What was your last concert you went to ?

matt,

I only had a very short time before getting to the dinner reservation, but I was very impressed with these diminutive Rega RS5 floorstander ( powered by 252/250 IIRC ) as well as Kandid on the ARO and Superline. I guess this was *source first* dogma in exercise. ( 30k$ TT into 1700$ transducer ) Interesting to note that he was running it without any loading plugs and sounded great. I take it you are still waiting for yours?

I know that room quite well. I am overdue for a trip to Accent now that true days are getting longer and the snow is hopefully coming to an end. No Kandid yet. I may DR a Supercap first. I have heard the RS5s in the other room with the entry level gear. Very nice speakers and a good deal for the money.

Del Amitri last month supported by The O's. Third time I've seen them and they were superb although it was worth the money just to see the support group.

The Rollingstones in Abu Dhabi, last Friday.

Awesome performanse by this aged crew!!!

Bobby

Beth Neilson Chapman at St Albans. Didn't know her stuff at all, but her new CD Uncovered looks like it might be worth investing in - she reclaims all her songs made hits by other people.

Not sure if this counts as going to an actual concert  but I was "at" a live performance tonight by Goldfrapp which was relayed direct from the Air Studios - London in real time into selected Cinemas around the country.

We were there as well Stevee - caught it at the Renoir in Bloomsbury. I thought the sound (Will Gregory was at the mixing desk) and picture quality on both the film and the 50-minute gig was excellent. A well-chosen setlist and a fantastic performance too - hope they release it on DVD.

I don't remember see anything about this event, or if I did I didn't realise it was on at the cinema.

C'est La Vie eh?

Originally Posted by Kevin-W:

Originally Posted by Stevee_S:

Not sure if this counts as going to an actual concert  but I was "at" a live performance tonight by Goldfrapp which was relayed direct from the Air Studios - London in real time into selected Cinemas around the country.

We were there as well Stevee - caught it at the Renoir in Bloomsbury. I thought the sound (Will Gregory was at the mixing desk) and picture quality on both the film and the 50-minute gig was excellent. A well-chosen setlist and a fantastic performance too - hope they release it on DVD.

I agree with your comments Kevin. I thought it was very good and the first of this type of event I have been to.

Something I did find a little difficult to get used to though was when the songs ended there was no reaction or applause because there was (obviously) no audience at the studio. So the song finished, the musicians perhaps moved around or changed instruments, Alison said nothing much and then she started the next song. The fifty or so people at the cinema I was in took a while to loosen up and start clapping albeit rather sheepishly toward the end of the set. This strangeness aside I thought it was excellent although I do wish the cinema had not played it at ear bleeding volume levels. Good value at £13.

BigH47 I just stumbled across the fact that this event was coming up so it was purely accidental that I found out that it was on and managed to book in time.

For reference Elton John will be doing a transmitted event for one night only from Las Vegas that looks to be on 22nd March

http://www.odeon.co.uk/films/e..._dollar_piano/15051/

There are a few others, mainly opera, from the Metropolitan Opera New York

http://www.odeon.co.uk/films/g...15054/#filmslikethis

Steve

Bastille - Tuesday 

Absolutely superb 

Australian Pink Floyd at Bournemouth last night. Not bad at all. just glad we did not take seats at the front. Very visual entertainment.

Last Monday,

Sheffield City Hall rocking to The Overtones. Second time seeing them and the harmonies just keep getting better. 

For those hankering after the 50's/60's look out for their support act, Si Cranstoun. He proclaims Sam Cooke as one of his musical heroes and he comes very close to emulating the man himself. A memorable concert.

Andy

12th Feb, I went to see Naim label recording superstars Sons on Kemet at Rich Mix in East London.

Cracking gig, had a really good spot to the side of the stage where I was able to avoid most of the Shoreditch ****s . Set was mostly taken from the excellent "Burn" album. "Inner Babylon" really ignited and "Rivers of Babylon" was delicacy itself.

Line-up was a little different, as Seb Rochford was indisposed due to him playing drums for Patti Smith(!) but instead we had Tom Skinner accompanied by another drummer (I didn't catch his name, sadly) who was excellent. Oren Marshall's tuba was augmented by another brass instrument, a bass tuba, a beast of an instrument which is so large and heavy it had to be supported. Didn't catch this guy's name either, but again he was top-notch.

Had a brief chat with Shabaka afterwards, and he was a lovely bloke. Catch them if they're in your town - well worth seeing.

On 25th February I went to see the Christian Wallumrød Ensemble at the Vortex in Dalston - at a tenner (and with great beer on sale too) it was an absolute steal.

Christian Wallumrød - piano, harmonium, toy piano
Eivind Lønning - trumpet
Gjermund Larsen - violin, hardanger fiddle, viola
Espen Reinertsen - tenor saxophone
Tove Törngren - cello
Per Oddvar Johansen - drums, vibraphone

This was music that required intense concentration from both audience and musicians. Occasionally, in some of the plinky-plonky passages, it veered into "Jazz Club: Nice!" territory but when they hit a trancey groove it was utterly compelling. Most of the material was drawn from the "Outstairs" album on ECM.

Interestingly, this was the first time I'd ever seen a drummer use the venue itself as an instrument - Johansen played the pillars of the Vortex!

On 26th February it was off to the Shepherd's Bush Empire (it was packed to the gunnels) to see Midlake, a band I'd not seen live before.

