Centralstation is a small intimate venue.

She is charming, (beautiful) and her voice is wonderful but she does not seem overly comfortable being on stage. And, that's what made the evening special. Not a high-professional, sterile performance. Some little "flaws", now and then. I felt like "daddy watching his little daughter performing for the first time in her life, and squezing thumbs so everything goes well..." If you want it perfect - go and see Diana Krall (...) or - buy the records...

Stefan

quote:

I felt like "daddy watching his little daughter performing for the first time in her life, and squezing thumbs so everything goes well..."

Funny you should say that....

Don't you feel old...., right Anja

Was meant to be a "picture", Mark...

Today:

Oregon in Rüsselheim theatre (poor guys) - I was in heaven ! Last time I saw them before this concert was in the mid 70s, still with Colin Walcott, of course.
What a tone ! Oregon is a musical cosmos of its own. So grateful that the venue wasn't half as bad as expexted. It was the backstage part of a decent theatre (fyi: Rüsselheim is the town where Opel cars (for you UK guys: Vauxhall) are (were ?) built. There used to be some money, in the past. History...), and the acoustics were awright. A bit of a flabby bass, maybe, but isn't that what we're used to from home ?

Oregon (with Mark Walker on the drums) played 2/3 new stuff which will be issued in a couple of months on a new CD, and 1/3 old/known pieces. Marvellous !!!

quote:

Originally posted by sjust:
Was meant to be a "picture", Mark...

Today:

Oregon in Rüsselheim theatre (poor guys) - I was in heaven ! Last time I saw them before this concert was in the mid 70s, still with Colin Walcott, of course.
What a tone ! Oregon is a musical cosmos of its own. So grateful that the venue wasn't half as bad as expexted. It was the backstage part of a decent theatre (fyi: Rüsselheim is the town where Opel cars (for you UK guys: Vauxhall) are (were ?) built. There used to be some money, in the past. History...), and the acoustics were awright. A bit of a flabby bass, maybe, but isn't that what we're used to from home ?

Oregon (with Mark Walker on the drums) played 2/3 new stuff which will be issued in a couple of months on a new CD, and 1/3 old/known pieces. Marvellous !!!

I'm jealous.

Saturday 26/03/05 Fareham Folk Festival Oysterband excellent concert good sound and great energy Bass guitarist uses a cello for many numbers gives a superb sound.Enjoyable support from McDermotts 2 Hours (influenced The Levellers apparently)and Elenor McEvoy.

Howard

Saturday night
More folk/roots at Aberystwyth Arts Centre

Eliza Carthy and Sharon Shannon.

Rather strange as Eliza C was on first and Sharon S the support was on in the headliners spot. Apparently Eliza C and her band had a long drive ahead of them and swapped places. Both were excellent though, with Eliza C in particularly good form, although she had a stinking cold. A good night with an excellent curry at the Agra before the show.

Andy

Last night.

Doves.

Brixton.

Awesome.

Kevin.

REM - Sydney Entertainment Centre

Support was Bright Eyes - thought they were excellent and showed some good promise. Conor Oberst is obviously talented and plays a mean guitar. Will re listen to my copy of I'm Wide Awake It's Morning and will probably now enjoy it as I will see it in a new light.

REM far exceeded my expectations. We had great seats up front and they showed a freshness and keenness that surprised me. They obviously enjoyed themselves.

Best tracks of the night were "Orange Crush" and "The One I Love" with the strobe lighting used to full effect.

Michael Stipe is an impressive frontman and the voice was spot on.

Very good show.

Adrian

A couple of weeks ago I saw the Scorpions and Judas Priest at Hammersmith. Scorpions were brilliant and the sound really good then after the interval Judas Priest came on and the sound engineer had turned it up to 11 and it was just distorted. Couldn’t hear the Vocals either. I gave up after 5 songs and went back and stood next to the engineer under the balcony! Did sound a bit better there but still couldn’t hear the vocals! But he was happy as he and his mate were having a laugh.

Saw Rush last year at Wembley and had the same problems Vocals swamped by every thing else.

Seen Alterbridge recently brilliant gig and Nightwish again a good gig.

Off to seen the Musical Box soon at The Royal Albert hall they are re-enacting the Genesis Lamb lies down on Broadway tour.

Then later in April seeing Alanis Morrisette.

Waiting for dates for a few other bands like Within Temptation who I hope will tour the UK

Porcupine Tree at the Astoria - what a dump!

Good gig marred by poor sound, too much one note bass that you could feel rather than hear, apity because Colin Edwin's a bloody good bassist. The keyboards were too far back in the mix too and were only really evident on the 'quieter' passages.

They played much of the new album Deadwing, which hasn't been released yet (delayed by the record company!) but bought a copy at the gig (its on the CD player now).

Saw Jack Johnson last Thursday night at Memorial Drive (open-air grass court tennis stadium in Adelaide, Australia). Fantastic show, balmy evening (34 degrees). 2 great supports in "Xavier Rudd" and "G-Love and Special Sauce". Not one dud moment in the 4 and a half hours of entertainment (Cold Coopers Ale-icing on the cake)

Steve Hacket,
Last night in Wolverhampton.
First half he was his own 'support' act, playing purely acoustic guitar, & many classical pieces, along with a few others that were from his own writing.
Second half as a trio, with his brother John on flute & alto flute, & Roger (?) King on keyboards.
I have to say we were captivated from the first piece.
The second half was so 'laid back' that it was like sitting on your sofa listening to some very beautiful music being played oh so well.
Never have I heard the flute played like that before... (to many memories of J.Gallway) it was very, very good.

Have now finished listening to his new album. How different do you want to be!! 100% classical. 80 piece orchestra, recorded & played to perfection.

Saw Ken Stringfellow in a small Adelaide pub last night. This was the 4th time I've seen him. Not only is he one of the most talented songwriter/singer/musician's of the 20th century, but he has a great ability to interact with the audience. He walked off the stage and into the audience to sing a couple of songs without the mike and his voice carried right through the pub and caused a few of the raucous barflies to shut-up and listen. Mesmerising! He has a great sense of humour too. This is one of the advantages of living in a small city-you occasionally get to see amazing musicians perform as if they were in your loungeroom, and you can buy them a drink and have a chat between sets. Cheers, Shaun

Motley Crue
I saw them just last night. This was the first time I saw them with the original members. Mick Mars still cranks out the guitar riffs with aplomb, and Tommy Lee's drumming is entertaining to watch. The show had an "evil carnival" theme.

They played their classics (Shout at the Devil, Live Wire, etc.) with their two new songs, plus they included their best from the Dr. Feelgood and Girls, Girls, Girls albums. Overall, an entertaining show.

GianLuigi Trovesi and Gianni Coscia presenting their "Round About Weill" programm in "Frankfurter Hof" in Mainz, yesterday evening.
Good venue, great concert full of humour, tons of quotes and simply too bloody good players.

Friday night, the Anvil in Basingstoke. Bournemouth SO, Marin Alsopp, Tasmin Little. Bruch Violin Conceryto plus Stravinsky "Petruschka", Debussy "L'apres midi d'une faune" and Ravel "Daphnis and Chloe". A tremendous evening of music.

Diana Krall - Sydney Opera House. May be a picture postcard venue but this music should be heard in a small venue.

I was so bored with looking in at it from a distance rather than feeling intimate in a small club that I left early to get some well needed sleep.

Maybe it was the below average support that put me in the wrong frame of mind.

Adrian

I've seen tons of live music this year so far, but last night was a real highlight. Mike Peters (ex-Alarm front man) doing a solo acoustic gig to maybe 80-100 people. It was superb, personal, magical. Talented and extremely likeable guy. I'd be surprised if I see anything better this year.

For David S

Kylie Minogue at Birmingham NEC

Revue as promised - pp David (my son)

A bit strange, thought that KM was a bit 'detached'. Apart from saying 'HELLO BIRMINGHAM' a couple of times there was no inter-action with the audience at all. Absolutely note perfect though, like listening to her records or watching her videos. Didn't move around much because she was wearing those elaborate costumes. Did a 'cracking' cover of Locomotion'. Enjoyed the show but just wished she had moved around and engaged with the audience a bit more.

Andy

Mahler's 6th Symphony, CSO, Slatkin conducting, April 26.

Did anybody else hear this concert?

I was disappointed. I had heard this the last time it was given (apparently conducted by Eschenbach) and was tremendously moved. Last night, I was mainly unmoved.

If you were there, how did you respond?

I'm trying to figure out waht I wanted...I hypothesize that the beat was too regular, the dynamics too unvaried, and maybe it was a little too fast, at least/especially the 1st movement.

I'd be delighted to hear from anyone else who went to this concert.

Regards.

Phil