The set was drawn heavily from the "Antiphon" album as well as "Courage of Others" and "...Van Occupanther". Gaz Coombes (ex-Supergrass) guested on one number.

They were very good, there's an unfussy, dignified epic quality about them. However I had to tell two lots of people around me - four middle-aged women and two young bearded morons - to shut up. They weren't even watching the band, yet they go along to just gabble loudly and share phone pictures with each other. ****s!

Setlist:

1. Ages
2. Antiphon
3. Provider
4. Rulers, Ruling All Things
5. Young Bride
   (with Gaz Coombes)
6. We Gathered In Spring
7. Vale
8. It's Going Down
9. Children of the Grounds
10. Corruption
11. Aurora Gone
12. This Weight
13. Roscoe
14. The Old and The Young
15. Provider
    (Reprise) - ENCORE
    
16. Head Home - ENCORE

Just back from a concert in Dublin.

Went to see Paolo Nutini at the Olympia theatre.

Have to say that i like the guy but he wasnt one of my top selections before the concert

The opinion has now changed. The concert was stunning and he was a very impressive performer.

The place was rockin'

Muti/Uchida/CSO

• Schumann Piano Concerto Op.54
• Schubert Symphony No. 9 (Great)

I don't think Uchida was *on* from the moment on she misplayed the intro and throughout her playing it was rhythmically awkward. Towards the finale she was running out of steam trying to catch up with the orchestra. I think this was the first time I thought she might... drop the ball... Certainly her performance did not instil my confidence. Plenty of passion but physically she was struggling and not capable of executing this tune properly so everything felt loose and not together. The orchestra also sounded rather muted and disjointed at times.

So it was a bit of disappointment but audience loves her.

I have attended her Schubert & Mozart program last week and she was more comfortable playing slower less showy tunes. Her Mozart Adagio K540 was exquisite.

The second half of program, Schubert's Great Symphony was well worth the admission. Muti was relaxed yet he had an iron grip on the CSO all the way through and those musicians ( particularly string sections. I could see some had bruises on their chins afterwards! ) were working extremely hard! They were rhythmically intune and dynamic as well as proving plenty of colours and textures. I was exciting and amusing all the way to the end.

This was one of the better Muti concert I have attended at the Orchestra Hall.

I am now looking forward to listening the rest of Schubert Symphonies through the end of this season.

Goldfrapp, Brighton Dome. Excellent stuff, as ever.

Setlist:

Jo
Drew
Stranger
Alvar
Annabel
Clay
Yellow Halo
Little Bird
You Never Know
Thea
Number 1
Ride a White Horse
Train

Encores:
Utopia
Clowns
Lovely Head
Strict Machine

Mary Black and Clannad an excellent show every one seemed to enjoy. Mary did a set including contributions from her son and daughter, Clannad did a set and Mary joined them in their encore.New experience having never had seats on the ground floor of Shepherds Bush (whatever it's called this week).

Yesterday, in the Sala Verdi at the Conservatorio, in Milano. A colleague of mine, teacher of Trumpet, conducted 139 brass instruments plus a bunch of percussionists (14 tubas!) in original music and a few transcriptions, among which his own rendition of Respighi's Pines of Rome and the Finale from Mahler's 2nd Symphony.

Keeping the masses together was difficult, but enthusiasm was high, and the volume very important. Towards the end they were joined by Giovanni Falzone, a young multi-prized jazz trumpeter, who has added even more verve and sound with two compositions of his own, rising the energy level to that of a rock concert.

It made me also think of our systems, of infinite discussions on a cable, an inch of image depth, of low level listening, and it was an eerie sensation; it also made me want to go back to the happy era when Japanese music lovers crammed 15 square mt with multiple, huge horn loaded enclosures, and audio was not the minimalist, politically correct, edulcorated thing for aging ears it is now...

Sorry for the quality of the pic, it was taken with the telephone.

Nine Inch Nails with Queens of the Stone Age.

March 22. CSB Arena Christchurch.

Bloody awesome.

And pub gig wise, Die! Die! Die! @ Wunderbar Lyttleton April 4.

Brilliant post-punk band. Brilliant musicianship. 

Everytime I attend a unamplified classical live concert makes me realise that I am just too poor to own a playback system even come close to 1/10th of the *real time* dynamics. :/

Horn speakers/Tube amps/turntable + Decca records with all their maladies, they had excellent dynamics and presence that most of current hifi lacks. I also think that today's living room friendly narrow baffled speakers have limitations for transient impact/impulse compared to speakers with larger woofers.

ESLs have the area to remain convincing at domestic levels!

ATB from George

George,

ESL can't play loud enough to get the real scale SPL. I doubt that an even *stacked* ESL can do it.

A nice midrange, tho.

Last night I went to the Barbican to see the Spring Quartet - the mighty Jack deJonette, Esperanza Spalding, Joe Lovano and Leo Genovese - an intereting cross-generational outfit whose youngest member (ES) is 42 years the junior of its oldest (JdJ).

Great night of fiery improvisation - JdJ is always great value and whatever it is he's taking to allow him to drum like that at 72, I want some! Genovese, whom I've not seen before, is a superb pianist: his composition "Ethiopian Blues" was one of the night's high points, as was JdJ's "Ahmad the Terrible". But for me the highlight was a cover of Herbie Hancock's "Hand Cocked", full of light and shade, with the three men gelling faultlessly around Spalding's sinuous basslines. Superb sound too (as it always is at the Barbican).

Only one downside - Esperanza covered up her magnificent barnet with a scarf: